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I hope that the critics are not telling us that there are no ritual sacrifices for money making in Nigeria. Are they telling us that people do not kill for money or love or that there are no armed robbers in Nigeria or that jealous wives do not kill their rivals through poison or that inter-ethnic feuds no longer exist?

Are they telling us that there is no rigging and thuggery in our elections or that there is no corruption in Nigeria? Are they telling us that shrines no longer exist in Nigeria or that native doctors no longer practice their trade?

Agreed that we have our positive sides too, but commercially “a man bites a dog” is more newsworthy and dramatic than the usual “a dog bites a man.” Such is the stuff the media is made of including the film industry. If you do not like the themes, sound and music of these films, please do and like the beautiful faces that these films parade and the beautiful landscapes captured in them.

There is no doubt that Nollywood portrays Nigeria in good light while at the same time telling and revealing to us our shortcomings. That is the message and pre-occupation of Nollywood films but like in every other human activity, the stakeholders should always strive for improvement.

Having done with the Nollywood aspect of the treatise, let me now progress to the emerging genre of Nigeria’s popular music culture. Some people call it hip-hop; others call it R & B or Reggae. Yet some call it High-life or Galala. To others, it may be called Afrobeat or whatever name they chose. All these appellations in their own rights represent the new generational voice of Nigerian music.

It is quite different from what Cardinal Rex Lawson, Ik Dairo, Israel Nwoba, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, Victor Olaiya, Chief Ebenezar Obey Fabiyi, King Sunny Ade, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Oliver de Coque, Bongos Ikwue, Sonny Okosuns, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Prince Nico Mbarga, Oriental Brothers, The Peacocks, Celestine Ukwu, Paulson Kalu and Ikenga Super Stars did.

The ‘Yahoo Yahoo’, ‘Do Me I Do You’ and ‘You Go Wound’ boys’ fame are, indeed, discovering their own voice and rhythm which also have some innovations in form of style, rhythm and message. Nobody should begrudge them for doing their own thing their own way. Every generation does that. It is an incontrovertible fact that every generation ought to discover its destiny or be consigned to obscurity.

History is in favour of the various new beats and flavour of Nigerian popular music as represented by Tu Face Idibia, Femi Kuti, Lagbaja, Faze, Daddy Showkey, Banky W, Neto-C, P-Square, Bracket, D’Banj, Dare Art-Alade, Pasuma Wonder, KC Fresh, Wande Coal, Obiwon, Asa, 9ice, Kelly Hansome, Sasha and many others.
Also, in the gospel realm, the country is awash with the emergence of new gospel artists that have through creativity come up with good music that captivates the audience with their rich rhythm, sound and inspiring messages.

In the gospels, I remember with nostalgia the spirit-stirring music of the Voice of the Cross, Harcourt Whyte, Okwesco, Patty Obassey, Obi Igwe before the emergence of Rosemary Chukwu, Funmi Davis, Kingsley Ike, Sammy Okposo, Buchi, Aka Nchawa, Chinyere Udoma, Chinedu Nwadike and others. I do not understand some other Nigerian languages outside my mother tongue-Igbo and a few phrases in Hausa and Yoruba but indigenous Nigerian music, no matter the language, it is sung, thrills me.
For this, I love Victor Uwaifo’s music rendered in his native Edo language, the same with Joseph Osayemo who takes after Uwaifo. Bongos Ikwue’s music whether in English or his native Idoma language is always pleasant to listen to.

The same can go for the music of Sonny Okosuns, Onyeka Onwenu and the Abami Eda himself, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
In the same vein, I am at home with the music of Osita Osadebe, Oliver de Coque, Bright Chimezie, Oriental Brothers, Sunny Ade, Ebenezar Obey, IK Dairo, Joe Nez, Paulson Kalu, Show Promoter (Nelson Ejinduaka), Morocco, Celestine Ukwu and Mike Ejeagha.
Before I go deep into the music of the new generation as championed by Tu Face and others, I must pay lasting tribute to the pop music of the 70s and 80s. They represent the best evergreen of Nigeria’s pop music till date. This may be because I was part of that movement and era.

I remember the soul-stirring and danceable music of The Wings of Aba led by Spud Nathans (Emeka Udensi), the BLO, Ofege, Sweet Breeze, Tony Grey, The Apostles, Wrinkers Experience, Strangers of Owerri and many of those rock bands that sprung up in the era under discussion with their entertaining melodious music. Most of the records by all these groups were produced by the EMI record label under the sound engineering capability of Odion Iruoje.

Each epoch in Nigerian music has benefited immensely from a preceding one. The pioneers of Nigerian music which was labelled High-life borrowed a lot from Nigerian indigenous music in terms of singing styles and rhythm. The music of Osadebe, Oliver de Coque and Oriental Brothers bore very eloquent testimonies to this fact. The-call-and-answer singing pattern of almost all our musicians is a feature of traditional African music. The basic rhythm of African music made up of the gong, the drums and udu, oyo or shekere are incorporated by these new musicians.

Also the praise singing nature of our High-life music is a carry over from the local griots that chant the praises of men and women of valour in the society. It is also derived from the funeral dirge chants of the traditional Igbo people as well as the Mmonwu or Nwaezenogwu poetry. Some are derived from birth poetry and war songs. Oliver de Coque specifically tapped the rich rhythm of Igbo musical instrument, Ogene, to great effect.

It is not a co-incidence that he named his band after that veritable instrument that gave his music a unique colouration and definition, Oliver de Coque and His Ogene Sound Super of Africa.
In the same way, Osadebe borrowed extensively from his Igbo cultural milieu. For instance, his singing and dancing styles are derived from his Atani roots. The Atani culture also resembles those of their Ukwuani neighbours. It is not a surprise that Osadebe’s music resembles those of the Ukwuani and their riverine neighbours in singing styles and instrumentation.

Victor Uwaifo also tapped richly from his Edo cultural mix, likewise Fela, Ade, and Obey who borrowed effusively from their Yoruba cultural musical repertoire alongside its dramatic stagecraft.
The same can be said of Bongos Ikwue, Sweet Breeze and others that play one form of Nigerian popular music or the other. Their music did not fall from the skies. Each has according to his capacity borrowed and experimented with the extant musical idioms, tunes and styles prevalent in their various cultures. That is why Nigerian music can easily be identified and differentiated from say Ghanaian or Congolese music.