Sonny Okosun: A Belated FG Response - 2008-06-02

That the great Nigerian music legend, Sonny Okosun is dead, is no longer news. But what majority of his fans cannot understand is why the federal government had to wait until he is dead before responding, writes Tijani Adegbola, who takes a closer look at Okosun’s background.

The Nigerian music industry suffered a serious set back when the news broke out that Sonny Okosun, former president   Performing Musicians Employers' Association of Nigeria (,PMAN)    lost his life. He gave up the battle to a long attack of cancer that has been threatening his life for almost a year. He eventually gave up. He passed away on May 25, 2008 in Washington, DC at the United States of America. This sad news has started generating argument. When the talented singer and evangelist was battling with this disease, nobody rallied round to assist him. Even the government paid deaf ears to his case. But this is a man who used his music to fight corruption in the country. According to findings, Sonny Okosun used his music to fight for democracy Nigerians are enjoying today.  “Why do like celebrating the death legend but not the living legend?” one of his fans asked. “Nigerians don't appreciate their living legend until they are no more. This is a huge task to every Nigerians home and abroad”, they said

Background

Late Sonny Okosun was born on the 1st January, 19 47. He was given birth to in Benin City. He started his music career at a very tender age and started his first band, the Postmen, in 1964, then served several years in the group of Victor Uwaifo before launching Paperback Ltd. (soon renamed Ozziddi) in 1972. Okosun initially caught the pop music bug via Elvis and the Beatles, forming his first band, The Postmen, in 1964 according to findings. In the early '70s, he helped usher in a back-to-African-roots trend with a stylistic mix of Western pop and local highlife he called "ozzidi." He later broadened it to include the rapidly spreading gospel of reggae. His diversity has kept him from being pigeonholed. He was featured in Black Star Liner; a 1983 anthology of African reggae, and more recently appeared on the anti-apartheid Sun City EP produced by Steve Van Zandt. His albums typically feature vocals in English as well as the Nigerian Ishan language. A superstar on the African Continent, Sonny Okosun commanded the type of reverence in African music that Bob Marley enjoyed in reggae and Stevie Wonder commanded in R&B. Okosun has recorded some five-star reggae over the years, although African pop is his main focus. And the fact that Okosun sang in English most of the time certainly hasn't hurt his popularity among reggae audiences. A welcome addition to his catalog, African Soldiers, is among the many superb albums he delivered. Okosun favored African dialects on some of the materials and embraces English on such exuberant, uplifting Afro-pop as "Woman" and the title song. "Babylon," "Happy Days" and "King of Kings" illustrate his excellence in the reggae department, but it must be stressed that Okosun brought a distinctly African flavor to a style associated primarily with Jamaica. African Soldiers never fails to impress. in the 1970s and 80s that Sonny Okosun achieved his greatest success, forcefully projecting through his music a message of African unity, pride, resistance to oppression and sympathy for the struggles for independence raging across the continent. The repressive apartheid policy in Southern Africa was the central target of his attacks, so much so that in 1978, his Fire In Soweto LP was officially banned by the government of South Africa.  Over the years, various critics have occasionally questioned whether his persistent railing against repressive governments in South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, etc. might have been something of an opportunistic publicity ploy. After all, Nigerians were not exactly the New Island of Ethiopia either, but Sonny never went out of his way to indict any of Nigeria's brutal military dictators or civilian kleptocrats on wax.

But regardless of all that, Okosun's' music did do a lot to raise awareness among the masses as to what was going on in Africa, industry watchers revealed. Speaking with one of his junior colleague at (PMAN), M2 learnt that “ Being a kid at the time, I didn't know anything about the situation in South Africa. I didn't even know that there was a situation in South Africa until Sonny told me. First time I heard the word "apartheid" was in one of his songs (probably "Papa's Land"). I didn't know where Soweto was or why there might be fire there, didn't know that there was any sort of unpleasantness going down in Namibia. I found out about all that stuff because Sonny Okosun sang about it. I'm sure many people my age might offer a similar testimony”,

Brand of Music

His styles of music include: African-Modern & Pop, Caribbean, Reggae/Modern, Reggae and Gospel. Okosun's music was the rallying call for the support of South Africa that swept across the continent, so much so that in 1978 his Fire in Soweto LP was banned in South Africa. His songs took the leading role amongst African nations in advocating for the end of apartheid and the liberation of black South Africans. Today, black South Africans are free... Free to kill immigrants from other African countries, with a special emphasis on Nigerians. What an irony!

Products Released

With 16 African album releases to his credit - many of them gold - Nigeria's Sonny Okosuns is one of the continent's most enduringly popular performers. His first few releases, with their catchy, rock-inflected melodies and topical lyrics were all big hits in Nigeria, but 1977's "Fire in Soweto" really put Okosun on the map internationally. Further attention came in the early eighties with the release of "Liberation," a "best-of" compilation on the American Shanachie label, and a number of international tours.  Okosun's supposed "controversial" lyrics in the 1970s and 1980s about South Africa and the plight of the Third World were actually not at all radical in the African context. In this regard it is interesting to compare Okosun's career with that of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti , who faced genuine hardship as a result of his pointed attacks on the Nigerian elite. Sonny Okosun's career faded in the late 1980s, but the singer roared back in 1994 with the smash gospel album "Songs of Praise," which won a number of Nigerian music awards. Since then, Evangelist Sonny Okosuns has ridden a wave of Christian evangelism in Nigeria to become the country's foremost gospel musician, with a growing fan base in other parts of the world.

We nevertheless gathered that family members are already in contact with some his close associates so that they can plan a befitting burial for the 'African Solider' exponent. He would be remembered as one of the fathers of music in the country. He ruled PMAN for four years. He also contributed to changing the Nigerian music in the 80s and 90s.Okosun is also the founder of the Hosue of Prayers' a church located in Ogba,Lagos. He was a friend to many prominent Nigerian leaders such as Late Bashorun MKO Abiola, General Ibrahim Babangida and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the immediate past president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His Burial Programme

Findings reveals that the  burial committee of Africa's foremost music revotionaire, Sonny Okosun has unanimously agreed and ratified the progammes to honour Ozzidi King, the late social critic, music maker and philosopher, Francis Sonny Okosuns in appreciation of his immense contribution to peace and unity in Africa.

 Babafemi Oshodi, Chairman of the Sonny Okosun Burial Committee, reeled out the following programmes: July 18,2008( official burial date), First Bank Nigeria Plc(official banker), a carnival-like motorcade which culminates in Sonny Okosuns' Memorial Concert in cities like Lagos state(his place of residence), Enugu state (his place of birth), Abuja ( Nigeria's capital) and  Edo state( his home state). Okosun's Burial Committee members are- Engineer George Dureke, Ist Vice President of the Performing Musicians Employers' Association of Nigeria (,PMAN) ( Director, Programmes), Ladi Ayodeji, President\Minister-in- charge( Director, Programmes),Peter Aburimeh(Director, South- South); Charles Okosuns, brother to the music maker(Chief Host), Henry Asin(Director, Protocol), George Elijah-Otumu,Editor, Arts& Tourism, Africa Today Magazine,UK(Director, Media& Publicity). The Sub- Committee Media Members include- Ogbonnaya Amadi, Editor, Entertainment, Vanguard Newspapers, Funso Arogundade, INSIDER WEEKLY Magazine, Leke Adeneye, Encomium Magazine, Segun Ajayi, Sun Newspapers and Richard Ayeni, Africa Independent Television, AIT. Other Foreign Sub- Committee Media Members include Niyi Babade, Cable News Network,CNN, 'Tunde Agoe, AFP, George Esiri,Reuters and Patrick Okolo, Voice of America,VOA according to information.