THE LIJADU SISTERS

Spot the difference. Juju stars Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Dele Abiodun; Afrobeat originator Fela Anikulapo Kuti and ozzidizm originator Sonny Okosuns; highlife rejuvenators Victor Uwaifo, Prince Nico and the Oriental Brothers; fuji stars Ayinla Kollington and Ayinde Barrister; apala veteran Haruna Ishola; waka child prodigy Salawa Abeni; and roots-modernists the Lijadu Sisters. With the exception of Abeni and the Lijadu Sisters, the biggest names on the 1970s Nigerian music scene were all men.

In Nigeria in the 1970s, only a tiny handful of female artists broke through the backing singer/dancer ceiling to become stars in their own right, particularly if they wrote all their own material – as did Abeni, with lyrics closely based on or taken straight out of Islamic scripture and folk wisdom, and the Lijadu Sisters, whose repertoire ranged from love songs and dance anthems through philosophy and political/social commentary.

“The music business was hard for women in Nigeria,” says Taiwo Lijadu. “Back then, they didn’t think women had brains.”

Twins Taiwo and Kehinde were born in Jos, in northern Nigeria, on October 22, 1948. They enjoyed singing from an early age, encouraged by their mother, who bought them records by a wide range local and overseas of artists. Kehinde and Taiwo remember with special fondness discs by Aretha Franklin, Miriam Makeba, Ray Charles and, later, Fela Kuti (who, like the Nobel Prize winning writer and political activist Wole Soyinka, was their second cousin).

The twins started songwriting early too – Kehinde when she was 10, Taiwo when she was 17 – and absorbed the humanitarian sensibilities of Franklin, Makeba, Charles and Kuti along with their soulful vocal styles. “All our records include songs with deep messages,” says Kehinde. “Artists should be the voice of the world. Not just of their own people, but of the wider world, for a problem which faces one, faces all.”

The Lijadu Sisters began working as session singers, but solid-gold talent and determination – and, no doubt, the twins’ extraordinary physical beauty – soon led to their first own-name release, “Iya Mi Jowo” (“mother please”), which came out on Nigerian Decca in 1968. The song was written by Taiwo in 1965 and the story behind it is included in the notes for the album Mother Africa, for which the sisters rerecorded it.

In 1971, the sisters met the British drummer Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith, Airplane), who in the first half of the 1970s was a frequent visitor to Nigeria, where he recorded and performed with Kuti and his band, Africa 70. In 1972, the Lijadu Sisters performed with Baker’s band at the cultural festival accompanying the Munich Olympics in Germany. For a while, Taiwo and Baker were an item.

Another fortuitous male encounter was with the multi-instrumentalist Biddy Wright. Wright’s mother was a close friend of the sisters’ mother, through whom the three met. Sadly no longer with us, Wright co-arranged and played on all four of the classic 1970s Lijadu Sisters albums released on Decca’s Afrodisia imprint. Thirty-plus years later, after an introduction by Will Glasspiegel, Knitting Factory Records will re-release these long out-of-print albums – Danger (1976), Mother Africa (1977), Sunshine (1978) and Horizon Unlimited (1979).

Assisted only by traditional drummers and percussionists, Wright played most of the instruments on these discs – including electric and acoustic guitar, bass guitar, saxophone and keyboards. After the twins’ own ravishing voices, rich harmonies and thought provoking songs, Wright was key to their 1970s success: as at home with funk and rock as he was with traditional Yoruba music, and, like Taiwo and Kehinde, adept at bringing traditional and electric styles together.

By 1980, the Lijadu Sisters were acquiring an international profile. They were featured in British director Jeremy Marre’s fiIm Konkombe: The Nigerian Pop Music Scene in 1979, and in the Nigerian chapter of Marre’s TV series on “world music,” Beats Of The Heart. In 1984, the US label Shanachie released the compilation album Double Trouble, and the British label Earthworks rereleased Horizon Unlimited. In 1985, on British television, Kehinde and Taiwo were a big hit on the so-cool-it-hurts music show, The Tube. In 1988, they visited the US with Sunny Ade, and performed under their own name with Ade’s band, winning an enthusiastic review in The New York Times.

By the end of the decade, things were looking good for the Lijadu Sisters in the US, and after the Ade concerts they stayed in the country while their green card applications went through.

Then disaster struck. Kehinde suffered dreadful spinal injuries in a fall in the hallway of the twins’ Brooklyn apartment building (they lived on the first floor). “The first doctor who saw me gave me six months to live,” says Kehinde. “Then they said I would never walk again. But I said to myself, ‘I will be strong, I will not give up, I owe it to my family.’”

The accident threatened to finish the Lijadu Sisters’ career, and it kept them out of the public eye until 2011, when Knitting Factory’s reissue program began.

While Kehinde was recovering, the twins withdrew completely from the limelight. Inevitably, rumors about their wellbeing and whereabouts abounded. Some people thought they had died, others that they had married rich Americans and retired into lives of luxurious obscurity. There were several other tales. Everyone missed them terribly.

Kehinde eventually overcame her injuries, but it took many years, and she still suffers its effects. “I am walking, even dancing again now,” she says. “But I cannot sit down for more than two hours at a time, and I cannot fly any distance at all.”

During Kehinde’s recovery, the sisters’ were sustained by their embrace of the traditional Yoruba belief system Ifa (which has a divination strand of arcane complexity and infinite nuance), and their study of the use of herbs in healing.

“Our mother taught us that unless we had something to promote, it was best not to do interviews,” says Taiwo. “Save it for when you have something to talk about. And we have not spoken for a long time. But the Knitting Factory program means we have something to talk about once more. We are back, and we are going to perform again.”

“It is decades since we have performed publicly,” adds Kehinde, “but now we are ready – and the music will be of today! We thank our fans for remembering us, and we want them to know why we have been silent. We love them very much.”

In 2011, Kehinde and Taiwo, inseparable since birth, share an apartment in Harlem, NYC.

It is wonderful to have them back.

Culled from: http://www.knittingfactoryrecords.com/artists/the-lijadu-sisters/

Prince Sunny Ade: In His Father’s Steps

By Yemi Olakitan

Biodun Adeniyi Adegeye, son of King Sunny Ade, born on Christmas day on the 24^th of December in Lagos is now set to hit the music waves with his own brand of juju music.  Popularly known as Prince Sunny Ade by his fans, the prince is very active in the live music performances preforming at parties and staging his own shows.

 Many of his father and his own growing fans heavily attended his recent shows at Ikorodu area of Lagos where he is based. According to him, he plays his father’s brand of juju music with a mixture of American styled Rapp music.

‘‘My dad, king Sunny Ade inspires me. When I was growing up, I never knew I could sing or rapp. I fell in love with my father’s guitar playing and his heavy rhythm juju beats. 2pac Amaru Shakur music also has a lot messages and o\so I listened to his music a lot especially when I went to the United States.’’

Speaking further PSA said he wished to be known worldwide with his style of music, which he called, JuHip.  His sojourns to the United States exposed him to a lot of Rapp music. ‘I noticed that Rapp music is more popular in the states than in Nigeria. They are not exposed to the talking drums as we see in Juju and Fuji music back here in Nigeria. That is the advantage I have, I want to infuse both into my style and that is why I called it JuHip. It’s a fusion of Rapp and Juju music,’’

Kemi Adeosun Resigns

Reports is currently making rounds that the Minister Of Finance Kemi Adeosun, has resignedIt is not clear when she submitted her resignation letter.

According to multiple reliable sources on twitter, the resignation followed the allegation of not serving the compulsory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and obtaining a certificate that the NYSC have disowned.

The minister felt that her position is becoming untenable and is hurting the President in the run up to the 2019 election.

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Femi Lasode in Search of Africa's Stolen Treasures

By Yemi Olakitan

Former President of Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and one of country’s foremost filmmakers, Obafemi Lasode, has said his latest movie, Africa’s Stolen Treasures, is ready to hit the cinemas.

Olasode said these artefacts do not mean any other thing than aesthetic and monetary value to the looters. However, to Africa, “these pieces carry our history, culture and identity.”

According to him, the movie is a wake up call to Africans at home and in the Diaspora to push harder for return of treasures stolen from the continent. These rare and precious artworks are in museums and galleries across Europe and America. Britain and France are the biggest culprits in this shameful plunder of Africa’s cultural heritage, with their museums holding thousands of stolen works of art

The filmmaker added, “these works are ‘timeless document’ and they contain the history of families, clans and villages that make up ancient African societies.” He said, “with most of that indigenous knowledge having been erased and stolen from us, we are left with little evidence of Africa’s pre-colonial history. This is why the white man took up the task of re-writing our own history for us during the colonial era.”

In 1897, Britain invaded Benin Empire, and plundered the land, wiping out in the process one of the most advanced cultural heritages on the continent. Thousands of bronze and ivory works that chronicled the history and customs of the people were looted from the palace.

According to reports, Dr. Mark Walker, who inherited two of the famous Benin bronzes from his grandfather, Captain Herbert Walker, however, returned them in 2014. The senior Walker was involved in the pillaging of Benin.

According to Lasode, “the movie should be seen as a part of an overall awareness campaign to assist in heightening the society’s knowledge on the need to protect and preserve Africa’s antiquities.” Africa’s Stolen Treasure is an adventure tale about three treasure hunters, who came to Africa to recover, hidden African artefacts. In their bid to escape the natives who were in hot pursuit, these looters had buried these works. The fleeing explorers were able to produce a map with the hope of returning someday to retrieve the hidden artefacts.

Lasode said, “this movie is my attempt to show the world that process of robbery. You can look at it as an adventure movie, kids, as well as adults, can watch and be entertained, but the film’s essence is the message being passed across. Institutions and governments must rise and demand for the return of Africa’s cultural heritage stolen by colonial masters. Our treasures are the totality of who we are as a people. They are the legacy of our forefathers left for us to pass on to coming generations. This is a re-education movie, especially for African families, decision and policy makers.

The map resurfaces in the 21st century at a European auction. Who will get there first? This is where the suspense is. Will the thieves be brought to justice? The answers are all in the movie Africa’s Stolen Treasures. The movie features Gbenga Richards and Belinda Effah (AMAA winner, 2010), and legends such as, Clarion Chukwurah, Lari Williams, Eddie Ugbomah, Prince Jide Kosoko. Also appearing are, Paul Obazele, Funmi Tijani, Femi Robinson, George Eyo, Tunde Alabi and Wale Adebayo (Sango).

King Sunny Ade (KSA), Nelson Brown and Harriet Ewemade produced the soundtrack. The project is shot on High Definition Video (HD) and is transferred to 35mm celluloid film for international screenings. It was shot at Abijo Film Village, Lekki, Lagos.

Through his radio show, Africa N’ Vogue, Lasode promoted Nigerian music in United States and was part of the team that brought KSA, Oliver De Coque and Sonny Okosuns to perform at the Apollo Theatre in the U.S.On coming back home, he founded Even Ezra studios, which became a refuge for artistes for many years, as he used the place to provide support to them.

For the past two decades, Lasode has been in the vanguard of promoting Nigerian arts and culture through music and movies. He studied business administration in the U.S.. He also has a master’s degree in Radio, Television and Film Production from the Brooklyn College, City University, New York. Lasode was a promoter of African music in the United States and was a broadcaster with WNYE Radio, New York

Trouble in Lekki as bulldozers destroy homes, properties

By Yemi Olakitan 



While it can be said that Lagos state residents are sitting pretty, free from onslaught of insurgents and the latest nightmare – the Fulani cattle herdsmen, a different face of unprovoked aggression is terrorising the Okun Mopo Community along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos. A report reaching our features desk said only last week, large expanse of land and property designated as estates belonging to old families at Sangotedo Monastery in the community have been overrun by bulldozers, pulling down buildings, infrastructures and other facilities on the orders of some estate developers called ‘land grabbers’. Heads of the affected families are now crying to the Lagos State Government, the Federal Government and the entire people of Nigeria concerning their land being forcefully taken from them. A family source told our correspondent that the land in question belongs to the Isiaka, Oladehinde and Balogun families, all traditional rulers at the Okun-Mopo community and environs. 

“All the people were told was that the land is to be allocated by Lagos State Government to one Ajayi Apata Property Ltd, without neither consultation nor any form of compensation to the indigenous owners of the land,” the source said. The estate agents – CMB Estate and Diamond Estate – invaded the community with caterpillars and bulldozers, demolishing people’s homes and structures on the land. A resident who spoke to The Daily Times in confidence lamented that the demolition took them unawares. “I woke up that morning hesitating from where I would start off my day when noise of the invading machines filled our area. People were running out of their houses and shouting for help and I had to run too.

 We had no time to take anything and we watched as bulldozers and caterpillars destroyed our homes and properties.” Accounts from residents of Okun Mopo Community corroborated the story of pains and anguish over losses of homes and household utensils because of the illegal demolition. Residents say heavily armed thugs with arms and amulets were positioned on the land, with the aid of fully armed policemen and people can no longer move freely in what used to be their neighbourhood. A spokesman for the estate agent who refused to give his name claimed that the Okun-Mopo Community land has been sold to them and that the two estate administrators are now ready to take possession. He denied that the residents were not given any notice before the invasion. Meanwhile, a legal firm representing the aggrieved families and the community, Messrs Bolanle Olugbani & Co, Barristers and Solicitors of Igbosere Road, Lagos Island has written an SOS addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The letter dated 26th April, 2016 and titled ‘The forceful and illegal taking over, eviction and demolition of properties of over 500,000 Nigerians at Okun-Mopo and the complicity of the A.I.G Zone 2, Lagos’ read in part: “We are compelled to write your Excellency this open letter to bring to your attention the pain and suffering of the people and residents of Okun- Mopo as well as the activities of the men of the Nigeria Police force, zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos The Baale of Okun Mopo is the claimant in suit No. /LD 135/2013 pending before the high court of Lagos state. The Defendants in the said suit are the Attorney- General of Lagos state, the New Towns Development authority and Ajayi Apata Property and Investment Company. On the 12th of April 2016, the Baale of Okun Mopo, an 83-year-old man was invited to the Zone 2, Command, Onikan, Lagos based on a false petition of threat to life written by one CMB Estates who bought the land in dispute (subject matter of the above–mentioned suit) from Ajayi Apata Property and the Investment Company. 

The Baale of Okun Mopo had earlier obtained an order of Interlocutory Injunction against the three (3) defendants in the above mentioned suit. The injunction restrained the three defendants and their privies from interfering with the peaceful possession of our clients’ land. CMB Estates is a privy to Ajayi Apata and Investment Company and is also bound by the same order. To our greatest shock , the Zone 2 Police Command led by A.I.G Bala Hassan gave armed police protection to CMB  Estates who went on a demolition spree of our clients’ properties at Okun Mopo with 3 caterpillars. In order to prevent such occurrence in their community, the Okun-Mopo people are calling on the government to stop the activities of land grabbers in their community and in Lagos state. Efforts made by our correspondent to get the police side of the story at Zone 2, Police Command, Onikan was stoutly resisted as no officer was ready to entertain any inquiry on the matter. 

Meet Ihuoma, the Queen of Insurance

By Yemi Olakitan

THE recently celebrated 50th anniversary of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), which was held amidst pomp and pageantry, also witnessed the crowning of Miss Insurance 2009.

The beauty pageant, which was part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the institute, was a gathering of who is who in the Nigerian insurance sector.

The event, which was held at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, was designed to identify the insurance sector with fashion, beauty and entertainment. Organisers of the event hoped that the pageant would make positive statements and remove much of the mystery behind insurance. It was also a way of celebrating the achievements of the insurance sector in Nigeria.

Contestants who participated in this year’s pageant were from different insurance companies in the country, with Miss Brenda Ihuoma Nwakama of Scib Nigeria Limited emerging the winner.

A native of Abia State, Ihuoma is a graduate of Public Administration from the Enugu State University of Technology. She is an Account Executive with Scib Nigeria Limited in Lagos.

Ihuoma, who joined Scib as a member of the National Youth Service Corps in Abuja, was later posted to Lagos as a staff of the company.

Speaking in an interview, Miss Nwakama said she was elated to have won the competition. She said she had always known that she would become a beauty queen one day, but did not suspect that it would be within the insurance industry. She expressed her deep appreciation to the staff and management of Scib for their moral and financial support, which enabled her win the competition.

Speaking further on her celebrated victory, Ihuoma said she will use her tenure as the new Miss Insurance for the year 2009 to pursue her pet projects, which include; creating awareness concerning the numerous insurance policies within the Nigerian insurance sector by partnering with members of the print and electronic media. She also wished to use her reign to promote corporate governance, also known as due process within the insurance sector.

She said she would endeavour to sensitise the insurance community on their social responsibility to the less privileged, the motherless and the poor in the society. Ihuoma plans to work together with all stakeholders within the sector. She hoped to work with the Insurers Association of Nigeria, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria with support from her company Scib Nigeria & Company.

This queen is not new to the beauty pageant sector, having participated in various competitions in the past. She participated in the Prettiest Girl in Nigeria pageant organised by Phemy Concepts, an entertainment company in Lagos. She was also the winner of Miss Rotaract Nigeria 2005/2006, organised by the Rotary Club of Nigeria. Ihuoma was also Miss Rotaract, Enugu State University of Technology. She was also the district winner of the pageant before she went ahead to win it at the national level. Ihuoma was also, Miss Scib; a competition she won at her company’s new year party held in Lagos last December.

Ihuoma went home with the grand prize of a Kia Picanto car as the winner of the Miss Insurance beauty pageant. The car was donated by Goldlink Insurance Plc.

Speaking on the relevance of the pageant to the insurance sector and Scib Nigeria & Company Limited, Head, Human Resources Department, Miss Adeyemi Aderemi, said the pageant is a vehicle for youth development, growth and opportunity. She said it was important for the insurance sector to identify with other areas of human endeavour such as fashion, beauty, and entertainment because insurance is related to all aspects of human life.

She said Scib was proud to be the winner of this year’s competition, having emerged second runner up in last year’s competition.

Scib Nigeria & Company is an insurance broking and risk management firm based in Lagos. The company, which has been operating in the insurance sector for about 30 years, is a partner of Willis, an insurance firm based in the United Kingdom.

Men Talk, Women Talk

By Omiko Awa and Yemi Olakitan 

 THE society will be at its best when men and women play their natural roles, compliment one another, and swallow personal and gender prejudices. Man talk, Woman talk, one of the unpublishedworks of the late playwright, Ola Rotimi, humorously tells the chaos the society faces, when the sexes accuse each other instead of finding how they could harmoniously solve their problems.

   Set in a courtroom, though devoid of the usual court technicalities and legal jargon, the play uses humour, arguments and counter arguments to present the views of two idealistic youthful contenders, Mike Osaga, and a sassy lady, Soye Ogunye, who accused each sex as being the main cause of the ills of the society. While Mike accused Soye of using her succulent female body to entice male folk to do her biddings, Soye countered it with the arguments that man’s sensibility lies upside down between his legs and that he uses his machismo to make ladies conform to his desires. And the urge to satisfy the male folks have made ladies to go the extreme to outdo one another, bleach their skin, dress cute, paint their faces and attached foreign hairs to their heads.

  As this arguments and counter-arguments continue, the two-man jury, made up of a counselor, Professor Omola and a judge, becomes divided; the judge, a man, supports the male folk while the counselor, a woman takes side with the female gender. This created a wry humour that puts each character against the other. But in a twist of imagination the arguments change with the judge being carried away by the beauty and logical presentations of the lady contender, Soye Ogunye, especially when his son (a friend of the court) was invited to give evidence.

    Flooring her opponent with her logical arguments, even when it was obvious, the judge reverses the result on the grounds that women are the cause of the troubles in our society; showing that women’s vote don’t count and things must be the way men want them.

  Not meant to prove which gender is superior, but to uncover the complementary roles men and women play in the society, the play shows that if we must make the right impact in the society both sexes must forgo their egos, listen to one another and act the talk.

  Speaking about the play, Dr. Edem Duke, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, said, “the play came at the right time. It’s high time we rejuvenate the theatre and provide platforms for the top government and corporate executives to unwind.

 “Before coming here I spoke with the Director General of National Theatre to see if the days of traveling theatre could be brought back. We need to reactivate the scene, keep it active as a way to enliven the intellectual aspect of the Nigerian tourism, create platform for the academia to participate and as well provide platform for high executive officers both in public and private to unwind.”

   Accompanying the minister was his predecessor,  Chief Alabo Graham-Douglas, Bikiya’s  father, who exuding satisfaction said, he had wanted her daughter to pursue other career, but with what he has seen, he is satisfied with the production and the calibre of people that have come to watch the play.

    He called on corporate bodies and the necessary government agencies to partner with theatre practitioners to rejuvenate the theatre.

Dr. Edem Duke, Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation

 “I am impressed with the production and hope that organisations would support BUAF to make the theatre lively again.”

  Israel Eboh, the director of the play stated that the late playwright captured the Nigerian society of yesterday and today. The question Man Talk, Woman Talk, raises is that weather the Nigerian nation will still be talking rather than acting, using the age long debate between the sex as a subject matter.

  “While all the issues raised are what every Nigerian is aware of and will continue to debate on the streets, homes, offices and our many assemblies, yet the issues have not only refused to go away, but have taken more daring form. For man to talk and woman to talk to bring about a society built on mutual respect, we must acknowledge the fact that to talk, we must learn to listen and understand one another and be ready to sacrifice our egos on the alter of collective good,” he added.

   Bikiya Graham Douglas, chief operating officer of Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF), saidMan Talk, Woman Talk is one of the rich Nigerian theatre heritage that need to be sustained for the enjoyment of this generation.  “The play is in line with my organisation’s culture to rejuvenate the theatre in the country, educate and entertain the people.”

  On whether the play would be shown in other parts of the country Bikiya said, “I would have loved to take it round the country, but I am constrained by funds. The greatest challenge facing theatre in the country is fund and the only way to overcome this, is when corporate organisations and private individuals partner with various theatre groups for stage production.”