Source: http://www.thekalabaris.com/2017/05/11/in-remembrance-of-bob-marley-must-read/
May 11, 1981, Aba: This sad day retains poignant memories. On this day, news of the demise of Prophet, poet, singer, Africanist and lyricist, Bob Marley, hit the small community of students at the Federal School of Arts and Science, Aba. It was mind-numbing and shattering.

We drowned our sorrows collectively, Lower Six students, by gathering at the bedside of Benedict Chidorum Nwakanma. I had a cassette tape recorder, a bequest from my parents for passing out in Division One in the School Certificate examination in 1980. It was a treasured gift.

There was no better way to celebrate this gift and my coming of age. I would go into town and buy tapes. For every three tapes, two would be Bob Marley and the Wailers. In whatever combination.

We would go for meals and return to that corner listening to Bob Marley songs and sharing accounts of the man, his exploits, our understanding of those exploits and more. Some of the stories sounded apocryphal now in retrospect. It added to the pathos and the sense of immense loss.

Bob Marley was the star at the reggae side of a young man’s initiation into the world of music.

Since 1976, I had followed Bob Marley, as a young secondary school student. Seniors told interesting stories of the man as we sat listening to the music. That was the year he came unto the world stage, courtesy of Island Records. They released his Rastaman Vibrations in London to global acclaim.

I was hooked. Here was music that had it all: lyrics, syncopation, yet synchronisation. It was refreshing. Out of this world. Bob Marley spoke to my young soul and still speaks to me now that I understand even more the essence of his music and message.

Bob Marley and the Wailers made the most impact in the 70s and 80s. He released Catch A Fire in 1973, Natty Dread (1974), Live! (1975). Then followed the ice breaking Rastaman Vibration in 1976. Bob surpassed himself the following year with the record that epitomises all of his genius
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