Nigerian Music Legend Victor Olaiya Is Dead
opera.com
Veteran and iconic Nigerian entertainer, Victor Olaiya, has died at the age of 89.
Bimbo Esho, managing director of Evergreen Music Company, announced his death on Wednesday, February 12.
The highlife music legend was said to have kicked the bucket around 12 noon on Wednesday.
Olaiya, a recipient of the Order of The Niger, was born on 31 December 1930 in Calabar, Cross River State.
The late icon was a trumpeter and singer who embodies the highlife genre.
Olaiya attained fame in Nigeria during the ’50s and early ’60s. His mastery of the genre led to him being dubbed “The Evil Genius of Highlife” by Alade Odunewu of Daily Times.
His music cuts across Ghanaian highlife and Afrobeat although his musical style was influenced by James Brown.
As it appears, his legend is as old as Nigeria, if not older. In 1960, he played at the state ball held on independence day and also performed in 1966, when Nigeria became a republic.
In July 2013, Victor Olaiya released the remix of Baby Jowo (Baby Mi Da) with 2face idibia.
Till his death, Olaiya refused to retire from performing and making music. In 2017, he shut down rumours that he had drawn the curtain on his music career.
Olaiya had noted that he had many more years of highlife music in him, adding that he still honours “social engagements” across the country.
“I want to state categorically that I still perform live on stage with my band, the International All Stars Orchestra, every Saturday at the Papingo Night Club of Stadium Hotel, Surulere, Lagos, while I also honour social engagements across the country.
“I therefore wish to use this medium to thank all my fans and other lovers of highlife music across the globe, who have expressed concern through several telephone calls and personal visits since when the story broke, while I assure them of many more years of the best of highlife music.”
Olaiya, a former president of the Nigerian Union of Musicians, received a fellowship of the Institute of Administrative Management of Nigeria in 1990.