The death of music collector Femi Esho, documentarist Tam Fiofori and painter Zinno Orara further robs the culture industry of institutional knowledge and experience.
IT’S been a torrid few weeks in the culture sector, with death scything down some of the grand players in the industry. Death is the end of all men, but the passing of these impactful players has further robbed the sector of the experience and ideas it needs in these challenging times.
The first shocker was the passing of the inimitable music collector and promoter of highlife music, Femi Esho, on June 17 at age 77.
Some critics have always noted how we, as Nigerians, don’t document our history. We don’t celebrate our achievements and chronicle them for the incoming generation to learn from. But this was different for the avid collector.
Through his Evergreen Musical Company Ltd, Baba Esho, as he was widely known, collected and documented music of yesteryears. He made them accessible and also celebrated the artists who produced this music. One wouldn’t have known about the Ikale musician Crosdale Juba but for his efforts. In my early years as a culture journalist, he compiled and reproduced all the songs of the artist launched with fanfare in Ibadan, Oyo State. I knew the late Mrs Comfort Omoge, another notable Ikale ‘old school’ musician, but had never before then heard of Juba.
Baba Esho improved my music education like he did for numerous others. His impact on preserving our musical heritage is immeasurable.
The company of the man whose music preservation efforts extended to Ghana owns the copyright to the complete works of musicians including Fela, Dr Victor Olaiya, Rex Lawson, Roy Chicago, Adeolu Akisanya, Tunde Nightingale, Ayinde Bakare, J. O. Araba, I. K. Dairo, Eddy Okonta, King Kenny Tone, Agidigbo, Juba, E. T. Mensah, Ramblers Dance Band, Black Beats, Uhuru Dance Band, Stargazers and C. K. Man.
His compilation of Sir Victor OIaiya’s music is one of my treasures. The compilation titled ‘The Footprints of a Victor’ featured Olaiya’s songs from 1954 to 2002. Though he promoted all forms of indigenous music genres — Apala, Sakara, Juju, Highlife, Fuji, Waka, Folk, Agidigbo, Afrobeat and Were– he appeared fond of highlife. He was a member of the now quiet Allstars Club, comprising some of the country’s leading highlife musicians. Before death decimated its ranks by taking Fatai Rolling Dollar, Alaba Pedro, Orlando Julius, and Olaiya, among others, the Club met regularly and often jammed together. Esho was a regular feature at its outings.
Even as he advanced in age, the man described as “the undisputed largest collector of music of yesteryears with over 150,000 vinyl plates made up of 78rpm breakable plates, 45rpm and 33rpm, hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes, thousands of cassette tapes of various music along with archival materials such as His Master’s Voice (HMV), various reel-to-reel machines, various turntables with the oldest 100 years old, books and newspaper articles on Nigerian music, video recordings of early Nigerian music icons,” was not tired.
His daughter, Bimbo Esho, announced in May that the company had launched the Evergreen Music Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the Mountain of Fire Ministries music-loving founder, Dr Daniel Olukoya.
She explained that the project was the biggest music museum and gallery in Africa, consisting of a music library, a music museum, a music gallery showcasing a headburst of artists, a display of over 1000 pictures of Nigerian musicians from 1914, relics of their costumes and old musical instruments, an event centre for music concerts, a cinema theatre, and a recording studio.
Billed to be completed by December, the avid collector won’t witness the inauguration.
Uncle Tam
I didn’t know the late documentary photographer, filmmaker, and critic, Uncle Tam Fiofori, who died on Tuesday, June 25, aged 82, until I moved to the defunct NEXT newspaper in 2008. He was one of the top columnists my Editor, Molara Wood, signed up for our weekly 16-page art pullout. We grew close over time. Though easygoing, Uncle Tam can be stern if you get on his wrong side.
He was a documentarist per excellence, recording landmark events such as the coronation of the 38th Oba of Benin in 1979 and that year’s presidential election that featured founding fathers, including the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His documentaries not only captured these events for posterity but also provided valuable insights into the political and cultural landscape of the time.
His ‘A Benin Coronation: Oba Erediauwa’ features 150 original photographs and 72 pages of text from the late king’s March 23 to 30, 1979 coronation.
‘1979’ about that year’s presidential campaign contains the iconic image of Chief Awolowo taken on the last campaign day on the podium.
“The photograph I have of Chief Awolowo taken in July 1979, on the last day of campaign for the presidential election, shows him on the podium, with the slogan ‘A man with a vision blessed with a mission’. Chief Awolowo is reading from a 12-page manifesto. I also have photographs of the crowd responding to him with the famous V- sign of the Unity Party of Nigeria every time he made a point,” he told me in a 2019 interview.
Baba Tam was widely travelled and had a catholic knowledge of the arts. His articles on his friend, Sun-Ra, whom he invited to Nigeria for FESTAC ‘77, were illuminating. Uncle Tam eventually published a book, ‘Sun Ra: Space, Music, Myth’ on him that same year. He explained why: “Sun Ra, I believe, is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. His philosophy was that the world was approaching the space age. No matter who you are or where you come from, you must prepare for the space age. He deliberately was trying to get the black people in the ghettos in Chicago to prepare themselves for the space age. The beauty of Sun-Ra was that he was a precursor of what you might call world music.
“He incorporated instruments from Africa, China, and others to create textural music based on the philosophy that every age should have music representing its space. We are entering the space age, so music must have that electronic aspect. I was his manager for seven years; I took him around Europe and introduced him to Robert Moog, a professor of physics at the University of Cornell and inventor of the Moog synthesiser. Today, Sun Ra’s ideas about space and Africa have been incorporated into a new philosophy called Afro-futurism.”
Documentary film credits of the artist from Rivers State include ‘J.D. Okhai Ojeikere: Master Photographer’, ‘Olu Amoda: A Metallic Journey’ and ‘Igbu Oja’ about Gerald Eze who plays Oja, the Igbo traditional flute. He also made one about the artists Juliet Ezenwa-Pearce and Peter King.
Filmmaker and festival organiser Femi Odugbemi, writing on behalf of the Directorate and Board of the iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival, Lagos, said of Uncle Tam: “His contributions to documentary filmmaking and photography were not just artistic expressions but powerful commentaries on society, culture, and history.
Tam Fiofori’s legacy is one of brilliance, innovation, and an unyielding spirit. He chronicled history and inspired a new generation of filmmakers and photographers to pursue truth and authenticity in their work. His absence will be deeply felt, but his influence will continue to guide and inspire us.”
Zinno Orara
Sadly, Uncle Tam wasn’t the only artist who passed on Tuesday. Visual artist, Zinno Orara, also did. His daughter, Majiri, broke the news, revealing that Orara died on Tuesday of an undisclosed cause. Born November 17, 1965, in Benin City, Orara attended Government College, Ughelli and Auchi Polytechnic. He graduated at 23 in 1988, specialising in painting and illustration. Orara had his last outing, ‘Refreshing Dialogue’ in Lagos last month.
It has been unending tributes to the trio by family, associates and others as their burial plans are awaited.
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