Memory Lane (1)

One day, I was passing through the end of Park Road, music was blaring out of a building. That building happened to be Unicoco Hotel. The block had openings such that someone could peep in to see what was going on, so I did peep in. I saw a musical group performing and people were dancing. I also saw so many people at the gate struggling to pay and get in. I wondered, "these people are struggling to pay and go in only to dance, and those guys playing will go home and share the money". I decided to enjoy such cool money, sitting or standing to play my instrument, watching people dancing, and sometimes fighting, and finally going home to share money with the other cool people on stage with me. I did it. The band that I saw when I peeped into Unicoco Hotel was Bob Miga and the Strangers. The song that they were playing has not left my head till today (must have been about 1973). The players finally left Bob Miga, formed One World and became everybody's darling. Cyril Abdullah never missed any of One World's shows at Unicoco Hotel. When I mustered the courage, I applied to the Apostles to be one of their vocalists. They invited me to an audition. I showed up on the agreed date. They were all on stage looking at me and I almost got intimited. I remembered that I started to play the keyboard from age four, and that there was nothing to fear. I knew that I belonged to the industry, but only needed to explore where to start the career. The Apostles' band leader Walton Arungwa, asked me which of their songs that I would feel comfortable singing. I told them "She's A Dropout". They played the song, and I vocalized it perfectly well. They complimented me and said that they would get in touch with me. They never hired me to join their band. What they did much later was to come to my house to pick me up whenever Benji (their organist) was away. I did some tours with them to places like Warri, Port Harcourt, etc.

Do you remember "Everyday when I question, and feel I can't find the answer, I don't know what to do, Oh yeah, one-more-time, everyday when I question, and feel I can't find the answer I don't know what to do, Oh yeah." That is a popular chorus in Tex Soul's hit song. Tex Soul also sang, "You'll make it someday (someday), someday in your life" (Sure, you will remember this.

Down, down the valley by the Apostles was one of the most powerful songs of our time. Remember "She's A Dropout". I cannot stop loving Apostles' songs. What about the Wings during the days of Spud Nathan? Manford Best was my favorite song writer. Spud was my favorite singer. Both of them wrote and sang songs that would make you cry. I memorized many of their songs. If I have anything good to do for somebody, I'll do it for Manford Best for very special reasons.

I do not think that I can do this exercise again. It was probably only possible at the time that soldiers were supervising us. Since the exercises were good for our physical fitness, there was no harm in doing them. However, after that, it was over. I was wondering whether Jonathan Akwada actually did it. He reported for youth service at a different time. He enjoyed life at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (That was some kind of America in Nigeria). I visited him once and loved the place!

It is amazing how youth service could be avoided by some people. It was fun keeping text books behind. I only used my native brain instead of memorizing principles and codes. I also made friends at all the activities scheduled as training to equip us in diverse strenuous situations. One of the toughest tasks was done at the Man-O-War Bay. I was not a big fan of that, but I knew that it was just for a time. It would come and go, and it did. I enjoyed youth service.

Odo-Oba Corpers Lodge

My gigantic building in Odo-Oba was like an Oba's Palace in the midst of a pretty-much unknown village. The building behind me is a two-level four-apartment facility. Each flat has three bedrooms. The front right flat (apartment) was where I lived. I occupied one bedroom (the very window upstairs that overlooks where I stand). My roommate (who hailed from a Yoruba-speaking area of Kwara State) lived in another room opposite mine while the third room was vacant. The adjacent flat had Fidelis Oboh, Felix and Moses O'himwen respectively occupying all three rooms. We did not have much to do with the corpers living downstairs. They were also nice guys, but for some reason, out interaction with them was minimal, if at all existent.

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)

At the end of my final exams, I received my results; the second best in my class and the third best in the entire institution. My youth corps posting came out a little late, and I was posted to Ibadan. I reported there, and spent my first few weeks at the Anglican Parsonage where two youth corpers were living and teaching for the Anglican College. Emmanuel Otutubuike and his friend from Anambra State lived there and taught there. It was from their corpers lodge that I set out every morning to the NYSC Secretariat in Ibadan to find out my posting. I was eventually posted to the Methodist College Campus of the Oyo State College of Education, Elekuro where I taught Business courses. I met Fidelis Oboh, Moses Omoruhimwen and other corpers. My corpers lodge was in Odo-Oba (behind Molete) in Ibadan. From there I commuted everyday to Elekuro to teach. I also visited University of Ibadan where my cousin, Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu, was studying statistics. My future brother-in-inlaw, Emmanuel Okoronkwo Chukwu, was also there studying Economics (I suppose). I also made a new friend Chibuzo Anyim who hails from Isiala-Ngwa. He was a very nice and friendly guy. During my youth corps activties, I developed and hosted "Igbo By Television" at the Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS), Ibadan. I was also in the NYSC Choir. I took part in a nationwide competion to find an Anthem for the NYSC. One colleague won the lyrics competition. I won the music composition. My martial music was rendered with the lyrics, and I won a national award for that anthem. At my award recognition night, I was invited to the Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja Lagos where Alhaji Bunu Sherif Musa read my citation and shook my hands (of course, that was a big deal). You know that everything is not money. I was happy that my composition won the first position and became the NYSC Anthem. A few people still remembered that the NYSC Anthem was composed by Frederick Nwosu (none other than Arthur Freds) while serving in Ibadan.

Traveling back and forth during the school year necessitated reading at night. This is what what I did everytime that I was on campus because I wanted to get one of the best results. and I did. While reading at night, you will be amazed to know that I listened a lot to music composed by Alex Kalu. He is one of the very good song writers around. My night was also so serene and only punctuated by the music coming from under my reading table. My television set was there to keep me current on events. I also watched myself on that set. Reading, reading and reading.

Coltech, Now Federal Polytechnic, Nekede

The program at the School of Business and Public Administration lasted for academic years. I spent most of that period traveling with bands or recording albums for different artists. I was out of town almost every weekend on tour with one group or another. I was also performing live shows in different cities during that four-year period. I will hold off on exactly how many days that I spent on that campus. I want to recollect, though that one day, someone had a party in the Old Market Road Hostel where I lived as a student. Girls were trooping in there for that party, and the porters did not stop them. It did not really matter to me, but one day two girls came to visit me and four of my class mates living in the hostel, but the porters said to me that it was past the time for visits. I referred them to the night that girls were trooping into the hostel, but the porters said that the party was organized by the hotel governor. I shouted 'Hostel Governor!!!!' I imagined me as a star musician, but a student in a higher institution. I did not believe in obstacles. I told them that I was going to become the hostel governor and have parties in the hostel in just that same way. They knew me. They loved my music. They respected me, and did not have any problem with my ambition. The next hostel governor was me! I chose the largest room (which I was entitled to, of course). I moved my closest classmates into that room called Governor's room. They were Dyke, Ugonna, Solo Petrus and Chyma. Whenever I traveled out of town to play music, I would first of all keep for them a crate of minerals, a carton of beer and every textbook needed for the courses. Whenever I returned from my music tour or recording sessions, I would copy notes from them - the notes that they made while attending lectures in my absence. I lived in a mansion. I had parties. I had guests any time of the day or any time of the night. I did not like the Ikenegbu Hostel. I did not even like the on-campus hostels. They felt like a joke to me whenever I went there to visit my classmates. I went for gyrations in town and out of town. I nominated Dyke for Chief and follow through until the night Dyke became the Chief of the Keggites as I had already become the Metuselah. My friends knew that I was behind it because I brought Dyke into the Keggite Club. When I graduated, I became the MetuFellow. My stay in Owerri was made possible, easy and enjoyable by Chief Dr. Nnamdi Olebara who was with the Imo Broadcasting Service at that time. He also gave me the first exposure to radio broadcasting, and people began to hear my voice on radio.