Sir Victor Uwaifo

THE demise of the iconic highlife maestro, Sir Victor Efosa Uwaifo, on August 28 certainly drew the curtains on an era of ebullience, energy and creativity in the Nigerian music and entertainment scene. Professor Victor Efosa Uwaifo was born in Benin City on March 1, 1941 and died there 80 years later. In those 80 years, Uwaifo straddled life’s labyrinth like a colossus with the bounteous bundle of talents he was blessed with. He become a variety of things, excelling in virtually all of them. After graduating in graphics from the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, in 1963, aged 22, Uwaifo had a brief stint at what is now known as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), from where he formed his first band, the Melody Maestros. He had earlier featured on the band of the late Victor Olaiya as a member.

In the year 1966, Uwaifo recorded the monster hit, Joromi, which was to earn him the golden record award, the very first in the annals of Nigeria’s entertainment industry. That marked a turning point in his career, registering his name in the national and global consciousness. A passionate lover of education, Uwaifo earned a First Class degree in the fine arts from the University of Benin and was the valedictorian for the year. He was aged 54 at the time. In 1997, he was awarded a master’s degree in the fine arts and it was no surprise that the University of Benin offered him an appointment. The nexus between Uwaifo and the  Benin kingdom was extremely deep, and this was reflected in, among other things, the title of his doctoral thesis: A Reinvention of Benin Royal Ancestral Pieces. Uwaifo specialised in architectural sculpture and eventually rose to become a professor in the university.

For someone who started playing the guitar at 12 years old, it was hardly any surprise that Uwaifo eventually chose music as a profession. But then, he was more than a musician because the whole spectrum of artistry was embedded in his persona. He was a sculptor, multi-instrumentalist, inventor, philosopher and, of course, a consummate academic. In an interview that he granted a television station, Uwaifo relived his younger years when he set a high jump record that was yet to be surpassed. In his home in Benin City, he was a also a body builder, a fact that must have accounted for his athletic gait and composure on the performance stage. It is on record that he had 12 golden records to his credit long before he was harvested by the grim reaper.

To be sure, Uwaifo also had momentous collaborations with the younger generations of musicians like Tuface Idibia, Darey Art Alade, Henry Sax, Tobi Adegoke, Kunle Ayo and Legator Osas in bid to train them and pass on the ideals of the profession for historical preservation. His views on the way modern music is evolving is instructive: the modern musicians must ignore the computer and learn how to read music professionally.“How can you call yourself a musician without knowing how to read notes?” he wondered. That is a big point for the modern musicians to ponder on.

We commiserate with the government and people of Edo State, members of the Nigerian entertainment industry and friends and family of the departed icon.  The country has lost one of its brightest stars. Good night, Sir (Professor) Victor Efosa Uwaifo. You will be sorely missed.

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