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Renowned Nigeria musician and highlife musician, Victor Abimbola Olaiya, has passed on. The doyen of highlife music died on February 12, 2020 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos. Aged 89, the deceased dominated the Nigerian musical scene with his brand of highlife in the 1950s and 1960s. He was known for his trumpet and trademark white handkerchief.
Born in Calabar in Cross River State to parents who hailed from Ijesha-Ishu in Ekiti State, he was the 20th of his father’s 24 children. After his early education in Calabar, he moved to Lagos with his parents. Though he obtained the secondary school certificate in 1951, and was offered admission to Howard University in the United States to read Civil Engineering, he opted to pursue a career in music, which his parents did not approve. He had learnt to play the Bombardon and the French Horn.
Olaiya associated with many highlife bands that were the rave of the movement then. He played with the Sam Akpabot Band. He was leader and trumpeter for the Old Lagos City Orchestra. He also had a stint with the Bobby Benson Jam Session Orchestra, before he formed his own band, The Cool Cats, in 1954. He later established the All Stars Band with which he played at the International Jazz Festival, which held in Czechoslovakia in 1963.
Olaiya also established himself as a great trumpeter and a versatile exponent of the highlife musical genre. Some of his early influences included James Brown, the King of Rock and Soul who greatly shaped his style of music and Bobby Benson, a great highlife musician. He was also influenced by the great Ghanaian highlife maestro, E.T. Mensah, with whom he released an album. Tony Allen and Fela Kuti played with Olaiya before they went on to achieve individual success.
As a successful musician, Olaiya played at the state ball held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the country in 1956. He was the star musician at the Independence celebrations that was to follow soon after in 1960 and shared the stage with famous American Jazz exponent, Louis Armstrong, when Nigeria became a Republic in 1963.
During the unfortunate Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970, Olaiya played a role in keeping the morale of the federal troops high as he was commissioned to play for them in a number of war locations. For this, he was invested with an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
His hits included Omo Pupa, Mofe Mu Yan, Iye Jemila, Omolanke and the evergreen, Baby Jowo. His most memorable outing was the video re-mixes of the latter album, which featured popular R&B crooner, 2face Idibia. The music, which was released in 2013, attracted rave reviews and popular acclaim at home and abroad.
Outside music, Olaiya was also a successful businessman. He imported and distributed musical equipment throughout the West African sub-region. He was also the owner of the popular Stadium Hotel in Surulere, Lagos. His musical career, which spanned over many decades, would go down as one of the longest in contemporary Nigerian musical history. He greatly held his own among talented contemporaries, such as Zeal Onyia, Rex Lawson, Osita Osadebe, Bobby Benson and Victor Uwaifo. He will be remembered for his invaluable contributions to the growth of highlife music in the country. We urge the Federal Government to immortalise him.
For his giant strides in music and business, Olaiya was invested with the honorary fellowship of the National Institute of Management (NIM) in 1991. He was survived by wives, many children and grand-children, including the famous actress, Moji Olaiya, who died a few years ago. There is no doubt that he would be greatly missed by all who loved his brand of highlife music, which he played with great inspiration and energy. We commiserate with his family, fans and the musical community over the irreparable loss.
May God grant him eternal rest.
