Ezebuiro Obinna
Ezebuiro Obinna (died June 2, 1999), the legendary Ultimate Dr. Sir Warrior, was the leader of the famous Oriental Brothers International Band which ruled the Nigerian highlife music scene for several decades.[1]. He strategically modernized and revolutionized highlife. His style remains an epitome of defined music with meaning, direction and purpose. He played on various occasions in Nigeria as well as on the international stage in places like London and United States of America.
At the age of 27 in 1974, Warrior registered an indelible trademark with his universally recognized genre. His subsequent 1975 album Nwa Ada Di Mma with eight tracks was a touch of originality. He carefully and selectively intertwined elegance, delicacy and politeness to fashion his music into a world class and timeless record. His spectacular works garnered him several awards. The productions of this artist were often praised for the order and principled nature there in. His clever and witty remarks often spiced with Igbo proverbs were appreciated by all so much that he came to be called the Prolific Philosopher of Rejuvenation.
Together with the ever-vibrant Dansatch Ferdinand Emeka Opara, Dr. Sir Warrior was valued as one of the most gifted guitarists to grace the face of Africa. The versatile composer was an encompassing talent in the lyrical language. Asked how he came up with the numerous songs he wrote and composed, he replied saying that he followed stringent learning to arrange his music suitable to the audience, and that the first and foremost thing was not to force the self to get everything all at once. Instead, he added, he would let the mind to feel the free flow of information that formed a flexible pattern of waves to the senses. At this, Warrior concluded that his inspiration came from above as a Divine gift: Chukwu kere m ni si m kubara ya egwu.
The Genesis
Dr. Sir Warrior started his music career as part one of the most successful bands in Nigeria in the 1970s, the Oriental Brothers International Band. The band later splintered, leading to Prince Ichita & the Great Oriental Brothers International Band, Oriental Brothers International and then the original Dr. Sir Warrior & His Oriental Brothers International, simply called The Oriental Original. Warrior’s discography is luminous with over 100 tracks that continue to be great hits. His 1978 album Nwanne Abu Enyi went Platinum, selling more than 7.8 million copies and remains “the talk of the town” till date.
Primarily, the Oriental Brothers comprised Godwin Kabaaka Opara, Ferdinand Dansatch Emeka Opara, Nathaniel Ejiogu, Hybrilious Akwilla Alaraibe, Prince Ichita and Christogonus Ezebuiro "Warrior" Obinna. Ejiogu died shortly before the band's success. The first split within the group occurred in 1977 when founding members Dansatch Opara and Prince Ichita left to start their own bands under the Oriental Brothers moniker. The Opara brothers later joined the famed and distinguished Warrior’s band, The Oriental Original.
Though each of the groups had their distinct sound, they all shared the erstwhile band's passion for blending Congolese guitar picking and traditional Igbo rhythms. At a time of immense loss and great struggle after the Biafran War, the Oriental Brothers offered a rare light of hope. According to the Igbo magazine Kwenu, “the Oriental Brothers played a very important spiritual role in keeping many Igbo sane. They were the pride of a people traumatized by a war so vicious.”
The Oyorima Fantasia
Combining Igbo vocals with deft guitar work and a solid rhythm section, the Oriental Brothers created a unique style of Nigerian highlife that for many people is the definitive sound of Nigerian highlife music. Warrior brought happiness to everybody through the music he played. He was the friend of all, and many still refer him as the Original King of Igbo Highlife. Early in life he was recognized as a prodigy that by 11, he was conscripted into the highly evolved Owere men’s music. By 16, he was famed for his powerful voice as well as his mastery of the heartland hits characterized by the Èsè music.
When in 1992 he was singing alongside the other two Igbo highlife players, one articulate observer named Ezekwelu Okonkwo uttered "Two musicians and a maestro". Hailing from Umuhu Inyi-Ogwugwu in Agbaaja Mbaise, many consider Warrior to be one of the most influential musicians to come out of Igboland, and most definitely one of the most well known. A highly reputed philosopher, he very much unrolled the inner core of the Igbo universe to the world through his magical and ebullient oratory and classy lyrics. He introduced the Oyorima concept as a dimensional part of the definition of his music philosophy within the geo-spatial time frame. The term Oyorima can be explained as a refined transcendental feeling of equilibrium and happiness where the body is elevated and the soul evolves and connects to the essence through a sort of enchanted vibration.
He was of the school of thought that a leader emerges and is then recognized and is equivocally selected by the majority – as opposed to the idea that the king is directly crowned: E ji-amu Eze amu; e jighi echi ya echi. This reasoning rests on the notion that what may appear as a contest is not really a contest because, inasmuch as everybody gets what he deserves, some person or people are chosen at the expense of others: “There are many trees in the bush, but one goes there to look for the ukazi tree.” Neither did Warrior will this condition nor did he want to change it as he remarked that it is not us that made the world the way it is. No matter the condition that befalls one, this God-fearing man counseled patience (Ndidi ka e ji-eji emegbu uwa) and faith in the almighty: Chukwu mere ihe di mma; kelee ya na o ruru oru ebube.
The Maestro, the Music, and the Message
Warrior usually had a compact control of his music from the first beat to the last. Many described him as the one musician who occupied the central stage, touching the right issues the right way and at the right pace. A number of other musicians were somewhat perceived as sounding slow, unsettled and adulterated for their inability to position well in their track. But Dr. Sir Warrior was continuously held in esteem as one of the few artists with an inborn instinct of the nature of the musical note. Succinctly capturing the idea of his message will take voluminous encyclopedic series of books. But, if one may try to summarize the deep-grounded philosophy of this second-to-none enigma, it can be briefed into these ten lines:
- "Change is inevitable"
- "No one sees it all or has it all"
- "A person cannot be an island"
- "The wise chooses according to his ability"
- "The successful humbly and gradually grows outwardly starting from his noble niche"
- "Principled patience and submission do neither mean weakness nor fear"
- "Everybody deserves good treatment, good things and even a second chance"
- "Freedom for all exemplifies the choice for good and for progress"
- "Our message is for the betterment of the world"
- "Payment awaits all tantamount to every act and thought"
While some other Igbo musicians were criticized of being too traditional and inconsistent, a great multitude applauded the brilliant spirit of Warrior for his admixture of luster and class in his songs. Something easily noticed is that Warrior's songs are generally swifter and brisker than his contemporaries'. The man did more than others in integrating various sheds of highlife that relate to various age set and various occasions. It is for these reasons that Warrior's songs remain in such a high demand. If anyone deserved the crown of his disciplined practice, it was Warrior. He asked deeply important questions and worked so hard with his Oriental Original Band so that the order of the day was to perfect the beat. Just in 1989, the whole Igboland and the world at large reverberated over the much-beloved Onye Egbule Nwanne Ya. This particular track immediately went Platinum and made so much impact on the audience that many questioned the limit of musical tone. As a further testament of his originality, Warrior once again distinguished himself in a clean-cut manner with his 1994 release of Ofe Owerri. Such a notable album marked a milestone in the revolution of highlife music, as it employed grandeur of beating so epicurean that it was voted the Igbo music of the year. The track Uwa Chiga Achiga from this very album remains the all-time favorite and the best Igbo highlife performance by a duo.
This generous, erudite and very likable personality so often stressed the importance of humaneness and charity to the less privileged. A man of numerous titles and vast wealth, Warrior himself formed channels through which to give back to the society. This was evident in his goodwill hand to the church and the needy. He emphasized justice and the dignity of man. He asked the question if existence itself is worth it. Of these, he plainly concluded that “we appeared into this world in the thickset of night, and that is the root of the problem”. In other words, we cannot be definitely certain of anything. As the world is slippery, he sang, one encounters both the good and the ugly: A gbakwuru ajo mmadu, a gbakwuru ajo mmuo. And for those that never see the good side of life and those who would never appreciate good things, he reminded them that “it is with accumulation of one’s good time on earth that one departs to the other dimension”. Therefore, it should be known that there is no one for whom it is good. And all things being equal, one should be happy and jovial and take things easy step by step without nagging and much ado for nothing. For that enthusiastic brain who thinks he knows more than others, Sir Warrior calmed him down and reminded him that there are equally capable people around, the only thing being that they have chosen to appear as if they do not know.
Today, Dr. Sir Warrior's works are being studied and classified. Igbo academicians alike met to include the learning of the legend's lyrics in Music subject in the curriculum. This music art prodigy's brilliance keeps inspiring many who regard him as the Igbo Highlife musician of the twentieth century. He died in 1999 and is immortalized with the Imo State Heartland FM [100.5 MHz][2] dedicated to playing his tracks. His sons Uche Obinna and Ajuzieogu Obinna and his brother Emperor Teddy Obinna have taken after this magnificent maestro.
Discography
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References
- ^ Duru, Ben. "Musicians, Others Remember Sir Warrior". Post Express. July 2, 1999.
- ^ NBC link to the Heartland FM of Imo State
See also
- Opara, D. Heavy on the Highlife: Nigeria's Dr. Sir Warrior and the Oriental Brothers International. New York: Original, 1990.
- Wale, P. The Highlife Years: History of Highlife Music in Nigeria. Ibadan: Effective, 1995.