65 Years Of Nigerian Music: Music Legends Honoured By Evergreen Music

By Henry Akubuiro

They were the cynosure of all eyes at the MUSON Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, last Sunday. Age had taken a toll on some of them, others hovered around middle age, still full of life. For decades, crowds erupted with cheers as they mounted the stage. Fans danced, sang along and forgot their sorrows as the icons thrilled audiences home and abroad. Working as individual artistes, they added new, amazing chapters to the evolution of Nigerian music industry. Long before the Afrobeats era, where the Burna Boys, Davidos and Wizkids hold sway, they were the music chart toppers and the crowd pullers carolling about love, lores, unity, and lifting up our spirits. They were the real MacCoys.

In 65 years, Nigerian music has undergone a metamorphosis. The vanguards celebrated recently in Lagos created highlifile, juju, fuji, afrobeat, apala, pop and reggae genres, to mention a few. With the passage of time, some have bowed out of stage, but their legacies remain with us. Each time their music plays, it enkindles nostalgia.

On October 5, Evergreen Music, in conjunction with Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Culture, organised the Ariya Eko Independence Music Festival, celebrating Nigerian entertainment legends of yesteryear who had impacted the music and cultural scenes in the last 65 years. It was a night like no other. Music bands, including MFM Highlife Band, Afowoslide and Abiniby Groovy, Royal Bell Band, MFM Guitar Choir, Mentholkay and Nes Melody Makers Band, Modola and AJ Band serenaded the audience as they relived the hits of yesterdays and contemporary tunes. Everybody watching was gripped with awe, every face festooned with mirth.

The award receipts were mostly musicians, but there also music producers, cultural visionaries, filmmakers and a music label in their midst. Together, they chatted pathways for the Nigerian cultural entertainment industries.

Among the award recipients were the pop queen, Stella Monye; the Waka Queen, Salawa Abeni; 85-year-old Jossy Friday, and Dele Abiodun and Dele Abiodun. Other legends who received awards included 85-year-old Evangelist Ebenezer Obey (Cultural Innovator), Alhaji Kolawole Ayinla Ilori, 81-year-old Ken Calebs Olumese (the Nightlife Legend Award), Funmi Aragbai (Gospel Pioneers Award), and Tunde Kelani, (Distinguished Filmmaker Award).

Other awardees were the pop star, Alex O; Lemi Ghariokwu Lemi Abiodun, the visual artist and serial album sleeve designer; Toye Ajagun, Dr. Ola Balogun, Dr. D.A. Fasoyin, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, former PMAN president; Laolu Akins, the legendary producer: Evang. J.A. Adelakun, Prince Cyril Bamidele, Pa Sulaiman Aremu, and Nigeria’s oldest surviving music label, Premier Music.

The Special Guest of Honour, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwa-Olu, took time off his busy schedule to honour the epochmaking event in celebration of the country’s cultural custodians and visionaries. He lauded the noble initiative by Evergreen Music in creating the event and preserving Nigeria’s musical legacies. He added colour to the event by presenting some of the awards to the recipients, including Evangelist Ebenezer Obey and Mama Sioni. The two artistes, who also performed on stage, compelled many to dance and sing along. Obey lionised Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu for promoting cultural preservation and building the nation.

Managing director of Evergreen Musical Company Limited and the initiator of the project, Bimbo Esho, while speaking at the event, noted it was important to celebrate cultural icons while still alive as an incentive to up-and-coming artistes.

According to her, “Recognising the stars of yesteryear while they are still living is a great motivation, not only for them but also for upcoming artistes.”

As she noted, Ariya Eko “serves as both a tribute to the icons of yesteryears and a tool for fostering deeper cultural ties, encouraging cross-generational dialogue, and opening pathways for international cultural diplomacy.”

The music promoter said the 2025 Independence was meant to celebrate the undying impact of indigenous creativity on the Nigerian story, one that amplifyied voices that represented strength, pride, and resilience: “At its heart, Ariya Eko is a bridge between the young and the old; between the local and the global; between memory and innovation.

It is a celebration of Lagos, of Nigeria, and of the unyielding power of music to inspire, connect, and transform.”

Also conceived as “a tribute to the icons of yesteryears and a platform that strengthens cultural ties, fosters cross-generational dialogue, and opens new pathways for international cultural diplomacy, Bimbo deliberately used the festival as a platform to showcase Nigeria’s next generation of musicians, evidenced in their breathtaking performances.

The daughter of the legendary Babafemi Esho, founder of the Evergreen Musical Company and Evergreen Musical Foundation, said the fiesta would continue to be a yearly event. She also hinted that future award recipients would be carefully selected from the country’s rich reservoir talent. She was grateful to the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Culture for its support.

The intellectual aspect of the festival resonated with the speech by the cultural historian, Kunle Odufuwa, on nation-building and the unifying roles of indigenous musicians in Nigeria’s most trying times and thereafter.

The event was attended by the Oba of Lagos, Oba Riliwanu Akiolu, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal, the Oniru of Iru Kingdom; and Dr. Ayo Oladele, representative of the founder of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries (MFM) and Patron of Evergreen Music Heritage Foundation, Dr. Daniel Olukoya, who announced a cash donation of N500,000 each to the awardees in recognition of their legacies and creativity. A lover of music, he also said he was running a music centre aimed at empowering Nigerian youths using creativity as a tool and a move to discourage anti-social behaviours among the youths.