OLUWATOPE Lawanson l Thursday, March 17, 2022
LAGOS, Nigeria – Prof. Jeleel Ojuade of the Performing Arts Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Ilorin, Kwara, has described the late Fuji Music maestro, Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, as a genius.
Ojuade stated this at the first edition of the Sikiru Ayinde Barrister Colloquium on Wednesday in Lagos. Ojuade, who was speaking on, “Dr Sikiru Ayinde Agbajelola Barrister’s impactful Musical Exploits: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, said the fuji icon was a man who should have been celebrated more while alive.
He said that listening and watching the musician perform reshaped his thinking and knowledge of music and dance practice, which clearly showed that it takes a committed soul to pitch a tent in the creative world.
“How I wished this presentation was being done or showcased at an occasion celebrating the musical icon of our time either through the joyful celebration of his live birthday or a significant achievement while he was still alive.
“We shall then be able to understand better the veracity, complexity and enormity of the work he has done in his creation of narratives around the world of ‘Were’ as transformed to ‘Fuji’ music genre.
“His dexterity in the use of language, weaving of syllables in song and blending same with admixture of instrumentations were extra ordinary and amazing,” he said.
Ojuade said there was need to take a peek at the lifetime of Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister to understand the travails and triumphs in the institutionalisation of ‘Fuji’ as a musical genre.
He said Sakara and Apala music were in vogue while Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was growing up and that Baba Olatunji Yusuf and Haruna Ishola influenced his music career.
“Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was highly gifted and talented. His voice modulation could be likened to that of the hour glass drum in the creation of pitch and switching to different forms based on the knowledge and expertise of the handler.”
According to him, Barrister had mastery of Yoruba language, Arabic knowledge and that of the other tribes in Nigeria, and particularly knew when to express such in composition and renditions.
“He was a genius and not only a fantastic composer but a great musician. His ability to modulate his voice to different pitches was peculiar to him. His recitation of verses from the Holy Quran guaranteed a fan base he brought in from Ajiwere.
“Barrister’s high-pitched and silvery voice that he creatively modulated as he deemed fit for that moment alongside his gripping style of eulogising himself and his mother magnetised me to him.
“I completely agree with one of my academic sons, Folorunso Fatal Adisa, when he said: ‘I particularly envied Sikiru Ayinde’s genuine adoration of his mother, Haja Odere Sifawu.
“Where others could be pedestrian or not totally with it, a submissive listener could feel the passion, the pain and the joy of a mummy’s boy attempting to envelope his love fully addressed to his mom in just a song that was the man,” he said.
Ojuade said that Barrister, at any time, never hid his inexhaustible affection for his mother.
“For every time the late maestro mentioned his mom’s first name “Odere” in a song, his voice amazingly pitched differently with the support extraordinary instruments every time. Suffice to say that the love of a son for his mom is powerfully different, unexplainable and incomparable.
“He was a fantastic creator and had flair for innovative ideas. For instance, he introduced the application of piano to Fuji music in performance. It really amplified the sound and performance as demonstrated in ‘Fuji Garbage’ series. This display of adaptation of different musical formats and instrumentation kept him at the top till he died, ” he said.
Dr Muiz Banire, former Chairman of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) , said the colloquium should be an annual one, adding that he still learnt from Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister’s songs till date.
“It goes beyond music for me because listening to Barrister’s music also contributed to my religious life. There was a song he released after his house got burnt. He made some prayer points saying that only God does wonders and I still use that prayer point till date.
“I doubt if there is a single album he has released where he didn’t praise the Almighty God. Aside that, he talks about values, morals and other things that makes a song evergreen.” he said.
Juju Music icon, Chief Ebenezer Obey, also described Barrister as a person who lived an exemplary lifestyle. He said the late musician succeeded in influencing people positively with his music.
Veteran Fuji Musician, General Ayinla Killington, also praised the late fuji maestro, saying that they started together and that Barrister was always a dedicated and ambitious performer.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlights of the event were performances by Fuji artistes who relived the moment by singing some of the evergreen songs of late Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. The Fuji musicians included Taye Currency, Pasuma, Kolade Onanuga and Fuji Merege among others.
