Stakeholders in the music and entertainment industry have
highlighted the vital connection between music, entertainment and culture. The
stakeholders who convened at the Lagos Airport Hotel for the first ever
Roundtable on Yoruba music, Ariya Repete, also commended Goldberg lager beer
for the initiative, which they say, signals a cultural rejuvenation among
Yorubas.
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FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Mr. Funso Ayeni, Senior Brand
Manager, Regional Mainstream Brands, Nigerian Breweries; Patrick Olowokere,
Corporate Communications/Brands Manager, Nigerian Breweries; King Wasiu Ayinde
Marshall, a prominent Fuji Musician; His Royal Highness Oba Babatunde
Adetokunbo Awosunle; His Royal Highness, Oba Adebinni Asoya, who represented the Ooni of Ife, Oba
Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi; Sir Shina Peters, a prominent Juju Musician and Mr.
Emma Agu, Portfolio Manager, Regional Mainstream and Stout Brand, Nigerian
Breweries at the first Goldberg music roundtable in Lagos on Wednesday.
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In his keynote address at the roundtable which focused on
Juju and Fuji genres of music, Professor Tunde Babawale explained that the rich
cultural heritage of the Yoruba provided the foundation on which the music
genres of Juju and Fuji are built.
Babawale, a former Director and Chief Executive Officer
of the Center for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, CBAAC, noted that
the attachment of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria to music and
celebration has earned them the appellation of “Owambe”, a reference to their
love for ceremonies and celebrations.
He traced the origin of Juju music to the old Saro
(Olowogbowo) quarter of Lagos where the genre emerged from ‘asiko’ music
associated with “area boys” in the quarter and added that the genre also
incorporated Brazilian Samba elements and the guitar style of Kru sailors from
Liberia.
According to the professor, the music of the culture such
as Juju and Fuji has positively impacted every area of life of the Yorubas
including the reduction of socio-economic tension and the prevalence of
religious tolerance.
A prominent Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall
(KWAM 1) thanked the organisers and speakers at the event for what he described
as an educative initiative meant to preserve Fuji and Juju, vital aspects of
the music and culture of the Yorubas.
Sir Shina Peters, a frontline Juju musician also
commended Goldberg for providing such a platform to discuss indigenous music
and called on other corporate organisations to emulate the effort.
Ambrose Somide, a radio broadcaster with Faaji FM and a
panellist at the roundtable enjoined young musicians of Yoruba extraction to
endeavour to sustain the genres for the promotion of the Yoruba culture.
While welcoming guests to the forum, Mr. Kufre Ekanem,
Nigerian Breweries’ Corporate Affairs Adviser, who was represented by Patrick
Olowokere, the company’s Corporate Communications and Brand Public Relations
Manager, disclosed that the Ariya Repete initiative was borne out of the
company’s respect for tradition and values of the people.
The special guest of honour, His Imperial Majesty, Oba
Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi, (Ojaja II), the Ooni of Ife, who was
represented by Oba Adebiyi Asoya, the Asoya of Ile Asoya Kingdom, reiterated
the need to sustain the current cultural revival among Nigerians as championed
by Goldberg lager beer in the area of indigenous Yoruba music.
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