The mushy, sensible voice that carried the center of Igbo folklore has gone silent. Highlife maestro, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha, has handed on on the age of 95, abandoning a legacy that can proceed to echo via generations.

His son, Emma Ejeagha, confirmed that the beloved musician breathed his final on Friday night on the 32 Garrison Hospital in Enugu, after battling a protracted sickness.

Born on April 4, 1930, in Imezi Owa, Enugu State, Mike Ejeagha’s identify grew to become synonymous with storytelling via music. 

Over a profession spanning greater than six a long time, he remodeled the panorama of highlife music, weaving Igbo proverbs and conventional knowledge into melodies that resonated with younger and previous alike.

Songs like Omekagu, Uwa Mgbede Ka Mma, and the unforgettable Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche identified popularly by its catchy chorus ‘Gwo gwo gwo ngwo’ cemented his place as a cultural icon from the Nineteen Sixties via the Eighties.

However his affect prolonged past music charts. With greater than 300 recordings preserved within the Nationwide Archives of Nigeria, Ejeagha performed a significant position in safeguarding Igbo heritage for future generations.

In 1972, his voice reached an excellent wider viewers when he grew to become a visitor presenter on the Nigerian Tv Authority’s Igbo programme, Akuko N Egwu. It was one other platform via which he reminded his individuals of their roots and values.

Lately, Ejeagha’s timeless music discovered new followers when the observe ‘Gwo gwo gwo ngwo’ resurfaced on social media, due to a viral problem sparked by widespread content material creator Mind Jotter. The music’s sudden resurgence proved that nice artwork is aware of no age.

Recognising his immense contribution to tradition, the Enugu State authorities honoured Ejeagha final 12 months. Governor Peter Mbah not solely renamed the well-known Obinagu Street after him now often known as Mike Ejeagha Street but additionally pledged to take care of the ageing legend. 

The gesture got here with the heartfelt message that Enugu would all the time have fun its legends, not simply in sports activities, however in music and the humanities as nicely.

Throughout the commissioning ceremony, Governor Mbah paid glowing tribute to Ejeagha, describing him as a person who had introduced the spirit of Enugu and the richness of Igbo custom to life via his songs.

Mike Ejeagha is survived by his spouse, youngsters, and grandchildren. Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s music will eternally converse to the soul of the Igbo individuals, and certainly, to anybody who values the great thing about storytelling via music.