Today, December 16 marks the sixth anniversary of the passing of one of Nigeria’s most notable musicians, Sikiru Ayinde Balogun, better known as Alhaji Dr. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister.
And as it is now becoming very common, there has been almost zero remembrance of the man – not by his peers in Fuji music or among Fuji aficionados.
READ: The poetry of Mr. Fuji, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – A tribute by Lagbaja
Like it has been since his death in a London hospital the week before Christmas in 2010, little of his legacy has been celebrated; despite the fact that the Fuji music genre which he took farther than the handful of people that preceded him is a cultural phenomenon that transcends the Yoruba language that the art form is practiced in.
Alhaji Agba as his fans fondly referred to him, was responsible for the modern Fuji sound that is now known. From mostly a religious chorus known as ‘were’, his foray into music after a short military stint took him across the world.
Barrister was a regular at music festivals in Europe and America, and he helped create a lane that a generation of Fuji musicians would later gain from.
READ: 5 years after his death, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister’s biography to be released in December
It is to his credit that Fuji – which many people claim to be the only original Nigerian genre (unlike Juju, it didn’t have jazz or highlife influences) – travelled farther than the man himself did. In his lifetime, he released more a hundred albums.
Sadly, it seems as though Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is becoming a fading memory as each year passes. There has not been any memorial concert since he died nor as there been a commemoration of his artistry by Nigerians. We have all but forgotten the man who gave us ‘Fuji Garbage’ and the ‘Roger Milla’ dance.
In 2015, there were reports that a posthumous biography would be published while his Isolo mansion – where he held court until illness took him to his eventual deathbed in England – would be turned into a museum. Neither has happened.
READ: Like Fela’s, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister’s house to be converted into a museum
Even his proteges like KWAM1 do not celebrate him publicly – if at all they do so privately. All that is being done is status messages on the few Facebook pages of fans and a family member’s Instagram page.
However, an artiste of Barrister’s stature not only ought to be celebrated on the anniversaries of his death, his legacy ought to be taught in schools and cemented for generations unborn.
Till that happens, it will remain a dream of some of us, who were thoroughly blessed by the music of Barry Wonder, Dr. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and have only fond memories to remember him by.
Keep resting in peace.
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