MINDSCOPE: Lagbaja

LAGBAJA

First written by Seye Adetunmbi on 30-12-10

When I heard the radio jingle of Lagbaja just before Christmas, I said Eegun was up to something again on the note of a ground-breaking. Eegun is the name a mutual friend and I call the producer of Lagbaja, Bisade Ologunde when in our elements with him as a friend. Eegun is the Yoruba name for a masked man, masquerade, it is pronounced and written as egigun in Ekiti dialect. Naturally I knew I was not going to miss the show all other things being equal because apart from me, Lagbaja has my boy, Madiba as his fan right from around age of two years when he had been able to recognize the music of one of the most ingenious musicians in Africa who also stands out among the best artists and innovative performers in the contemporary world. The special event which I classified as “family Christmas jam” held as scheduled at Motherlan’ on the eve of Christmas, 24th December 2010. The show was still in the mold of Lagbaja’s regular jam sessions with comedians and upcoming artists and performers providing interludes. The only difference was the special attention given to children during the show which was structured to start at 6 pm and it ended before midnight, a departure from the routine monthly till-dawn jams.

Lagbaja with Bukunmi Adetunmbi and other fans

His arrival accompanied with trumpet and dance to the stage through the aisle in the midst of the audience to express his traditional camaraderie to his ever excited fans must have thrilled to no bounds the children who were seeing Lagbaja live, for the first time. To say the children that couldn’t hide their excitement were in one of their happiest moments would amount to understating it. My little angel, four years old Semilore said she was going to hug him in admiration of the unique entertaining procession of Lagbaja to the stage. Lagbaja in his elements as a choirmaster conducted an impromptu children orchestra that sang few popular Christmas carols with the support of his female singers as lead vocalists. Eegun made the cute kids from about age two to eleven plus to entertain parents and other aficionados of Motherlan’ jam sessions. It was creativity at its best and the innocence of the children was a beauty to behold seeing them singing as convenient for each child without rehearsals and yet to the delight of the excited mixed audience of Nigerians and foreigners.

Dara Adetunmbi (holding microphone at the special Lagbaja Show for children at Motherlan in December 2010

The climax of the children segment of the show was a dancing competition. Seeing is believing when the batch of the very young ones had their dance. Lagbaja identified some dancers among the older children to prune the competitors to five. The dancing competition finalists were tasked to sing a favorite song which they were used to in their respective homes and my 7 years old daughter, Dara took the first shot and sang ope lo ye o, Baba olore…. and the band gave her solemn back-up with talking drum and other musical departments, the audience joined her in the rendition to the applause of all. The other competitors followed suit with one praise worship song or the other to the admiration of the surprised gathering of mixed music enthusiasts that were expecting konko below or ori mi wu o, e lagi mo etc! Who said Jesus has not conquered the world? He is the everlasting King.

Dancing competition for children at the first special family jam session at Motherlan’ on 24/12/10 was creative and entertaining. The prize was flat for the first three winners while the 4th and 5th went home with musical CD. Democratic Father Christmas Lagbaja used audience to decide the first three best dancers in the manner of children party setting for those in support to say yes. Dara who had always wanted to have her own telephone line won one of the Nokia phones as one of the first three winners. Thanks to Santa Claus Lagbaja 2010! Lagbaja has got another title from me for having some instincts of Father Christmas in him.

Looking back to the pre-mask days of the producer of Lagbaja, discerning ones who knew him as an undergraduate instrumentalist and those of us who had been seeing the entertainer in Bread & Butter days by Allen Avenue roundabout in the early 1990s may not be too surprised the success he has recorded as a masked performing artist. Like eleniyan, abami eda, the only one of its kind, Fela Anikulapo Kuti; his background as a son of a priest must have had early influence on his interest in Music. Bisade’s distinctive Baptist background of devout parents must have exposed him to musical instruments and best of choral songs in his growing up days. As a son of a distinguished organist, I can attest to the power of influence of such strong good music background in anyone’s deep seated interest in well harmonized music.

Some people wonder why he opted to continue his musical career with mask and took-up Lagbaja as the stage name. Though I have never engaged him on this issue, yet I would rather give it novelty inspired by the inherent characteristic modest nature of Bisade the great artist. Thus, I’m of the view that here is an artist who must have perceived stardom awaiting him and genuinely would wish to separate stage performance from the real person behind the mask. Unlike other stars, he can conveniently go wherever he wants to go like any other person without attracting undue attention to himself. Except you knew him at Government College, Ibadan or at University of Ife and those who knew him in the pre-mask performing days, he would conveniently go about his affairs unnoticed.

For some time in the late 1990s, he was part of us at the UNILAG Senior Staff Squash Club to keep fit. He rode his bicycle to Akoka and back to Ikeja quietly. Of course golden fish has no hiding place, and perhaps when fans got to know and the identity became tough to conceal he must have quietly reviewed his schedule. There was a time he had a show at Motherlan that featured two “Lagbajas” which accentuated the originality of the producer. That’s the vintage him for you.

Madiba, Dara, Seye and Semilore at Lagbaja’s Show in 2010

The mask concept is damn too innovative. It is not like the traditional masquerade which some people may have issue with, because the real masquerade doesn’t speak like human beings. Novel Lagbaja in his ago (costume/mask) speaks like you and I, and sings his songs to the positive reception of his teaming devotees. As a matter of fact, the original man behind the ago can travel abroad while Lagbaja performs here in Nigeria or vice-versa. It is the same principle behind those traditional masquerades in Yoruba nation that are over 100 years old and new performers will wear the costume to perform as a going concern. Creativity indeed is the mother of invention and kudos to the grand producer and the inimitable performing artist, one and only Bisade Ologunde. This has earned Lagbaja the classification of an institution in the contemporary world of music and institutions don’t die. In our old age we can conveniently watch Lagbaja perform to entertain us with my friend eegun himself in the audience holding a walking stick and so shall it be for the generations unborn as a going concern, ceteris paribus!