I’ve asked to be buried with a torch – Zaaki Azzay

Zaaki Azzay is a popular Nigerian musician who cut his teeth in the industry before veering into television with a talk show ‘True Nigerian’. He is currently the National Chairman, Media and Protocol for Performing Musicians and Artistes of Nigeria (PMAN). Azzay, who hails from Vandekiya Local Government Area of Benue state spoke to Daily […]

Zaaki Azzay is a popular Nigerian musician who cut his teeth in the industry before veering into television with a talk show ‘True Nigerian’. He is currently the National Chairman, Media and Protocol for Performing Musicians and Artistes of Nigeria (PMAN). Azzay, who hails from Vandekiya Local Government Area of Benue state spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday in Makurdi about his love for music, passion for television talk show and family life. Excerpts:

What inspired you to go into music?
While I was growing up in Kaduna State at the Angwan Rimi GRA, I had an obsession of doing something that would influence people positively. At that time, the governors were military men so I wanted to either be a military man or a musician through which my dreams of touching lives would come true. I then made up my mind that if I make up to eight credits in my school certificate examination, I would go for military service but of course, I came out with six credits and a pass. That was how I went into music. I actually started singing at the age of 12 among my friends, then, I started going to the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) station to mime songs of popular musicians. I would act and dress like those popular musician to the extent that I became very famous.
 
At what point did you break through?
I was watching television in Kaduna then and I saw Sunny Ade performing in Europe and I felt bad. I just felt like a local champion. I started nursing the idea that I could go international like Sunny Ade, which for me meant that I would have to relocate to the Southwest but the news we hear about Southern Nigeria then was horrible. For us in the North then, it was like a taboo going to the South but I encouraged myself and then took the bold step to leave Kaduna for Lagos.  I will say that was my breakout point in 1991.
 
You abandoned your education?
I left education and went into music. But, I’m back to school now and in my 300 level at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). I’m studying Political Science.
 
At what point did you shift attention to start your own talk show, ‘True Nigerians’ on television?
Over six years ago I had a bad experience. I did an album launch at Planet One in Lagos; I had invited people such as Owelle Rochas Okorocha who wasn’t a governor then, former deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu among others but unfortunately for me, at that time there was a political tussle in the country. It was during the time former President Olusegun Obasanjo was deciding to pick late President Umaru Yar’adua as his successor. I had spent a fortune to put the event together because I was expecting all the dignitaries invited to be at the occasion. The hall was actually filled to capacity with the show quite successful, however it failed financially. That was because the heavy weights that should have launched the album did not attend so I ran into trouble with the owners of the event venue. They even seized one of my jeeps because I couldn’t foot my bills. There were lot of things that I should have used the occasion to do but couldn’t due to the financial flop so I started thinking. The period created a lot of time for me to think, especially since I have always wanted to do something positive for Nigeria; I started thinking of what other thing I could do. The television show was not the particular idea of what I wanted to do, I wanted to affect the lives of the ordinary Nigerian because I felt it is not just the duty of the leaders to touch people’s lives. So gradually, the name ‘True Nigerians’ settled on my mind. I’m a great fan of the late footballer, Rasheed Yekini, who I see as a true Nigerian, the same goes for me with Peter Rufai and other great footballers who rot away at the end of their career without the country doing anything for them in return. The late Sunny Okosun was also a great influence on me, I’m happy Onyeka Owenu is settled now. There are some people like them who have contributed so much to this country in one way or the other but they go uncelebrated. As a country, we must celebrate those who have done very well so that people who are doing wrong things would regret their actions. So the idea of True Nigerians is to celebrate these heroes while they are still living. The only person I remembered was given attention when he died was Fela and that was done by the Lagos State government. Recently, Dan Maraya Jos passed on and it was like nothing happened despite the fact that people like him were great. It does bother me and that was why I decided to start using the television platform to celebrate such people.
 
How would you quantify the impact your talk show has made on people?
Whao! I’m so happy with the programme despite the challenge of sponsorship. What keeps me going is the positive effect of the programme on people. I still remember a poor fisherman that I featured on the programme. He had been a fisherman for 50 years and was able to raise his child to be a graduate. This man lives in a hovel so I felt he needed to be encouraged because he is a hero in his own right. While I had a conversation with him about featuring him on the programme, he made a request that one last thing he would want to see happen for him before taking his last breath was to fly in an airplane. He had never traveled by plane so I got IRS Airline to give us a ticket while Nanet Suites gave us hotel rooms and then we flew to Abuja from Lagos. The man was dressed in the suits provided for us by ‘Above and Beyond’, there were five suits, five shoes, five jackets and five shirts. It was complete attire that included ties as well. We put him in a big car with his family and made him feel good. After that programme, a good spirited individual contributed a fishing boat to help the man carry out his occupation with less stress. There was another Idoma girl who sings very well. We featured her on the programme and a pastor took over her sponsorship. There are lots of people like that including politicians which the programme has highlighted positively. However, I’m most happy with the programme because it is teaching the youth morals. I made my first millions at age 16 through dint of hard work but most of these young ones think that money is plucked from the tree; they don’t know how to work for it. But, when they watch stars who come to the programme talk about their lives, how much they suffered and persevered to become what they are presently, these boys who think they can just make it on a platter of gold often do have a change of mind to do the right thing. After watching the programme, some of them who maybe currently hawking would be encouraged to take a cue from those that told stories of how they rose from nobody to become somebody.
 
It doesn’t seem like you are much into music these days?
I’m still very much into music. I’m recording at the moment and will soon launch another album. The thing about music is that you look fresh when you just debut on the scene and every artiste experience this stage. You will agree with me that 2face for instance, is not exactly celebrated the same way he was when he first came up. That does not mean he is not selling more, to be honest with you, 2face is making more money now. There is a time of breakthrough for every artiste, and then he or she establishes firmly and now have a choice of where to perform such that people can’t just invite you except they have your fees.
 
So have you reached that level?
Of course, I have. If not surpassed that level at least.
 
And your fees?
No…it is a normal thing. Artistes have class just like everybody has class. My first fee when I started was N5, 000, that was what I was being paid until gradually it became N30, 000, N150, 000 and then N500, 000 upwards.
 
Music in today’s Nigeria has become an all comers’ affairs. What are the measures being put in place by PMAN to ensure core professional practices?
The major problem with PMAN is PMAN itself. The question you asked are issues we supposed to have addressed long ago but how could we have done so when we don’t have a proper union in place. Our presidents in the past have really not seen things from the perspective of this present PMAN leadership. For the first time ever, we are actually getting it right now, we currently have biometric cards and the banks are working with us. The new president of PMAN is very sound. He has brought in several ideas that are really working. Our royalties and insurance are now secured as artistes. Gone are the days that our heroes such as Okosun will pass away without recognition, people like him are millionaires by their works over the years which people just download on the internet. The monies are there hanging with nobody to collect them, so that is the structure that the new PMAN in the country has put in place. If everybody in the music industry comes together, we will then have rules on how to be an artiste. To address your question, we are putting our house together at the moment and all other issues to be addressed will follow.
 
Between music and television talk show which one makes more meaning to you?
Music is my first love. I love music and I will die singing. I can’t leave music for anything but the television programme is satisfactory. I’m happy that I’m contributing to my country and it is making people discover me in varied ways. The television is actually a prelude to True Nigerian award which would be merited by those who contribute positively to the development of the country. The award is being planned in such a way that only the president can give it to the awardees.
 
How do you combine work and family?
I give God priority in my life. My family takes the second place, I spend quality time with them and then my career follows. Because of this, I don’t have an unstable family life; my best form of relaxation is to spend time with my wife and kids. Although my first marriage didn’t work out; it was no fault of mine. No matter the kind of wealth one amasses what counts at the end is family. Except a man who doesn’t have wisdom, what matters in life is people and how you treat them, among these people, your family will stand for you at all times. All the wealth we work hard to accumulate is for the family, for the continuity of another generation. I have advised my colleagues with funky names to do something about it because for instance if you are married, your wife cannot be answering Mrs. P Square. If you are working hard and you become famous, your name matters because it can open doors such that you can leave a legacy of a good name behind for generations to enjoy. 2face came to me during an event in Lagos with a lady, we exchanged pleasantries and he asked if I knew her but I replied in the negative. However when he mentioned her name, her surname, Ikwue caught my attention and I screamed, is she Bongos Ikwue’s daughter? I was so excited and gave her more attention, which is what a name can do. If Bongos Ikwue was bearing Black Arrow, there was no way I would have known his daughter through her surname. This is why I think every artiste should leave a good name behind for their families.
 
You have this torch that you carry with you everywhere. The black and white cap you also wear distinguishes you. Is there any spiritual connotation to the two items?
The torch means a lot to me. The torch is more important to me than the cap because it has a spiritual connotation. At the time I started as an artiste, there was no hip-hop in Nigeria. The likes of Majek Fashek, Daniel Wilson among others were reigning and they were dancing reggae. I remembered that particular day that I was praying while recording my first album. I looked across in the studio and saw an old torch owned by a security man. I had told God to help me with the music I was about to release since it was not known in the country because people prefer the reggae. I pleaded with God to make me famous through the music because that was all I knew how to do and then I walked to pick up the torch. I held it up to God that it was a covenant between me and Him. I said to God that no matter how famous and rich I become, I would not derail and that the torch means that He will show me the way  since He is the salt and light of the world. From that moment, I held unto the torch until the security man came for it and I bought another torch. The torch signifies a covenant between me and God. And whao! That album was a hit. It was a very popular song. I have told my wife that when I die, they should put a big torchlight in my coffin when I’m being buried. As for the cap, I’m proud of where I come from because it depicts the Tiv people cultural attire. I believe that originality is just being yourself, if God has chosen to create me from Benue State, then I should flaunt it. It was the way presenters talk on radio and television like the whites and musicians trying to display other people culture that propelled me to wear the cap.
 
Which of your works do you think is the best?
I love my mother a lot, so my best song is the one on women empowerment. Everything I know about working hard and trusting in God was taught by my mother. My father didn’t teach me that because he was always busy. My father Thomas Attahve Fatai was a director-general in the Federal Ministry of Information. We are five in my family and I’m the first son and that’s why I’m called Zaaki. After my father died and things became rough, it was my elder sister that helped me from where I was to get to this level today. It has been women all the way.
 
Can you recall your most embarrassing moment?
The only one I remember is Don Jazzy. Some years back, there was an event in Victoria Island in Lagos where I met Don; we had known each other even before he became famous. Normally, as an elder I should have waited for him to come and greet me but I walked up to salute him. But the way he replied made me feel really bad. It was very embarrassing for me. I will not forget that day; it was like the ground should open to swallow me.

How is the music industry contributing to the country’s economy?
We had met with the former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. With the analyses of the banks, music would contribute to the nation’s economy more than oil even before the prices crashed in the international market. Oil is contributing N5 trillion while music is contributing N9 trillion. By the time our union gets everything right, Nigeria should be fetching N9 trillion from the music industry. Other countries depend on entertainment, for instance, Bollywood contributes greatly to India. Our leaders need to do the right thing to encourage us. The only president that has supported entertainment in the history of this country is Goodluck Jonathan. Even the National Assembly has not been able to pass any bill that would favour us in the fight against piracy. The whole of Africa depend on Nigerian music. I have travelled to French countries and 50 percent of what I hear on their air waves is Nigerian music. It is the same in America and European countries so Nigeria is bigger than what people think. Our musicians are losing but guess who loses more, the government. Biometric cards and good leadership would solve these challenges. I appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to look into these issues because it would take many youths off the street.

Can you recall your happiest moment?
I like children a lot so my happiest moment is whenever my wife gives birth. I have four children. But, I remarried so I will let her have two children, I think that’s just to be fair.
 
What occupation would you have taking to if you were not doing music?
I would have been the Nigerian president like Buhari or a military general. I like the military; I really wanted to be an army officer.