Meet 23-year-old medical doctor with a passion for music

How was growing up for you? I lost my father at the age of 8 and our mother had to raise the seven of us all by herself.  Growing up wasn’t anything to really write home about; life was just life for us.  I left for Ukraine at the age of 17 to study medicine […]

How was growing up for you?
I lost my father at the age of 8 and our mother had to raise the seven of us all by herself.  Growing up wasn’t anything to really write home about; life was just life for us.
 I left for Ukraine at the age of 17 to study medicine and I returned to the country last year. I have not started practising because there are certain things that need to be done in terms of internship and some examinations.
 Presently, I am into full-time music and I have relocated to Kano in pursuance of my musical career.

Why music?
I can say this is something that I can’t explain. I started music while I was in secondary school. I can’t tell you how I got interested in music; if I must answer the question, I would rather say it is just in me to do music. I was already a musician before being a medicine student and I never dropped music even while studying.
 People always find it difficult to believe that I was doing music while studying in Ukraine. I conditioned myself to do both simultaneously without neglecting any of the two. The question always posed to me was, ‘How do you mix one of the hardest courses in academics with music at the same time? But then, people failed to understand that to me music is just like a hobby and I do not need to study it to practise it. Moreover, as I stated earlier, I was already into music before my studies in Ukraine.

Would you still be able to combine the two when you eventually start medical practice?
Yes, I will definitely do. Music has always been part of me and it is still in me, therefore, it is going to be music for me while I do what I was trained to do.

What kind of music do you do?
Basically, I was into Techno’s kind of music. However, on my return to Nigeria I found out that such a brand of music doesn’t go down well with the audience and since I am not doing music for myself, I need to adapt to what the people want. If you check some of my videos done in Ukraine you will understand more what I am talking about.
 In Nigeria, I can say I am into all kinds of music for now. I am collaborating with the home-based artistes to give out what the people want, and for me to get acquainted with the trend.

Have you produced any album so far?
No, I haven’t, but presently I have about 50 singles and three official music videos. However, I am presently working on the possibility of making a video album before doing an album proper.
 I am also considering going into Hausa movies based on advice I have received from a lot of fans. I am also considering exploring other avenues in the entertainment industry as time goes by.

Movies would be adding another line. Are you sure you can cope with the three?
It is possible. In practising medicine you have enough time for yourself. I want to use those moments to try a lot of things. To me, it would be easy because I have programmed myself on what I want to do. I believe I can do them all.

Most music artistes believe Lagos is the main place to make an impact. Are you also going there?
I would have been in Lagos this moment if I believe in that line. I strongly have the feeling that Kano State possesses capable hands to take any artiste to his desired limit. I intend to be here and build up a strong musical network and use my potential to develop it and make it worthwhile.

Your video ‘Almajiri’ seems to be drawing a lot of attention. What really made you shot that video?
Literarily, the word, ‘Almajiri’, means a person on a journey or a mission. I was in Ukraine in search of knowledge, so I was an ‘Almajiri’. I believe that with the help of our communities, our Almajiris, who are considered a menace, could also be productive and useful to their communities. I really felt bad when I saw how these innocent children were being castigated for no fault of theirs.
I want to give them hope, to let them know that the person they are seeing on their screen was also an Almajiri, and they can be better than that person if they want to be.

Who writes your songs?
I wrote my lines but that was before I came back to Nigeria. Presently, I am working with Mas’ud of the famous Kano Riders group as one of my songwriters because writing music in Hausa is a bit difficult for me.