My divorce story, by Zaaki Azzay

About twenty years. What was the beginning like for you? It was adventurous, difficult. First, the task of convincing my parents was herculean and eventually had to do it against their will. One of the things that made it difficult for me was because I was coming from the north. At the time nobody believed […]

About twenty years.

What was the beginning like for you?

It was adventurous, difficult. First, the task of convincing my parents was herculean and eventually had to do it against their will. One of the things that made it difficult for me was because I was coming from the north. At the time nobody believed anyone from the north could do anything reasonable especially in music.

You said nobody believed anybody from the north could do anything reasonable… was this a northern view or from outside?

In a way yes in the north because then music wasn’t perceived as a responsible trade. If you said then you wanted to do music they looked at you as a rascal. It was somehow shameful. In other parts of Nigeria the view was the same. Also, music in those parts was different from what I was doing. I was doing hip hop. Those who were making it at the time were Daniel Wilson, Blackky, Majek Fashek, Mandators and their likes who were doing reggae.

Most of the labels I went to at the time rejected me. They said I was doing American music and it won’t sell in Nigeria.

I really wanted to do rap. But it was impossible. So I did a rap remix of Onyeka Onwenu’s ‘One Love’ that was the hit song at the time. The companies halfheartedly said it was good but still didn’t sign me on. A woman, and artiste for EMI, Tolu Gay saw me sitting outside, dejected. We spoke about my situation and she said, ‘come’. There was no going back after that. She took me round all the key people. EMI gave me some money to go and record.

All along I hid the Hausa songs because if I brought them out first the companies wouldn’t buy into it.

I recorded the Onyeka song and then my Hausa songs. Because dancehall was the in-thing then I did a remix of Shaba Ranks ‘Mr. Loverman’ and then my hip hop songs like Mamman Shata’s. The reception of the album when released was a shocker. People embraced only the Hausa songs across Nigeria particularly Lagos. This is how I became a hit.

Does America still define the Nigerian style of music?

I would say it used to but not anymore. Western music at the time I started was a problem for us. That’s why then the juju, highlife and local musicians were the ones who sold. Most of the songs on our air waves were Western. Everybody was an American wanna be.

Some seven or five years back things changed and Nigerians finally embraced Nigerian music which gave the industry a boom.

Many consider you more Hausa than Tiv. What do you say of your identity?

I’m Tiv, born and raised in Kaduna as were my parents and grandparents. I speak more Hausa than Tiv, which I learnt at age 22.

Many think I’m from Kaduna state. I made everyone know my family was Benue when I started my music and my Tiv cap.

But Hausa is the second most spoken language in Africa. If I sing in Tiv it won’t sell me as much as Hausa. This is the reason I chose to sing in Hausa.

When you say the north was not productive at the time, what of the likes of Dan Maraya and Maman Shata who already had international recognition?

Dan Maraya and Maman Shata played for a certain crowd. Also their international recognitions were based on culture because they played traditional music. Mine is not tradition or cultural. This is the reason I was embraced in Lagos.

These people are my mentors. My first hit was Maman Shata’s song. As a child my father would invite Maman Shata to the house every month end to perform. So its music I grew up knowing.

After the remix of that song he was so happy that he invited to me to his hometown in Funtua. When I was living he offered me one of his pretty daughters as wife. But I was too young.

Looking back at those times what would you say to others coming up the ladder?

Talk is cheap. People preach all the time about hard work and perseverance with a wave of the hand. But hard work is very hard work.

What helped is the way I started living. My mother taught me very early about holding on to God. I believe that the Bible is the manual of life. There are basic principles about life that if one follows he will succeed. Because I trust in Him I operate in a way that my focus is always more on Him and I don’t get distracted by things happening around me.

Without meaning to boast, I don’t think there is anything that will make me fail in life because of my firm resolve in God.

I think this is a starting point for anyone who wants to be successful.

Nothing good comes easy and money is sweet when you work for it. Investments you make with such monies always yield fruits.

When the old speak to the young ones they say things like, ‘these old people don’t know what’s up. Things have changed’. I say today that the old ones know what’s up a lot more than the young ones do. They should be listened to.

As they say what the elders see sitting the young don’t even when standing.

I remember when I played for Bill Clinton, I was entertaining alongside King Sunny Ade. At the time I was about 18. Sunny Ade told me, when a small boy washes his hands well, he will eat with kings. That’s the way it’s been for my career.

When Sunny Ade, Sunny Okosun, Onyeka Onwennu performed I was there, almost always, filling the northern space.

You started a television programme. What is it about and what is its benefit for the audience?

I’m passionate about anything Nigeria or Nigerian. Apart from leadership the other thing stopping Nigeria from getting to its climax is togetherness.

In all of this leadership is still key. I also don’t agree with the two terms of eight years. I think twelve years of three terms would be more ideal because some projects cannot be handled in eight years.

What started my television programme, ‘True Nigerian’ was the fact that we cannot be nonchalant about Nigeria. If everybody contributes one percent of his hundred it will make all the difference needed.

This is the reason ‘True Nigerian’ started. As a role model to so many, I felt I had to give back something positive the same I have benefitted.

I named it ‘True Nigerians, Heroes of our time’ because I believe that when somebody holds an office, we think about the now not the after. If someone is a leader no matter at what level it’s not an easy place to get to. There should be some form of retirement plan that will give the person the same status once out of office.

What the programme says by the personalities it brings on air is that they should be patient. These great people have gone through a lot in the past and ‘True Nigerian’ exposes that past.

Sunny Okosun sang for peace. ‘Nigeria is now or never…..’ yet he died and it’s like nothing happened.

Now you are telling the young artistes not to sing ‘pass me the choko’ or ‘wind your waist’ or ‘omoge wa ja tongolo’. But the people who sang the kind of songs we are now encouraged to sing; how did you celebrate them? What did you do for them?

It is only in Nigeria that an artiste has a song he has done to celebrate independence day or campaigns against HIV/AIDS and on the day such an event is taking place they’ll invite an artiste who sings ‘wind your waist’ leaving the artiste who has taken time to do an HIV song.

How do you then expect such artistes to sing the right thing and people condemn the lyrics of Nigerian sings.

These artistes have bills to pay but you are not buying the good songs he sings on peace and all that. People like us have been doing it for sacrifice. I did a peace song in Kaduna; it was widely used and had impact. But I didn’t get anything out of it.

‘True Nigerians’ discourages quick money. If Onyeka Onwenu came on set and said she was once scrubbing toilets, or the Governor of Nasarawa state who once sold elubo or the Minister of State for Investment who was once a bus conductor in a motor garage in Gboko or Mike Adenuga once a security man in America. Someone watching the programme that may be his current situation and this will give him reason to aspire and work hard for better things.

You have had a good number of leaders and ordinary people on the show in the two years since you have been on. What do you say about these leaders and how they have lived up to expectations with regards to fulfilling the expectations of those who voted them in?

It’s a point I also don‘t understand. Sometimes you go into politics with good intentions but when you get there circumstances change you.

I don’t think you can be a gentle man and stay in politics. You are sometimes forced to do things you ordinarily would not.

I don’t advise that because I believe if one person goes in there and stands his grounds, like Fashola in Lagos is doing you will have followership that you do not need to campaign for. Nigerians are tired of lying politicians and will go with anyone who has proved to have them in mind.

You spoke about Majek Fashek and the Mandators. What would you say about such artistes who are seemingly underground now?

What the Nigerian entertainment world lacks is a good management outfit. Management is the foundation of any artist. Fashek was the closest we had to Bob Marley. If we had that in place the likes of Fashek with whom I recorded a song last week will be placed higher than they are now.

Your wife accused you of battering her. What is the story?

I’ve so much respect for women. My breakthroughs in life have been facilitated by women. There is no way you go to court and the truth will not eventually come out. That said, I think my wife is using it to cover up for some things. That way she’ll get a lot of sympathy from people, which is what she is looking for anyway.

I least expected this from her. I’m also surprised at the rate Nigerians forget. She said I tried to forced her to take folic acid. Can they read between the lines and reason this statement out. First of all: is folic acid not prescribed to pregnant women? Am I the one who would then have it in my custody?

She also said I said she was trying to trap me with pregnancy. How does a wife trap her husband with pregnancy?

Are there traces of battering on her at all going by the descriptions she gave of the way I supposedly used to beat her? I also ask people what kind of woman will carry tugs, beat up somebody and kidnap her own children? The children also have their rights. It is embarrassing for them in their school and in the area. My first daughter fainted when she saw it all. That was the reason she was left behind and is now with me.

If you want divorce, file for it and go quietly. There is no need to do it this way especially when children are involved.

When people tell me things I try on my own to analyse it and I would like Nigerians to do the same.

Those NGOs that my wife claims she ran to, when there is an issue, are the NGOs promoting divorce? What I saw in this case is that they saw an opportunity, a celebrity. I brought my wife to Lagos for the first time. So there are things she doesn’t even know about Lagos. They are capitalizing on that. They have seen an opportunity to make their NGOs popular.

Explain to me how you say she ran to you initially without her children, then you advise her to go and send her with tugs to kidnap the children. No one bothered to contact the husband or at least hear from him. I’m entitled to know where my family is.

These people never called or sent me a text. I didn’t know where my family was and this is the reason I went to the police.

My anger is with the NGOs because it is not done like this anywhere in the world. It is wrong.

All they saw is cheap publicity and they pounced on it.

Women have had the most impact on my success. I respect and do not joke with them no matter what. The case is in court and my lawyer has advised me not to say anything about it and let the court decide.