Now 75, Golden Boy of Nigerian music, Sir Victor Efosa Uwaifo, reminisces on his achievements, which cuts across an array of fields; his closeness to God, believe in hardwork and his latest academic adventure. He spoke with Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia
75 years on, how do you feel?
I feel like yesterday. I have not changed. When I wake up in the morning, I look at myself in the mirror and I’m the same. I am actually looking forward to the day I will be different and not look like Victor Uwaifo. Then I will know that things are changing. I have always looked like this and each time I wake up, I comb my hair brush my teeth, I look the same. So age is just a matter of numbers as far as I’m concerned. I am happy and I feel so healthy because
as I speak with you, I still do 100 press-ups every morning. I have been doing it for the past 60 years.
Sound mind in a sound body; what is the secret of being so fit after all these years?
The secret is what I just told you. The press ups…..Not only that, long life has to do with physical, mental and spiritual health. As I stand now, I am doing a second PhD in Biomimetics. It refers to processes systems and devices that imitate nature. It’s like closing (shows pictures of some of his works like his teeth, his hands). In painting, it is fine, but in sculpture, it is not easy. As I speak with you, I also have a private chapel in my house, where I commune with the Almighty. I also observe moderation. I don’t overdo anything. I have never smoked in my life. I have never torched cigarette in my life; not that I smoked
and I left it. I don’t drink. Now I only tip red wine, when I eat.
In this age and time, how come you’re studying Biomimetics?
I’ll tell you the background. I did Sculpture. I have B. A. 1st class honours (1994). I also did my masters degree in Sculpture in 1996; became a Commissioner; served in the classroom teaching for a few years as a full-time lecturer at the University of Benin. So what I am doing now is a new course. In between, I have been performing as a musician. I performed at one of the awards ceremonies of the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper, Nigerian Newsworld magazine in Abuja. Last December, I performed for the Lagos Motor Club. The latest is that I have been written a letter by the Silverbird Group as Winner of Man of the Year Life Entertainment Achievement Award.
Tell us about the spiritual aspect of your life.
I commune with God. I think of the creator all the time. I am a visionary. In my opinion, it is not only taking a microphone and preaching that makes one an evangelist. If by what you do, you glorify God, you are already a preacher. I am a Catholic. I worship at the Holy Cross Cathedral on Mission Road in Benin City. And like I said before, I have a chapel in my house, which I named Soul Gate. The communication between Man and God is the soul. So in the chapel, you commune and are in tandem with the spiritual world. And God in his infinite mercy l call God the universal mind reveals to you things you have to achieve, things you have to do; and then you do all to the glory of God. It is not to your glory.
I have so many talents, but if I had allowed them to waste, it would have amounted to a sin. I have achieved; I have explored and exploited each of the talent God has given me to the limit: from music to arts, sculpture, engineering, architecture, to design; even to sports and now Biomimetics. As I speak, I work on the computer. In fact you are never old; you are only old when you fail to follow the trend. Then time leaves you. Otherwise when you move with the time or even more ahead of time, you’re never old. I always say time is so slow. I wish I had enough time to fix it for the rest of the work. Time is never enough. And it comes at its own pace. Sometimes, I say, time is so sluggish; I just feel that God has been so wonderful, so kind and given me so many gifts, and I identified and realised them early in life.
Can you imagine that it is now 50 years ago since I made the first Gold dire in Africa? It was not easy to even sell 1000 records; but I sold over 100,000 in one week. Aside that, 33 years ago, I was honoured with a national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) by the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And to think I did not even have any idea of what a national honour meant. It was so strange and I value that honour more than Gold.
What legacy are you leaving behind? As it stands, you seem to have so much to give to the world?
The legacy I am leaving behind? I am not going anywhere yet ooo. So the matter of leaving any legacy behind does not arise. But I have the Revelation Palazzo Museum close to my residence in Benin City. What is a legacy? Then of course, the Victor Uwaifo Music Academy. There are other legacies. The Ebony Band, Lagos, is an alumni of the Academy. There is also Baba 2010 Abuja; Vintage Band, Lagos, Damee, Benin et al. At lot of them are all alumni of this academy. We have contributed also to knowledge and the building of people, and are adding to life. These make me happy. An achiever does not rest unless he wants his achievements to rest. My philosophy is, do not wait for destiny to wake you up, get up and
wake up your destiny.
Looking at your life, some would say that you are into mysticism…
I am a mystic. You have to study me. Yes how would I put it? It’s like the way I see things are different from how others see things. As a maestro, I hear sounds that you cannot hear; then I capture the sound and put them into a record. As an artist, I see things you cannot see crying for help to be brought out, and I bring them out. Is that not mystic?
With your many children, do you have any of them following in your footsteps?
First, I don’t have so many children. I am married of course. But when you say ‘so many,’ it’s as if I have a football team. No way. I have quite a few. Having said that, it is wrong to follow the footsteps of people, because as far as I am concerned, I am a genius and genius comes once in a lifetime. So, successor most unlikely because how many people can be artists, painter and inventor? As I said I am still reading; I am a PhD student. My children have art, music in their blood already, but in different forms. That’s already a signature; a trademark in all of them. But I can’t find any of my children that has all of the multifarious qualities that I have. And that’s the difference between me and them.
Looking back at your younger days, what would you say has given way; that is now out of place?
In our days, it was originality, creativity, satisfaction and self-motivation. But today, it is all about money. People are in a rush to get rich quickly, within a twinkle of an eye, without learning the ropes. Then technology came in and has taken its toll on our young ones. If you do not have a good foundation; if the foundation is weak; you are bound to fall apart. People do not learn music again; they don’t learn how to play musical instruments; they don’t undergo apprenticeship; and that is one thing that is missing from way back. Now the computer plays the music and it’s like plastic. The music has no soul. But if you play music live, it has soul, like the way you breadth. The breath is absent on the computer; it’s quite unnatural. It’s ephemeral. So, technology has implored the quality of sound and video and mortgaged creativity and originality. It’s like creating more mediocre than meritocrats. So I would like to advice the young ones to learn from the masters. They should learn the rudiments of music. They should have a mentor.
The late Sunny Okosun was a member of my band and when he was pulling out, he asked for my blessing and I gave him. He did great before he died. So there must be apprenticeship. Everybody can play football. All have talents. But you have to learn how to play the ball to help the team win matches by scoring the goals. The fact that you can sing does not make you a musician. You have to learn the art of singing.
But there are very few formal schools like yours where the young can enrol for formal training?
There are different ways of getting apprenticeship. You can attach yourself to a band for example. Then you are already in the school. This is a way of learning the ropes. I am not talking of a formal school setting as such. But if you go to a formal school to learn music and right through to the University, better. You will see more than others. You will hear more than others. It’s always good to go beyond the normal way of doing things. So if you go for a formal training, it’s ok, but if you cannot, it does not matter. Take some inventors like Faraday, Bill Gates, Brian Bell; they did not go to formal school. They made discoveries before looking for the underlying theories governing their findings.
In a nutshell, I am glad that the world is changing and if you can change with the times, then you are on course.
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