Yinka Olatunbosun
Gospel singer, Bigger Ibekwe is not exactly your typical musician. His creative flow oscillates between gospel and conscious music as his latest music video, “Yahoo Yahoo” is just a case in point. The video is created as a campaign against cyber and financial crime as well as the abuse of criminal profiling procedure by the Nigerian law enforcement.
Mr. Bigger, who held a media chat in Lagos recently announced that the video is now streaming on YouTube, Music Max and other platforms.
The graduate of theatre arts from the University of Benin is a man of many parts. Having studied journalism at Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Bigger worked in print media and was largely involved in the movement into the advancement of democracy during the late military rule in Nigeria.
Like many prominent pro-democracy activists of the period, he left the country in pursuit of greener pastures. While away from Nigeria, he studied Chinese, Japanese and Tagalog languages at Furen Catholic University, Hsinchuan-Taipei, Taiwan
Upon his return to Nigeria, he decided to pursue music, an interest he would attribute to his roots.
“My mother was a composer and whenever my community in Anambra wanted to have an event, she would be engaged,” he began. “I strongly believe I inherited my love for music from her and my maternal grandfather is an artist. He draws and by then, drawing was not so popular. Still, he used charcoal to draw and the person would be surprised.”
His couldn’t pursue music professionally in his younger years due to financial constraints. While recounting an incident that triggered the inspiration of the new release, Mr. Bigger revealed a personal experience while travelling to shoot his music video.
“As we got to a police checkpoint, they stopped us and concluded the boys with me, because of their dreadlocks, were ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ fraudsters. We were harassed by the security men owing to their perception of young boys with dreadlocks.
“Security operatives, like the song implies, need to calm down and discharge their duties professionally. Frankly speaking, they need training and retraining to attain professionalism in their job.
“So, the song is a compilation of what I think society should be. The society should appreciate the policemen and they, in turn, should calm down in handling situations.”
He called on young people to desist from fraudulent activities, adding that incidents of fraud should be handled professionally.
With four albums in his kitty, he has a steady style of weaving through social realities to develop some of the thematic foci for his music. For instance, with the album titled “One Nigeria,” he promotes the spirit of oneness, unity and progress in Nigeria.
“Sometimes, I am moved to use a song to comment on a particular relevant issue,” he continued. “The last work I did was Umuaka meaning ‘Children.’ It is a work that promotes the value that we have in children; advising that we take it easy with the children. It was made for UNESCO.
With this latest release titled “Yahoo Yahoo,” Bigger condemns cyber fraud and criminal profiling that sometimes target innocent youths. While reacting to the latest news on the unlawful arrests of some undergraduates- some medical students- of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife on the allegation of cyber fraud, the singer said although his song was recorded before the incident about two months ago, it is very relevant to the social reality in Nigeria.
