Feelings And The Voices From The Cradle of Life

By 'Joba Ojelabi


I came into Ife at an interesting period or perhaps, the euphoria of becoming a student of one of the most prestigious universities in Nigeria, crowned by the re-emergence of the students’ union at the time is what clouded and still clouds my critical of the assessment of the period. Indeed, whilst the euphoria that comes with being a freshman of the university might be more personalized for many, the reinstatement of the Obafemi Awolowo University had a more general effect on us;y the freshmen of the university at the time. The newly restored union, through its leaders, had a point to prove to the freshmen. After all, we had heard tales of the glory days of the Union and boy were we ready to just taste a little of those fanciful tales. The performance of the leadership of the union at the time still remains a subject for debate till date, most especially considering the myriad of sad incidents that have accompanied subsequent leaderships. But in a personal assessment of each key office in that leadership, it is almost without any doubt that I would state that the Social revolution that came with that administration was quite intense. This, coupled with my curiosity as a freshman, is perhaps why I attended so many social gatherings and as expected, this exposed me to learning many things about the great Ife. The age-long amphi tradition of “Dobaleing”, the fixed price for selling tickets to Awo Boys, the stage expression of Aro and perhaps the then music community of the OAU Campus. I came into Ife at the dawn of a new reign.

Attending shows in OAU meant listening to OAU artistes and I can assure you that amidst all the rubbish that often came with the tagline “OAU acts”, there were a lot of local artistes that I always looked forward to listening to: There was Chinko Ekun; the lyrical tiger who could make verses from almost anything, High M; OAU’s Incredible, Viruz; the melodious lover of Tina, Veejay; the man who melted our hearts with his ice-cream voice, BlaqBones, Buraimo, Gbasky amongst many others. Once in my first year, I heard Bankeh sing and all I could do was breathe and listen. I no longer follow the OAU music industry as I used to, the engaging schedules of academia and the other baggages I now bear no longer allow me the luxury of attending as much social gatherings but a few days ago, I came by a song by Tobi Morakinyo and it reminded me so much of my fresh year and the plenty quality OAU tracks that still make it memorable.

Tobiano Ace, as the young lad is more popularly referred, in the track Feelings plays with the Ghanian-Nigerian melody, which is claimed to have been made by popularly producer, Masterkraft. And indeed what the song might lack in content, it surely makes up for delivery. Tobiano, already recipient and nominee in a number of varsity awards, works Masterkraft’s beat like a professional leaving one to wonder for how much longer the title “upcoming” that accompanies Tobi’s appellation would remain. But then again, with such a voice, it might only just be a matter of time…

PS- You can listen to TobianoAce’s feelings by following the link below. It would go a long way in helping this Great Ife. Click HERE to listen.