Most young musicians are half baked- Aigbe Lebarty

_LUCKY Aigbe Lebarty is not a new name in the music industry, he is one of the long-time Highlife veterans that rocked the music scene in the late 70s/80s.

He is from the practising musician of the family, his younger brother is Felix Lebarty of the Ifeoma fame. His style of music is Afrobeat, Boogie, Disco, Funk, and Soul.

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He has many albums to his credit, they include, Sugar Daddy, Love Before Money, Unity, and others.

Presently, Aigbe Lebarty is the president of the Nigerian Union of Musicians (NUM), a body in the vanguard for the promotion of Nigerian music. Last week, Aigbe Lebarty paid a condolence visit the Late Victor Olaiyas in Lagos all the way from Benin. In this interview, the Edo state born musician spoke on why he personally came to Lagos, the plan by NUM to immortalise Olaiya, state of NUM and other issues.

Why in Lagos.

As the current President of the Nigeria Union of Musicians NUM, it is my duty to pay a tribute to a beloved ICON, and a former President of my union, the Nigeria Union of Musicians.

On immortalising Late Dr. Victor Olaiya.

We are advocating and sure we get the federal government involved to name monuments after every music legend that passes on that has contributed to the creative arts, cultural and traditional heritage of Nigeria. On our part, we are trying to encourage the federal government not to relent, to do something to ensure that the name of late Victor Olaiya does not just fade away after his death. For instance, in the case of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the NUM has called on the federal government to name the National Theatre Iganmu after him. NUM is saying again that a national monument be named after late Victor Olaiya to also immortalise him. Through that of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, letters have been written by NUM to the relevant authorities to that effect and the Union has been able to create a dialogue among the stakeholders. In addition, the call by the Union for the federal government to name some monuments to immortalise these late music legends like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Victor Olaiya etc., the NUM has created a Museum inducting these music legends into the Music Hall of Fame to showcase their contributions, so that there will be a history for the upcoming Artistes to learn, tap from their experiences and become better musicians.

What Olaiya will be remembered for.

Victor Olaiya will be remembered for his immense contributions to the growth of modern and traditional music in Africa. He is a cultural ICON that floored the airwaves with great songs like Omolanke etc… Olaiya is not just a musician, but he was a very successful businessman, a musician activist, philanthropist, and a dedicated father. He was the first Nigerian musician that was called to play for Nigeria’s Independence while he was the President of NUM and was highly applauded for his outstanding performance.

The state of NUM.

As President of NUM, first of all, we have been able to make NUM international, affiliated to a lot of bodies in Africa and all over the world. A lot of plans are in the works. NUM has a music village in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, a national Secretariat at No. 58, Plymouth Road, Benin City. Nigeria. NUM is in the process of acquiring a property in Lagos for our National Secretariat with Chapters in all States of the federation. All the Executives are in place at all levels. NUM also has facilities for Audio and Video recordings and other facilities for our Union members. These facilities can also be used by non-members at subsidised rates. The Union is out to delete the ignorance of musicians, update their knowledge and add value to themselves, through training, retraining, workshops, and seminars. That is my goal as the President of NUM.

Take on current artistes and advice.

My take on the current Artistes is that some of them are half baked, in the sense that there is no adequate preparation for the present day and upcoming Artistes to become real professionals. Nevertheless, we are still moving forward. My advice is for them to undergo proper music training and learn the rudiments so that they can understand the fundamentals. Even with these shortcomings, I still applaud most of them for their efforts. People like Tu Face, Whiz kid, Davido etc. are still making waves around the world.