By Charles Okogene
He was always on shorts made of chinos; with his jungle/jack boots running from back stage to the public address system stand while clutching his huge bundle of cables all in a bid to fix trouble therein between the stage and the sound speakers.
Welcome to the world of Sydney Oputa, one of Nigeria’s best stage engineer then. With his T.shirt atop the chinos short and sulking from his stick of Benson and Hedges cigarette non-stop, he was one of those that made the biggest concerts on the road in Nigeria, Benson and Hedges sponsored Golden or Gold and Tones, thick.

Lyinch, chairman of Red14 and Oputa
Without him and the likes of Skid Ikemefenna, the one I used to call messenger of Christ (MC), Junior and Pretty, and the big boss, David Lyinch from Red14 London, the concert that came before Nigerian Breweries’ MegaJam, may not have been possible then.
Oputa went everywhere in Nigeria that the concert travelled to; he became an irresistible friend of musicians as the success of output of their sound depended partly on how he managed the effective function of the equipment.
For that, we say. Sydney Oputa, take a bow.