By Charles Okogene
My very first close encounter with Innocent Idibia popular as 2baba was in year 2000 during the opening ceremony of Femi Anikulapo-Kuti’s Africa Shrine Agidingbi; the opening ceremony was bank rolled by Guinness Nigeria Limited. That is another story for symposium day like Fela will say.
2baba together with BlackFace and Face, the crew that made Plantsun Bois, were a part of the galaxy of musical stars that ‘burnt’ the stage that day. Others included King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM1).
That was the day, 2baba wormed his way into my heart with his humility. While the other members of Plantasiun Bois were ‘bugaing’ for me by playing hide and seek for me as to the time they will come on stage ( remember I was in charge of who performs next and at what time).
2baba who was the lead singer of the group, was calm, cool and calculated till they were ushered on stage. And on stage, he was a lion!
2baba
The second encounter would have been at Keke Ogungbe’s house Airport Road Mafolukwu, Oshodi. Keke’s label, Kennies’ Music, for those who ‘ no, no’ or have forgotten that he gave birth to the solo career of 2baba.
I was invited by Keke, who I call ‘godfather’ for pioneering the crusade, with his buddy, D, in giving Nigerian/musicians a voice on the airwaves of Raypower, the first privately owned radio station, may God continue to rest the soul of Dr. ALEGHO Dokpesi, to come have a private listening session of that monumental album/song of his, African Queen, fresh as he received it, straight from America where Keke had sent the songs to for re-mixing and re-mastering. My friend Jude Nwauzor now of AMCON, had accompanied me on the trip. Though, for some reasons beyond his control, he (2baba) could not make the early morning appointment from his FESTAC abode then. But the listening ‘party’ we did right inside Keke navigator SUV no thanks to NEPA (that was their name then) and the host’s faulty generator.
The next time I encountered 2baba again was at Feminar Restaurant on the premises of LTV when he came for an interview during the promotion of the new album.
2baba
Boom! The song blew and 2baba became what the likes of Davido, Burna Boy, Kiss Daniel, WizKid combined are now, sought after, he became the real big thing to come ‘outta’ of Nigeria and so to reach him was like a Carmel passing through the eye of a needle; however one day, my very good friend that works with Yomi Badejo’s CMC Connect, Adetola Odusote made it happen again. This time it was in Abuja during a grassroots promotion of a programme by an NGO (names withheld, no free ad 😂). Again we bonded like never before just like my Igbo people use to say that ‘if wine sees the person he know, he go give respect’.
We did not see again for years until we ran into each other at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. I had gone to the Influencial East African country to cover MTVBase MAMA Award. Okolosi, a Nigerian, was the GM then. I was there with people like,Adekunle Ayeni, the great, Azuka Ogujuba of Thisday then, Acada Campus publisher, and Chidiebere Onuorha of Quadrant, handlers of MTVBase’s PR then. Senegal’s gift to global music, Akon, was the host.
And as I was saying before the diversion, at the airport, we ran into 2baba who was also going back to Nigeria (from God knows where). On sighting me, 2baba, broke protocol, did the unthinkable, prostrated full length and kept shouting Duke the great! Duke the great! Duke the great! at the jammed packed departure hall of the airport full of Nigerians returning home from Europe and causing many of them to ask who is ‘this man that a whole 2baba is hailing like this? ” Not only that, in the full glare of others, he greased my palm handsomely with hard currency. Do not ask me how much because I will not tell.
Our next meeting, was after his narrow escape from armed robbers in FESTAC in 2007, I was among those he opened his door for after he was discharged from the hospital to narrate the horrible experience to. That day, I was there with his fellow Benue State guy, Onche ‘Bishop’ Odeh, ex-editor of Sunday Independent now based in Abuja. On that day, we downed a full bottle of whiskey as the chat progressed. I was also one of the few journalists he invited to a cinema in Lekki to view his film, Power of One, that came after he aborted his much publicised protest courtesy my main man, Efe Omorogbe of NowMuzic.
Aside his power of procreation, though, which God instructed us to go to the world and do, 2baba is inceadbily creative, humble and anywhere you are reading this from, take a bow for remaining humble in the midst of fame and fortune!
