May 01, (THEWILL) – For some people, staying in any one profession for too long becomes a bore, something of a routine. Faced with such situation, some will gleefully take up something else, find another way of satisfying their career lust.
That is exactly what James Eze has done or, better still, has been doing in the last couple of years. From the mid-nineties when he started writing for THISDAY, Eze has hopped from one job to another like one forever in search of newer grounds to conquer. He has. Eze distinguished himself for the three, four or so years he was at THISDAY such that when he told his editors he was leaving for the banking hall, some were simply horrified.
How could such a brilliant journalist who should hone his skill as a writer turn to the rather uncreative banking hall? James left anyway, and for obvious reasons. Needless to say he made good in the bank. Next was his appointment with Airtel as head of Corporate Services. Of course, his bosses were impressed there as well.
Though editors at THISDAY feared Eze will forget about creative writing because a very busy banking schedule will take much of his time, it was the opposite that happened. For all his years at Fidelity Bank, there was never a shortage of creative writing workshops with the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Helon Habila coming over to Nigeria from the U.S. as guest lecturers to mentor younger and aspiring writers.
Eze himself was beavering away, writing poetry which were never published. Any poet worth his verse know very well you don’t rush to publish. Keep polishing your lines of verse until they attain that near perfect state. Eze did exactly that, writing and rewriting, rephrasing an idea or two, canceling out a word or inappropriate lines.
One of his bosses at Fidelity possibly never knew Eze was writing poetry but he took notice of his performance on the job. By the time Willie Obiano was elected governor of Anambra state eight years ago, he took James along as his Chief Press Secretary. Staying on for eight good years says something about Eze’s dedication to work as the chief spokesman of Anambra state even though he himself is from neighbouring Enugu state.
At the end of their service as CPS to their principals, many a CPS often disappear from the public radar with their bosses. Not so Eze. Early in April when this reporter heard of an imminent meeting with the press, the first thing that came to mind was something to do with the travails the former governor of Anambra state was going through. Damage control, perhaps. Thankfully, it was not. It was another reinvention or reincarnation of James Eze.
On Tuesday April 12 at Bukka Hut in Surulere around mid-afternoon, Eze let it be known he had become a singer, musician not only by mouth but with an EP to prove his claim.
You could say that more than any other of his generation, Eze has managed to become so many things in such a short time: from being a journalist, banker, a public relations man then CPS. Don’t forget he is a poet, also, whose collection – dispossessed – won the Association of Nigerian Authors poetry prize in 2020. Now he is into music fully, with two adorable young university graduates and musicians themselves – Michael Chibuike Chinedu aka Masthamind and Deborah Chiamaka Nnabuife aka Dallie. Michael is a Mathematics graduate while Deborah finished from Zoology both from the same Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.
“Today, we want to present our first EP, and we want to share,” James began by telling the dozen or so journalists at Bukka Hut. “We are not putting out music that chimes into the music industry as we know it. The songs that we have to offer speak to poetry. As I have said elsewhere, my aim is to find new audiences for poetry, and in my last reading at Nsukka we had that broad heading: what’s the difference between a poem and a song? At that event we tried to answer it: there’s really no difference between a song and a poem. What is clear for any discerning mind is that certain kinds of poetry can make very smooth transition to the ears than typical poetry as we know it, in the sense that poetry has always been very isolationist, very eclectic, very selective of its audience. Music cuts through to reach wider ears and wider audiences.
Continuing, the journalist-turned-banker-
All that would seem like talking the talk. No! He also walked the walk first by showing guests musical videos of productions by his label Udala Tree Productions. Michael and Deborah also performed a duet, Mike strumming a guitar and Deborah singing along. They are both young, in their twenties and refreshingly good to look at. Anyone can imagine the pair in the coming years ruling the airwaves, dishing out songs “that have roots buried in poetry.”
Some of the songs in Udala come straight from Eze’s poetry collection, dispossessed, which is just as good. What is music if not poetry and what is poetry if not song or music? “dance in the skies,” “I found love,” “love song,” “my truth” and “he say, she say” which make up the EP are all taken from dispossessed and rendered so perfectly making one believe that poetry is, indeed, better appreciated when it is performed on stage or before an audience.
Watching Mashtermind and Dallie perform at Bukka Hut that day showed they have a long way to go musically with Eze as their Quicy Jones to a budding Michael Jackson.
How did Eze meet the pair who were not in the same department? An idea whose time has come, so they say, will find its root. Eze had advertised for singers with extraordinary voices. A male and female were recommended. By the time Eze spoke with them, they were plainly not keen. Each of them recommended Michael and Deborah. After rehearsing with them and checking them out, Eze found out they were just the ideal singers he wanted. They’ve been together ever since. Indeed, when this reporter called Eze post-Udala launch in Lagos, he was with his musicians somewhere in an eatery in Awka.
By the way, the name Udala is derived from a local fruit native to the orient. “Udala (heart-shaped, orange colour fruit) in the Igbo socio-cultural setting is a symbol of innocence,” Eze said, “because udala trees in the traditional Igbo society used to be a place of gathering and play for children. Innocence in the sense that children would gather under the udala tree and play all kinds of games. And then they waited for the precious, ripe udala fruit to fall. When it falls, the children would race for it, and whoever was fastest would pick the udala, and if the fellow was kind enough, he or she would share it with his or her mates. I looked at that my cultural setting, part of my growth process, part of my encounter as a child; I also know that udala fruit is very tasty. When I was growing up, there were some udala trees that were famous for producing sweet udala fruits, and children usually gathered there most. It’s still being relished by so many people today in urban areas; many people still hunger for udala.
“So, I thought that udala symbolises not just innocence, but the communal sharing spirit. And the sweetness of udala, its delicacy also crops into the melody that you listen to, something that is pleasant and good. Our lyrics are not vulgar; there’s nothing you’d encounter that will foul up your mood. We are not selling sex or pornography. We have quality messages, songs that families could listen to together and create a bound among them. So, our song is sweetness. Udala Nation is about pleasantness, a kind of entertainment that is wholesome, that anyone who encounters our offerings will absorb in. Besides, these are not just songs as we know them, but poetry couched in songs.”
And with Masthamind and Dallie as collaborators, Eze is sure to serve music lovers in Nigeria and beyond the pleasant taste of that fruit through music.
But what is Dalie’s impression so far of his new métier? Working in a zoo taming animals should be a natural fit for a zoologist. Instead, Dallie is keen on taming humans with music or exciting them. “The whole thing has been very different for me, because before now I was doing the normal things with music. But our boss (Eze) challenged and pushed me to go outside my comfort zone. I can easily sit back and write songs with the mood or something, but this one is different because I have something already written down to work with. I wasn’t comfortable at first, but at the end I had to tap into the story first of all, and then be able to express it. It was really adventurous and I love every part of it. I began to see that poetry can be very deep, and you have to be part and parcel of poetry to see that you can immerse yourself into it and really enjoy it.”
And Masthamind the Mathematician? “I will say it was quite challenging for me at first. I remember when I was working; I would just do my thing. One thing about music is that you have to see yourself as part of the character to be able to deliver. So I did the first part and he (Eze) wasn’t pleased at all. So he had to talk to me and encouraged me to imagine myself in that kind of situation. Then I started thinking about a lot of things and from then I put myself into it. I can say I’ve improved in certain areas of my music career. From my experience working on this project, if you give me a few lines I can just begin to create something out of them. I can say I’ve really enjoyed every part of this music journey.”
With the Mathematician and zoologist as partners in song and music, Eze is sure to make good as well in his new métier as he has in previous ones. So, what next? Eze will tell reporters when he is ready. For now, he is content writing poetry and setting them to music under his Udala label.
About the Author
Michael Jimoh is a Nigerian journalist with many years experience in print media. He is currently a Special Correspondent with THEWILL.
