Kabaka, a 77-year-old Igbo highlife musician, rejoins the music business

Elder Godwin Opara, also known as “kabaka,” a well-known highlife musician, has made a comeback to the highlife music industry after a 17-year absence.

This time, the event was held over the weekend in Owerri, the state capital.

Speaking about Kabaka’s return, which included the release of a new album with the name “abialam” (which means “I have come”), Chief Operational Officer of Derda Promotions, Ms. Glory Ammarachi said: “I remembered as a little girl-child, my parents had also played and treasured all the song-tracks of the Oriental Brothers International Band in the South Eastern States of Nigeria, especially during the ’90s. Kabaka, a 77-year-old singer known for his beautiful guitar melodies, was a prominent member of the storied “Oriental Brothers International Band.”

“The Oriental Brothers International Band were legendary Igbo highlife musicians who ruled the music businesses in the 1990s, as might be recalled. Ammarachi said, “I am pleading with God to preserve the life of our highlife maestro, Godwin Opara (Kabaka).”

“When the band tragically lost its lead vocalist, the enigmatic Chief Christogonus Ezewuiro Obinna, affectionately known as Sir.Warrior, in 1999, it seemed as though the group had faded into obscurity, leaving its devoted followers clutching their treasured vinyl record albums as bittersweet reminders of a bygone era,” Ammarachi concluded.

“The album, ‘Abialam,’ is coming 17 years after Kabaka’s tribute to his friend and former band member, Late Sir.Warrior in 2006, ‘Madu bu aja,’ which is translated as ‘We are Sand.'”