Nigerian folk music legend, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha has died at the age of 95.
Late Ejegha of the “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” [“gwo gwo ngwo”] fame was born in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu Enugu State in 1930.
The eldest son of the music legend, , Mr. Emma Ejeagha confirmed in to journalists that his father died at about 8pm on Friday at the Garrison Hospital in Enugu where he was being treated for old-age related ailment.
Young Mike Ejeagha lived most of his life in Enugu where his parents worked in the booming Coal mining business in the early 19th century.
He attended St. Patricks Primary School, Ogbete, Enugu. After his basic education, he started work at the ministry of Health in the then Eastern region of Nigeria.
Even as a civil servant, he enjoyed plating his Ogene music and later joined a local Ogene music band in the Coal Camp, Enugu in 1945. He became a full time musician in 1948 after he completed his primary school education.
Late Ejeagha became a professional musician in 1950 when he joined a popular music band led my Joseph Ogbu, a well known guitarist. He later formed his own band known as Mike Ejeagha and the Merrymakers.
His music blossomed and led to the release of some singles in collaboration CT Onyekwelu of Niger phone records. Some of his earliest singles include, The unfortunate lady (1957), c0lliery massacre (1959) and Ofu nwanne (1959).
Late Ejeagha continued with his music until the outbreak of the Nigeria Civil war which lead him to relocate to Umuahia in present day Abia State.
When the war ended in 1970, Mike Ejeagha played prominient role in healing and reintegration process through an entertaining Igbo language programme ‘akuko N egwu’ aired on The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the programme culminated and popularized the saying in “ Akuko Mike Ejeagha” among Igbo people because most of the stories were fictional tales aimed at teaching morals and good conduct.
His prominence was reinvented in 2024 when popular Nigerian skit-maker, Brain Jotter used “gwo gwo ngwo” the chorus of his song, “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” in a dance challenge that became a global sensation.
The challenge brought back enormous outpouring of love and appreciation for the music legend. Brain Jotter visited Mr. Ejeagha in his country home in Ezeagu after which several prominent people personalities and entertainers including Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State visited the ailing old man.
some of his popular songs are:
- Akanchawa
- Uwa Ngbede Ka Mma
- Elulube Lube
- Ezi Nwa Mgbeke.
- Enyi Ga Achi.
- Onye Uri Utaba.
- Ife Nji M’Ogo
- Atualu Omalu
- Ebini New Ude
- Mgba Enwude
- Udeze nwa nnem
- O di ka adi eme,
- Udo ka nma
- Ome ka agu
- Elulubelube
- Makojo
- Anene otulukpa
- Onye nwee o na-ebe onye enwero o na- ebe