Adamu Wayya, better known as Dan Maraya Jos, (the young orphan of Jos) died on Saturday, June 20, 2015.Before his death, Dan Maraya, who died at the age of 69 after a protracted illness, made a name as one of the most successful musicians from the northern part of Nigeria with international acclaim. With a small stringed instrument which he keeps in his pocket coupled with a sonorous voice that he adroitly manipulate to rise and fall in crescendo to capture each lilt in his rendition, Dan Maraya was able to affect the lives of many with his works which were all original to him and a philosophy that belie his humble upbringing.
At an age when musicians were known mainly for praise-singing, Dan Maraya did not allow the lure of the lucre that came with massaging the egos of money bags to becloud his sense of purpose as he used his genre to maximum advantage to educate the masses, speak against social vices as well as commit to patriotism. It stands to his credit that during the Nigerian civil war, he composed and rendered many songs in praise of the Nigerian army and captured the reality of what the men and officers went through on the battle fields for appreciation by the populace. One of his most popular works is the “Wakan dan gaye” song where he parodies the penchant by youths to be contemptible to their culture while imbibing the western culture wholesale without as much as trying to understand its meaning and the implication of such wholesale applications to their communities. The comical nature of the rendition laced with the mimicry of voices depicting the characters in the song made the song a hit and a must-listen for music lovers who understood Hausa. For a song that was first played in the 70s it is a testimony of the germaneness of the theme and it’s originality that it never fails to draw a bedlam applause whenever it is played before a live audience more than three decades after it was first played. It was not for nothing that Dan Maraya once described himself as a historian. He said in an interview that his works chronicles current events for future references, so that those who follow history would be able to learn from past experiences. Operating mainly from his Bauchi Road residence in Jos, Dan Maraya was able to attract world attention with his works proving that raw talent if properly groomed is enough to catapult a man to stardom.
It is a mark of honour that he was among the artistes that entertained at Buckingham Palace in 1979 during the wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles and has travelled to many parts of the world on invitation to thrill the high caliber audiences including world leaders with his music. He remained original and true to his form and never allowed his work to be diluted with modernism preserving a rare culture that was to remain effervescent till his last days. Many have come to see Dan Maraya’s stay in Jos, Plateau State, a town which at one had become synonymous with ethnic and religious crises as providence’ way of reminding Nigerians of the gains of tolerance. Many insist there is a big lesson to be drawn from the life of an orphan who lost both parents at a tender age in strange land to not only grow and adapt to the community he found himself but through tenacity of purpose and the harnessing of talent was able to rise to stardom. He was awarded the doctor of letters by the University of Jos for his contribution to the arts in Nigeria. He will be missed for his down to earth candour and the thrill that resurrects with his works
It is a mark of honour that he was among the artistes that entertained at Buckingham Palace in 1979 during the wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles and has travelled to many parts of the world on invitation to thrill the high caliber audiences including world leaders with his music. He remained original and true to his form and never allowed his work to be diluted with modernism preserving a rare culture that was to remain effervescent till his last days. Many have come to see Dan Maraya’s stay in Jos, Plateau State, a town which at one had become synonymous with ethnic and religious crises as providence’ way of reminding Nigerians of the gains of tolerance. Many insist there is a big lesson to be drawn from the life of an orphan who lost both parents at a tender age in strange land to not only grow and adapt to the community he found himself but through tenacity of purpose and the harnessing of talent was able to rise to stardom. He was awarded the doctor of letters by the University of Jos for his contribution to the arts in Nigeria. He will be missed for his down to earth candour and the thrill that resurrects with his works
No comments:
Post a Comment