SWEET MOTHER's Prince buried

[Agashi P. NWOGBAGA]

Category: News
Date of Article: 12/03/97
Topic: Relations, Fans Mourn As Nico Mbarga is Buried
Author: Jude Okwe, Calabar
Full Text of Article:

AMID the wails of family members, fans, colleagues and sympathisers
alike, the remains of highlife maestro, Prince Nico Mbarga of the
'Sweet Mother' fame, were interred at his residence in Ikom at the
weekend in a carnival, spiced with eulogies.
On June 23 this year, Nico Mbarga died as a result of injuries
sustained in a commercial motor cycle accident in Calabar, the Cross
River State capital. His car was said to have had a mechanical
problem. His paternal countrymen thronged the city to pay their last
respects to the highlife king who waxed 24 albums and sang over 90
songs in his life time.
His funeral started on Friday, November 28, in Calabar when his corpse
laid in-state at the Cultural Centre Board and Cameroon Consulate,
whereafter a convoy of 100 vehicles made the 214 kilometres journey to
Ikom.
With bells jingling in farewell, the long funeral procession wound
through the rough Calabar-Ikom road with a brief stop-over at
Ofombongha, Obubra Local Government Area where his mother hails from.
The corpse was received by the council Chairman, Mr. Raymond Obeten,
as traditional dancers entertained amid loud sobbing and gun shots.
Musicians from Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross River
States, including the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria
(PMAN) national officials, were at his 105, Calabar Road compound,
drumming, singing and wailing at the same time. To some extent, his
burial was a carnival of sorts.
Rev. Barnabas Bisong preached the funeral sermon from Psalm 90 -
"man's days are not counted in heaven." He prayed God to forgive
Nico's sins and called for repentance by his survivors.
The Cross River State Administrator, Col. Umaru Ahmed, in his
condolence message read by Mr. Pius Okpa, an engineer and state
commissioner for works, described Mbarga as a hero of the music
industry.
"Prince Nico Mbarga was a force to reckon with in the music scene. His
inspirational works cut across ethnic and cultural barriers. It made
him a household name amongst the country folk. By his death, we have
missed a genius, whose vacuum can hardly be filled, especially now,"
Ahmed stated.
Cross River State PMAN Chairman, Mr. Romance Ikwen and a legal
practitioner Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN) delivered funeral orations, praising
the works and life of the late musician.
Oriental Brothers, Ikenga Superstar and Rocafill Jazz bands performed
at his grave side. His body was lowered into the mausoleum at 5.15 p.m
amidst uncontrollable weeping from his aged mother, children,
relations and fans.
Late Prince Nico Mbarga was born on April 9, 1950 in Abakaliki,
capital of Ebonyi State and was the third in a family of four boys and
one girl.
His late father, Cosmos Obama Mbarga, a Camerounian, was working with
the Public Works Department (PWD) then and got transferred to Ikom in
1958.
The prefect of Southern Province represented the government of the
Republic of Cameroun at the burial ceremony. He could not disclose his
name even as he was being shielded by security men.
Nico Mbarga who had investments in Ikom, his adopted home, is survived
by his 80-year old mother, Madam Johana Cosmos Mbarga, a wife and
children.
He won three gold discs awards, and other honours during his career
that spanned over three decades. He was an artiste with Sacem, a
Paris-based recording outfit.
His famous elpee, "Sweet Mother," released in 1977, sold over 20
million copies and is said to have remained the highest sales in black
Africa.
Mbarga's musician-sons Leonel and Desire who entertained guests with
their father's outstanding tracks, are now to manage his Rocafill Jazz
Band.

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