An ode to a man who made 2016 a good year for Nigerian music

It’s been a very hard year for Nigeria. One in which the entire economy was torn to shreds and as the months rolled by, the money in the pockets of working class Nigerians shrunk in value. We might have had a tough financial year, but musically, it has been a good year for content.

With Mr Eazi rising from Ghana, Wizkid flying high in the diaspora, and Tiwa Savage putting behind her personal troubles to soar, we have had quite some high moments and we truly appreciate.

But on many levels, we don’t give enough credit where it is due. Away from the studios and all the glitter that comes with music, there exists a man who performed a thankless task for the industry. This man singlehandedly inspired one of our greatest artistes, and provided him with some of the greatest musical moments this year.

This man never gets the praise he deserves, neither does he seek to hug the music world, or slather us all with his celebrity. But he deserves our praise nonetheless, and today, we celebrate him for his service to music in Nigeria, in the year 2016.

His name is….Dele Momodu.

Who hasn’t enjoyed the two times that Momodu has showed up in the lyrics of Nigerian music. The Nigerian journalist/publisher, businessman, philanthropist, actor and motivational speaker. He is the CEO and publisher of Ovation International, a magazine that has given publicity to people from all over the world, mainly in Africa.

In 2015, he officially launched Ovation TV and subsequently launched an online newspaper called The Boss. Momodu has received hundreds of awards and honours for his work in the world of business, politics, literature, the music industry and the fashion industry. He writes a weekly column called "PENdulum", published every Saturday on the back page of Thisday newspaper. The articles are praised for highlighting issues in Nigeria, as well as discussing popular topics, current events and famous people, often in a polemic/critical style.

Through PENdulum, Momodu became a prominent voice for the APC presidential candidate at the 2015 general election in Nigeria - the current president Muhammadu Buhari.

In 2016, he became an integral part of the music culture due to his fight with Davido, and the singer’s stroke of good thinking to utilize the situation to create mainstream art. Davido’s connection to Dele Momodu is by blood. He is the father to the daughter of Dele Momodu’s niece. This makes him a Grand Uncle to Davido’s first son.

But a disagreement which broke out earlier this year, and generate a huge amount of controversial press provided the singer with a chance to shine. The dispute between both parties started in December 2015 when the 23-year-old artiste disagreed with Sophia, his baby mama, who is Momodu’s cousin.

Sophia foiled an attempt by Davido to take his daughter to Dubai without her consent, and this led to a spat.

Davido later apologised for his actions, saying Momodu could have handled the matter in a better manner. But he was not done.

First Davido created the evergreen line on Humblesmith’s breakout single – ‘Osinachi’ – which was hugely instrumental to the success of the singer.

Davido’s opening reads like this: “My humble father sinachi, My loving daughter sinachi mo, My baby mama sinachi, Dele Momodu,  sinachi mo. No be by force to go dubai, Abi na wetin cause the fight…”

The internet shut down when the song came out, and it instantly became a hit. Dele Momodu’s name-drop became Humblesmith’s career breakthrough. That’s the stuff of Hollywood inspirational flicks, and goes a long way to teach people that out of bitterness, goodness can emerge.

But Davido was not done. In his next verse which he supplied for Falz’s ‘Bahd, Baddo, Baddest”, he came through with the killer line of them all: “Some people say dem bad like me but nobody badder, some people wan buy car like me but dem money no reach. I cover magazine I cover magazine; I see am for my gym I see am for my gym

“Mr Dele na my boy Dele na my boy.”

That was another highlight for everyone. Every concert Davido, Falz or Olamide perform that song, the brightest moment of the song becomes “Dele na my boy…” fans look forward to it, the DJs love it, the kids scream it,. And heck, the journalists get high on it. In the clubs, it is the best part of that song, giving it an edge over all the others.

And what did Dele Momodu think of the songs? He was honest. Even though his name was being sung across the world, he chose to focus on the moral high ground, and treat it all as just a ploy by an artiste to sell records. He was also a good sport.

Reacting in an interview with JOY NEWS, a Ghanaian station, Momodu said Davido cannot say such to his face.

“Sometimes your fans may mislead you… I know that he is doing what every other artiste does: you want to sell records, so you have to create controversy. I don’t think David will see me and say I’m his boy, I’m his father… Why would I fight with my own child? I can’t fight him,” he said.

“On Ovation TV…almost every week they are playing Osinachi despite the fact that he is using style to use Osinachi to attack me. I can never fight David… He’s too small for me… We are connected together through that baby.”

Dele Momodu is an inspiration to many in the media world, after providing Nigeria with many highs and lows over the years in various fields including politics and the elite. But this year, his magic wand touched Nigerian music and we are better for it.

Let’s all raise our glasses to a true legend and soak it all in. Dele Momodu, na our boss!