- His resourcefulness, ingenuity and eponymous style of music also earned him a place in the pantheon of Nigeria’s broadcasting stars and veterans following the success of his Igbo program Akuko N egwu on Nigerian Television Authority in 1972.
The grim reaper has struck again. This time at the heart of the ancient coal city of Enugu. It took away an eminent and illustrious son. It dipped its cold morbid hand into the fragile cauldron of the Nigerian entertainment industry and took away one of its respected members: Mike Ejeagha.
Mike Ejeagha: The highlife maestro who survived the civil war and revolutionised Igbo music
The world is a marketplace and every human in it is there to trade, and once the time allotted to each person to spend in the market is up, they must depart. Mike Ejeagha has departed the marketplace and begun his journey to the other world. He joined the long list of actors and musicians who departed the marketplace after the death bell tolled for them signalling the end of activities in the market and the end of their race in the world.
The Nigerian entertainment industry has lost a sage whose poise, artistic charm and tremendous talent revolutionised Igbo music. From an apprentice learning the art of hairdressing, Ejeagha braced the odd, weathered the storm of a 30-month-long fratricidal war that threatened to tear the country and his career apart and pulled himself up by the bootstrap to become a force to be reckoned with in not just music industry in Nigeria’s colonial days and after independence but also in the broadcast media.
Ejeagha, from a very young age, showed signs of being a precocious child and an immense interest in music. And from that energetic, innocent teenager who played ogene with his friends in the 1930s and 40s, he became an influential figure in the evolution of Igbo music. His resourcefulness, ingenuity and eponymous style of music also earned him a place in the pantheon of Nigeria’s broadcasting stars and veterans following the success of his Igbo program Akuko N egwu on Nigerian Television Authority in 1972.
Ejeagha is a unique storyteller accompanied by guitar style, and his lyrics are tinged with proverbs, giving his music a didactic style. He wrote his music and his lyrics are in Igbo language. Ejeagha said in 2004: “Life in old age is quite enjoyable, especially when the Almighty God gives you good health”.[4]
Ejeagha contributed over three hundred recordings to the National Archives of Nigeria produced during his fieldwork to investigate Igbo folklore highlife music.
Kcee visited him in 2018 to pay homage to him and also to seek his consent to use some of his songs like “Ome ka agu” and “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” in his 2021 cultural vibes album.
He became the talk of the town In July 2024, when “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche”, a song which was released in 1983 as part of his album Akuko N’Egwu Vol. 1, became a rave, trended nationwide and gained widespread recognition following to a viral dance challenge inspired by comedian Brain Jotter.
EARLY LIFE
He was born on 4 April 1930 in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu, Enugu State. His father was a civil servant who worked with the Ministry of Health in Enugu.
EDUCATION LIFE
Ejeagha attended St. Patrick’s Primary School, Ogbete,
MARITAL LIFE
Ejeagha married his first wife in 1959, having three children before she died in 1963. He remarried in 1965 and had seven more children.
CAREER
In 1945, he joined Coal Camp Boys, a local music group in Enugu. After completing his primary education in 1948, he continued to pursue his passion for music. In 1949 at the age of 20, he became an apprentice, learning hairdressing with his friend Cyprain Ozochiawa, who was a barber and musician. He also learnt how to play guitar. Ejeagha was invited by Joseph Ogbu to join his band as a guitarist in 1950. Following his performance, he was called for an audition by Atu Ona, who was the controller of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service and was later offered a radio program, Guitar Playtime, where he performed on radio and produced musical programs. During this time, he formed the Premier Dance Band.
THE CIVIL WAR
During the Biafran War, Ejeagha disbanded his music group but continued to perform a radio program, Igbo Paly, on Radio Nigeria. Because of the war, he left Enugu for Umuahia, where he stayed until the war ended. Before the war, Ejeagha had released several singles in collaboration with CT Onyekwelu, including: “The Unfortunate Lady” (1957), “Colliery Massacre” (1959), and “Ofu nwanne” (1959). After the war, he was invited by the Nigerian Television Authority as a guest presenter for an Igbo program, akuko N Egwu, in 1972; the program featured folksong lyrically composed by Ejeagha and his group. The program was a success and gave rise to the Igbo expression “Akuko Mike Ejeagha.
DEATH
Ejeagha died on 6 June 2025 in Enugu, Nigeria after a long illness, at the age of 95.[11]
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