Lamboginny in Concert

Lamboginny in Concert 

Lamboginny is a Nigerian musician with a mission – to use his music to cheer the lives of prisoners. He performs in prisons in Nigeria, and now further afield. He also recently held a “one-day boot camp in a juvenile corrective facility in Lagos, during which he inspired teenagers through a series of lectures and music performances.”

He performed today at the Norfield Congregational Church in Weston, CT, just down the road from our home in Westport. There were about 60 people in the crowd, many of them children, and three or four dogs. One of his songs was from his recent album Salt.

The bigger event is this evening. I’m sure there will be a larger audience. The church events are to support his prison projects and his outreach to young people.

Of course I had to get up to dance to his lively music. I was not alone, nor first. Many women and a few men were shaking their bodies to the Afrobeat!

Toyin Okoro from the church was instrumental in bringing him to Weston. She met him on a recent trip to Nigeria, and was inspired by his mission.

She designed and sewed Nigerian fabric into outfits for many of the audience members, including the children.

When I heard Toyin’s name, I knew she was Yoruba, and guessed her husband was Igbo. I spoke to their son Cameron, who confirmed it. I also spoke in Igbo to his dad, giving him a major surprise!

David, Director of Music at the church, had taught some of the children three songs to accompany Lamboginny. They had a lot of fun on stage. Lamboginny gave each one a chance to sing a verse with the microphone!

CNN World online had an article about him in December last year. Lamboginny, whose real name is Yinka Lawanson, spoke about his concerts in prisons.

“What makes me happy is when I see that smile of hope on their faces,” he says. “This is for them to know that life has not turned its back on them.”

Igbo Kwenu

Lamboginny opened one song with a call and response – Igbo Kwenu! He had the audience respond “Kwenu!” This is used frequently in a gathering of Igbo people. “Kwenu” means “We agree, or we are with you.”

Sometimes the response is simply a fervent “Yah!” as in this brief excerpt from my new book. The scene is the marriage of Clem’s parents.

Ogbungwa (Clem’s grandfather) stood up. “Ndi be anyi, kwenu! Our people, shout,” he said. (I use “shout” as short for “shout to show you are with me and will listen.)

“Yah,” the assembly responded. Three more times he repeated his call, and each time the answer was louder – Yah! – until the nearby palm trees seemed to reverberate. Then he turned to the hosts. “We are here to celebrate our son’s marriage to your daughter. We thank you for welcoming us.”

He took a long drink of palm wine and continued. “Our towns have a long relationship,” he said. “The men of Nanka are known as great wrestlers. One time our best wrestlers were competing in the town of Igbo Ukwu. They had defeated everyone that the people of Igbo Ukwu could present against them. Then wrestlers came from Agulu to compete. Our youngest wrestler fought with an older experienced man from Agulu. Our man held the leg of the older man until he fell and was being pinned to the ground. But then he remembered that he had to respect his elders and he let the man overturn him and hold him down. This was in the days before we were born.”

The crowd shouted their approval. “He was right. He had to show respect!”

In addition to music, palm wine, and food, story-telling is often part of Igbo events.

Reaction to Buhari’s Claim 

Biafra: IPOB reacts to Buhari’s claim of Nigeria army being soft on Igbo during Civil War

I wondered if there would be a response from the people of Biafra to Buhari’s statement that I reported last time: Gowon told his men not to kill Igbo people, “our brothers.”

Yes, there was an almost immediate response from the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, basically calling President Buhari’s claim false.

The one person we knew personally who might have known the truth died a few months ago. Joseph Achuzia was a leader in the Biafran army and a friend of my husband’s. He was on the Biafran side, opposing the Nigerian army. If Gowon had issued such an order to the Nigerian troops- not to kill the Igbo people – he could have been aware.

I think of Joseph when I remember what brought my husband back from England to Nigeria where we met in 1963.

Joseph and Clem were running a night club in Manchester, England, around 1960. One night, the police came and charged Clem, who was on duty that night, with keeping the club open after official closing hours. His lawyer advised him that he could extricate himself from the case if he could show that he was leaving the country!

At the time, Clem was considering an offer from the Electricity Corporation to return to Nigeria and become the Chief Engineer. He avoided a sentence or fine when he told the court in England that he was taking up a position in his home country and would be gone soon.

Grandson Bruche’s Birthday Today

Our grandson Bruche turned 7 today. And Clem is in Nigeria to help celebrate!

I’m expecting pictures any minute from Bruche’s dad, our son Sam.

If they don’t come in time, I’ll include them next time.