26/07/2025
“What pleases one displeases another.” The Doctor of Hypertension ..
Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, owes much of its musical soul to legends whose sounds will never fade. Among them, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe stands in a class of his own a pillar without whom Nigerian music would be incomplete.
🎺 This rare video from circa 1984, forty-One years ago captures the magic of Osadebe and his band performing Osondi Owendi live on TV. It’s not just a song; it’s an anthem of generations, a proverb set to melody, whose title means “What pleases one displeases another.”
Born on March 17, 1936, in Atani, Igboland now southeast , he was the heir to a long line of singers and dancers. Music ran in his blood. He sharpened that gift in bustling Onitsha during his school years, where he absorbed not only Igbo tradition but also the global sounds flowing through Nigeria’s ports and airwaves.
He was no ordinary musician. He was a scholar of sound. His Highlife was not narrow or static: he wove calypso, samba, bolero, rumba, jazz, and waltz into it like a master weaver making the finest Akwete cloth. Osadebe didn’t just entertain, he taught philosophy through rhythm.
Stories are told of how he would spend hours rehearsing a single song to perfection. Of how markets would empty when he played in Onitsha or Lagos. In the 1970s and 80s, there was no wedding or celebration in Eastern Nigeria that didn’t feature Osadebe’s music booming from speakers or live stages.
He also showed remarkable leadership. His band was like family: he mentored dozens of musicians who went on to shape Highlife and Nigerian popular music. He kept his orchestra disciplined, polished, and ever-innovative.
When he died on May 11, 2007, Nigeria lost a voice that cannot be replaced. But we didn’t lose his music. We still dance. We still learn. We still heal. Because he left us Osondi Owendi and countless other masterpieces as his immortal legacy.
His soul lives in every Highlife riff, every drumbeat, every Igbo proverb set to song.
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