Dr Victor Olaiya is a veteran highlife musician. In this chat with True Nigerians’ crew, he bares his mind on issues in the music industry and the paradigm shift in the Nigerian musical culture. Excerpts.
In your own definition, who is a true Nigerian?
A true Nigeria in my opinion is somebody who is not corrupt, but tries in any way possible to add good values to his country, one who is very loyal to his country.
You show so much strength at this your old age and you can even blow the trumpet; what do you do to keep fit?
I do a lot of exercises each day. I do some press-ups and walking exercises to keep fit.
How would you rate our music industry when compared to your days?
If anybody says that we are progressing, I will say that it is his personal opinion. I do not want to believe that we are making good progress, because the general language of this country is highlife music. Having lost the track so to say, we have deviated musically and culturally from the direction I would have thought we should go.
For now, we are just promoting and copying foreign artists instead of developing our own kind of musical culture. I think that this deviation is not peculiar to Nigeria. The Ghanaian contemporary music is facing the same fate as ours. Our youths are copying their music and they are also copying ours, so I really can’t tell who is copying each other.
With artistes like Sunny Nneji, Flavour and others who are doing what we may call new highlife, do you see any hope of sustaining our musical culture?
There are still upcoming youths who do highlife and they try to project highlife and keep it in its right place, but that is not to say that sufficient justice is being done. We are trying to defend highlife and we have promised to defend highlife till the end of life. To do this, we require sound backing in a way of publicity and encouragement.
If an artiste requests to do a song with you now, will you consent?
Yes I will, provided he has something to offer. I will not welcome or encourage an artiste who has nothing upstairs (untalented artiste). One who just wants to use my own talent to excel or to project himself, I will not welcome any such artiste. I will examine him twice to make sure that he has something to offer.
What actually went through your mind on that remarkable October 1st, 1960 when you were asked to mount the stage and perform?
I was not afraid and I refused to entertain any fear. I have had to appear on stage before the Independence Day celebration. I have always had the courage to entertain Heads of States and even the Queen of England. Before then, I have been very conversant with state protocol, having being frequent in entertaining visitors to the state house. At that time, it was Sergeant Ferguson that was the last governor and I was very familiar with him as well as the state functions and state performances, so it did not quite come as a surprise to me. But then it came as a very prestigious performance for me. Indeed, it was a real honour and an added feather to my feathers.
So you were not afraid?
Yes, I felt on top of the world when I was presented to Princess Alexander who represented the Queen of England on that occasion. I took it as normal, but then having to shake hands with such a beautiful ‘sherikoko’ (beautiful woman), I felt on top of the world.
I am very much interested in that word, ‘Sherikoko’, little wonder D’banj is always saying ‘Kokolets’. How were the girls of those days?
Oh, they were very beautiful, but then music was like a charm used in attracting members of the opposite sex. Women are the greatest promoters of our popularity and that is if your music is good, sweet to the ears, attractive and does not sound sour in the ears. If your music is well arranged, educating and poetic, the ‘sherikokos’ will definitely like to identify with you and will promote you as well.
Who were your contemporaries?
There were many of them. Most of them are now dead, we are just few that are still living. One of them was Chief Osita Osadebe. Jim (Rex) Lawson, who was one of my boys, was a very fine vocalist and trumpeter. Professor Victor Uwaifo was among my boys, you know, he used to be in my band then. There used to be Charles Uwakwe and Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti, who was one of my boys too. There were many of them that passed through me, even Charly Boy.
Do your contemporaries still alive come to visit you?
Yes, some of them that are still alive do come to visit me.
There are a lot of rivalries among artists today and they do acknowledge it in their musical notes. They blast each other through their music and all that. Was it so in your days?
Yes, we did all that then and you must know that anything good must have rivalry. There were rivalries among us then, almost to the point of exchanging physical blows like you have in the House of Assembly. Sometimes when we finished playing, we will go to the street and try our physical strength. It was so because Empire (nightclub) used to have five deferent groups; we had D.C. Arinze, who is still alive, leading the first group and we had Single Amaechi leading another, and each time we met to play at a function, at the end of the show, they must fight.
Well, it is still better when compared to these days of using guns and diabolic powers in confronting each other…? 
No, ours did not degenerate to such extent.

Our youths have lost original highlife musical culture –Victor Olaiya