‘Fuji, devoid of foreign contamination’

Participants at Goldberg forum at the maiden edition of the Fuji Roundtable, powered by Goldberg Lager Beer from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc, have described Fuji music as the only Nigerian music brand that is devoid of foreign contamination.
They therefore identified the music genre as a unifying factor for Yoruba living in the western part of Nigeria and beyond.
As a result, they were in agreement that the music deserves due attention and concerted efforts towards taking it to the next level.
They unanimously agreed that Fuji music has, over the years, contributed to the socio-cultural development of Yoruba in the region and beyond.
In his keynote address, Olawale Obadeyi traced the origin of the genre to the period when the local brand of music was in vogue among the Muslim faithful. He acknowledged that the music has grown astronomically over the years featuring different artistes who have contributed in different dimensions to its development. He said the innovations brought into Fuji by those artistes deepened ties across boundaries in the region.
“Each Fuji artiste, evidently, is pushing the limits of creativity. The horizon of Fuji music has been astoundingly widened,” he stated.
Obadeyi noted that Goldberg appropriated Fuji music as a veritable platform through which cultural values could be used to validate the essence of the Yoruba living in the region and beyond.
Chairman, National Project Committee of the Fuji Musicians Association of Nigeria, Sikiru Agboola (a.k.a SK Sensation), advised Fuji musicians and other stakeholders in the country to take the music to the next level. According to him, it is the only surviving music genre that has its origin in Nigeria and deserves concerted efforts from stakeholders to proffer possible ways through which it could be developed.
“It is the duty of all stakeholders to take the music to the next level,” he added.
He, therefore, commended the beer brand for the support.
The participants, who converged in Lagos penultimate Monday at the corporate headquarters of Nigerian Breweries, include: Akogun Gani Balogun, cousin to the late Fuji legend, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister; Olasoju Adebayo, General Manager, K1De Ultimate Band; and Olawale Obadeyi, a Fuji analyst.