Veteran Highlife Musician Mike Ejeagha Dies at 95
Veteran Nigerian highlife musician, Mike Ejeagha, best known for his 1983 classic Gwo Gwo Ngwo, has passed away at the age of 95.
Ejeagha, whose music found renewed popularity in 2024 after popular skit maker Brain Jotter used Gwo Gwo Ngwo in a global dance challenge, died on Friday evening at 8 p.m., according to family sources.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday morning, the singer’s eldest son, Emma Ejeagha, confirmed that the legendary artist died after a long battle with prostate cancer.
“Papa died on Friday at 8 p.m. and his body has been deposited in the mortuary. I was with him during his final moments,” Emma said.
He also revealed that the late musician passed away at the 32 Garrison Hospital in Enugu, where he had been receiving treatment. According to Emma, his father had battled the illness since 2006.
Emma added that in his final instructions, the music icon requested that his body should not be embalmed or kept in the morgue for an extended period.
Mike Ejeagha, often referred to as the custodian of Igbo folklore music, is widely celebrated for his contributions to Nigerian highlife, storytelling through song, and preservation of the Igbo language and oral tradition.