Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed sadness over the death of highlife musician, folklorist and cultural icon, Mike Ejeagha, and urged the federal and Enugu State governments to immortalise him.
Mike Ejeagha died on Friday at the 32 Garrison Hospital in Enugu after a long battle with prostate cancer at the age of 95.
Born on April 4, 1930 in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu local government area of Enugu State, Ejeagha’s life was a remarkable odyssey of culture, wisdom and music. A statement by the national coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko yesterday said Ejeagha should not be remembered only as a highlife legend but also as a national philosopher and cultural intellectual whose music elevated Nigerian and African traditions to global admiration.
“Mike Ejeagha didn’t just play music, he preached timeless values, preserved oral traditions and spoke in proverbs that transcended tribal boundaries. His messages were profoundly philosophical and deeply ethical. His music deserves to be studied as literature and philosophy, just like Chinua Achebe’s works are studied globally. Ejeagha deserves national immortality,” he said.
HURIWA noted with concern that while the Enugu State government had made commendable efforts to honour the music legend, such as renaming a road after him in 2024, the federal government is yet to take any visible step to immortalise him at the national level.
The association urged Governor Peter Mbah to lead the charge in pushing for a national recognition of the late icon, adding that the process must begin from Enugu State as his birthplace and cultural base, and move up to federal institutions.
“We call on the Enugu State government not to rest at naming a road after him but to build a Mike Ejeagha Centre for African Folklore and Music Philosophy in his honour and work with the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure that his music becomes part of the General Studies curriculum in federal universities. If Enugu fails to push, the federal government may never act. The effort must begin at home,” HURIWA stated.
