He trained as a carpenter. Before Orlando Owoh became one of Nigeria’s best-loved highlife singers, he worked with wood in Osogbo. Then, in 1958, he joined the travelling theatre group of Kola Ogunmola as a drummer and singer, and music took over his life.
Osogbo
Owoh was born Stephen Oladipupo Olaore Owomoyela in Osogbo, in Nigeria’s south-west. Sources disagree about his birth year, but most place it in the 1930s. He grew up in a Yoruba town rich in drumming, theatre and festival music.
Theatre training
Kola Ogunmola was one of the great figures of Yoruba travelling theatre. Working in his company taught Owoh stagecraft, storytelling and how to hold an audience. Those skills shaped his later career as a bandleader.
The Omimah Band
In 1960, the year of Nigeria’s independence, Owoh formed his own group, Dr. Orlando Owoh and his Omimah Band. He later led the Young Kenneries and African Kenneries International, and the “Kennery” name became attached to his sound.
Toye
Owoh called his style toye and named himself the “King of Toye”. It blended highlife guitar with Yoruba folk melodies, talking drums and street storytelling. His lyrics were full of proverbs, humour and commentary on ordinary life.
A huge catalogue
Owoh recorded more than forty albums. Songs such as “Yellow Sisi”, “Ajo Ko Dun Bi Ile” and “Omo Pupa” were played at parties and on radio across Yorubaland. “Ajo Ko Dun Bi Ile”, meaning “travelling is not as sweet as home”, became a favourite of Nigerians living abroad.
Trouble
Owoh’s life was not without problems. He was imprisoned for a time on drug charges, and his career had ups and downs as fashions in Nigerian music changed from highlife to juju and fuji.
Respect
Despite the competition from juju and fuji, Owoh kept a loyal audience. Younger musicians and DJs have sampled and reissued his music, and record labels have brought his albums back on vinyl for collectors.
His death
Orlando Owoh died in Lagos in November 2008. He was laid to rest at his home in Agege. Tributes celebrated him as one of the last great Yoruba highlife stars.
Highlife in Nigeria is often remembered through names like Victor Olaiya and Rex Lawson. Orlando Owoh deserves a place beside them, as the carpenter who built his own genre and sang about home to people far from it.
