Music icon, Bongos Ikwue, shares his experiences with JOHN AMEH
How does it feel to be 70 years old?
I don’t feel any difference at all. I don’t know what it feels like to be 70 years old. When I turned 30, I didn’t know what it felt like. I am just living and doing my everyday thing and enjoying every bit of it.
At a point, you simply disappeared from the music scene. Why?
Well, I have not been living in any kind of hiding. I think people, or journalists, have not been reaching out enough. You are the one to go and find out what is happening. I shouldn’t go and knock on everybody’s door and say, ‘Hey, here I am; my name is Bongos’. It is up to you to find out about whom you want to find out and tell it to the people. I have been as busy as anybody can be. I don’t like to talk about myself.
How was growing up?
I attended primary school in Otukpo, Jos and Kaduna. I had my secondary school education in Zaria and my Higher School in Okene (Kogi State). Then I ended up in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I think that sums it up completely. Growing up, I spent a little time in Otukpo with my parents, but moved to live with my brother, who was a policeman in Jos from 1953 to 1956. Most of my growing years were with my brother were at the police barracks in Jos. He listened to music a lot.
