I had wanted to write this article on March 27th, the day after CY Inter, a comedian made a post on his page. At the time we were wrapping up our Women’s month articles and I decided to hold off on it.
Manu Dibango’s passing touched me immensely. I am a great fan of the man and I am a proud owner of 9 of his albums. Richard Bona, another musician I am an even greater fan of (owning ALL his albums including some collaboration and live albums) proposed that the Douala Airport be renamed after Manu Dibango.
Not only do I agree with Uncle Richard, but I also think that if that monstrosity and glorified bus park that we call an airport has to be named after Manu Dibango, then it would have to be rebuilt in order to carry, with dignity, the name of the person after which it will be baptised.
But on the other side of the aisle, dissenting voices were making themselves heard. Not that I did not expect that would be the case. Cameroonians are a rare breed of people after all. But the one dissenting voice that surprised me came from a comedian, an artist no less; and a colleague of Manu Dibango, if one would give himself the luxury of such an extrapolation. Although, after the nature and content of his dissent, I began to seriously question the intrinsic nature of his artistry and his own appreciation and understanding thereof.
CY Inter, in a post, questioned why Richard Bona would want the Douala Airport to be named after Manu Dibango. He asked what significant investment Manu Dibango had done in Cameroon like hotels or other real estates. CY Inter appreciated the fact that Manu Dibango was an excellent saxophonist but questioned if that was enough for an airport to be named after him.
First of all, I find it very funny that in 2020, people still have such a monochromatic view of what investments should be. It’s always real estate that comes first. But more to the point, the fact that an artist like CY himself does not see that the work of his mind as an investment is quite hilarious. I won’t dwell too much on the topic. I will only say this; - Jovi owns his masters. If you don’t understand what that means, you might as well end this article here.
But to come back to CY; it is important that he and everyone else understand that knowledge is a currency. And it is one of the most valuable things that we have on earth. It is why King Solomon asked for wisdom from God. Manu Dibango had an illustrious career that spanned well over 65 years. In that time he had worked and mastered his craft and everything that he put out as music is his legacy. A legacy that we can either choose to use or not.
If we choose to use it, and use it well, we will be laying a new foundation for our entertainment industry. The Nigerian music today is running on the sound of the music Fela Kuti made and popularised. Granted, Afrobeat bit off Ghanaian Highlife music but that is a topic for another day. The point of the whole matter is the Nigerian music industry today is projected to generate $86 million in 2020 (according to Price-Waterhouse-Cooper).
86 Million Dollars coming mostly from the influence of the music of one man. And when I talk of the industry I am talking of magazines, music bloggers, content creators, models, songwriters, singers, A&Rs, video directors, musicians, show promoters, artistic directors, DJs etc.
So before you question what investment Manu Dibango has done in Cameroon, start by asking yourself why we all as a people have not been able to create a distinctive Afropop sound based off of his musical catalog. Michael Jackson took a line off “Soul Makossa” and turned it into a global hit.
And if you must know, that particular song was produced by Quincy Jones. Richard Bona is one of Quincy Jones’ artists. He plays the bass guitar in Quincy Jones' orchestra. The same Richard Bona who asked that the Douala airport be named after Manu Dibango.
It’s like you guys are not aware of the extent and the depth of some debates that you try to immerse yourself in.
So if you want to ask what investments Manu Dibango has done, just know that there is a potential $86M you can partake in every year, only if you start asking yourself the right questions. There is nothing on this earth more valuable than knowledge, and Manu Dibango’s knowledge is in the notes of his saxophone.
If by some miracle, in 10 years, the minister of culture is a hip-hop fan and he/she decides to inaugurate a hip-hop museum and decides to name it "The Ndukong Center for Hip-Hop Arts,” are we getting to question why he named it after Jovi? Are we going to ask what investments Jovi has made in Montee Jouvence?
Salatiel, just in February, met Manu Dibango and they must have obviously spoken about music. Imagine how much Salatiel, one the best Afropop producers we have in this country must have learned from the man.
CY must have grown in an era when Jean Mishe Kankan was the most prominent sketch comedian in Cameroon. Somewhere around 2005/2006, CY must have fallen on the tapes of stand-up comedians like I Go Dye, Okey Bakassi and Basket Mouth. All of them, people who must have inspired him and through their stand-up act and interviews, given him some knowledge about the craft that he is doing today, and I daresay putting food on his table.
There is no better investment than knowledge and experience. Congratulations, CY, you played yourself.
- Wandji Wilfred
P.S: Give the man his airport. A new one