History: Cardinal Rex Erekosima Jim Lawson, The ljaw HighLife-King Who Led The Biafran National Band in 1967
" Before the Nigerian civil war, Rex had well over 100 songs to his name and these were regularly played on radio and night clubs across the country and beyond. During the war proper, he also recorded many hits, some of which could be described as ego massage of the military elite. He is credited for being the first to play the Biafran national anthem at the proclamation of Biafra’s secession on May 30, 1967. He went on to sing Hail Biafra in praise of the Biafran leader, Lieutenant Colonel Odimegwu Ojukwu.
The period immediately after the 15 January 1966 coup through to the start of the Nigerian civil war in 1967 was very precarious. The assassination of Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello and the Prime minister, Tafawa Balewa, were viewed as attempts by soldiers of eastern extraction to dominate the north and other regions. There was tension all over the country. The situation was near boiling point in the north owing to the failure of the General Aguiyi Ironsi administration to court martial officers implicated in the failed coup and the perceived celebratory posture of people of the eastern extraction living in the region. At the time, musicians were also very cautious of what they sang so as not to be misinterpreted by any of the ethnic nationalities. Rex Lawson was caught in this dilemma also.
After the January 1966 coup, some mischief makers started circulating his 1964 song titled Ewu na Ba Kwa(Goat is Crying) in the northern part of the country. In derision, the bleating goat in the song was identified as Ahmadu Bello howling as he was being killed by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, leader of the coupists. This did not go down well with many in that part of the country.
The following months were crisis-filled, bringing a lull to all aspects of life, including social engagements and clubbing. Before the civil war, the highlife industry in Nigeria was dominated by musicians of eastern extraction and natives of the present-day Niger Delta. As suspicion fueled by crisis in government increased, many of the bands disbanded and returned to their hometowns. Expectedly, highlife music took a hit. Rex Lawson fled Lagos for his native Buguma where he retired to fishing – the traditional livelihood of his people.
War broke out on 6 July 1967 with the secession of the eastern region from Nigeria. The secessionists extended their capture to many parts of the present-day Niger Delta, including Rivers – a state created by the Yakubu Gowon administration as a contingency plan to break the then eastern region into two.
Alabo Lloyd Jim Lawson, younger brother to Rex Lawson who is now in his 70’s, Narrated :
“When the Biafra war broke out, my brother had to leave Lagos and relocate back home just like many other musicians from what was then the eastern region comprising the east proper and all the region covering present-day Niger Delta”
Lloyd said that at the time, he was a young man working with the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in Umuahia. On one occasion he had a chance meeting with then Chief of General Staff of the Republic of Biafra,Philip Effiong, who inquired from him about the popular musician. He informed Effiong that Rex had retired to fishing in Buguma since the war was now the pre-occupation of those that hitherto patronized the clubs. The surprised military officer felt such raw talent could not be allowed to idle away so he immediately ordered that Lloyd go fetch him and bring him straight to Umuahia.
“Effiong ordered that I should be provided a vehicle and all that was necessary to bring Rex to Umuahia for rehabilitation,” Lloyd explained.
“As anticipated, when I arrived Buguma, I was told Rex had gone fishing. I had to go down to the river to look for him and when we met, I explained that I had come to take him to Umuahia on the instruction of the number two man to Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafra leader. We chatted about this and he did not object. We returned to the house to prepare for the trip to Umuahia the next day.”
Explaining further, he stated that: “When we finally arrived at the state house in Umuahia, Rex was welcomed and was informed that he was to head the Biafran State Band. He was asked to replace the equally popular musician – Celestine Ukwu, who was heading the band at the time. Celestine was subsequently made head of another band.”
It is believed that it was either in Umuahia or Owerri where they were routinely engaged to entertain the military officers that Rex Lawson composed the controversial song “Hail Biafra” in praise of Ojukwu. But his stay in Umuahia would not be long. For reasons unknown even to Lloyd, one morning sometime in May 1968, Effiong called him and privately asked that he inform the musician to flee to the newly created Rivers State via the forest. Rex Lawson was at the time in Owerri for a performance.
" To avoid any suspicion, Effiong told me to wail uncontrollably when I am brought before the Biafran high command to be informed about my brother’s abduction by some persons in Owerri. I did exactly that, rolling on the floor and weeping without any suspicion. Ojukwu was even pleading with me that my brother would be found safely and returned. Effiong was there with him. Later when he met me again privately, he commended me for putting on that convincing show. By then, Rex was safely in Port Harcourt.”
In his account of the day they fled Owerri, 74-year-old Dawari Somoni Harry, one of the late musician’s team members said that they were in Owerri when intelligence got to them that beyond entertaining, they (members of the band) were to be conscripted into the Biafran army to fight. The band had a signal they usually gave each other whenever there was danger.
Harry who used to play the conga and maraca explained: “After he gave the sign which we understood to mean “dispersal” we left all our musical instruments on stage to avoid suspicion, pretended we were on recess and fled by night through the forest, splitting in different directions. Some of us came back to Rivers, others missed their way in the forest and were never seen after that.”
Harry subsequently quit drumming when he arrived Port Harcourt and joined the Third Marine Commando.
It cannot be ascertained what may have influenced Effiong’s decision to instigate the escape of Rex, but immediately the musician arrived Rivers State there was breaking news on national radio from Kaduna that the federal troops had liberated Rivers from the Biafran troops and Rex also freed from his Biafran captors. Naturally, there was wild jubilation all over the newly-created state, particularly Port Harcourt. The federal troops were warmly received in all parts of the state subsequently.
Rex then started playing for the Third Marine Commando Band. It was during this period he composed Gowon Special as tributes to the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon
With liberation of Rivers from the Biafran captors in 1968, Rex also composed a heart-rending song to mourn Major Adaka Boro, an Ijaw soldier largely credited for the successful military strategy that liberated the state, who died in controversial circumstances. He also sang Gowon Special in praise of the then head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, when Rivers was firmly in the grip of the federal forces under the control of commander of the Third Marine Commando, Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle nicknamed “the scorpion”. Towards the end of the war, Rex travelled to the United Kingdom where he recorded his last album titled Rex Lawson in London.
In this piece, PHILIP JAKPOR traces the path of the late Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson, the highlife music icon of the 1960s, to Buguma, his native community in Rivers State. He obtains unpublicized information from the family and close associates of the late singer about the intrigues that kept him alive during the Nigerian civil war, and the true account of his tragic death in 1971.
The seven-year period between Nigeria’s independence in 1960 and the start of the civil war in 1967 was a golden era. The people of this multi-ethnic nation lived together harmoniously, cherished and respected one another despite the diversity of cultures and religions.
As young Nigerians embraced highlife music and added local ingenuity to their renditions, its appeal grew in the country. Among the multi-talented proponents of this music and perhaps one of the greatest Nigeria ever produced at the time was Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson.
At the time he held sway, Rex Lawson was recognized as the people’s artiste because of his ability to compose and sing in different dialects. He sang in Efik, Izon, Igbo, several Ghanaian dialects and Pidgin English.In the 1960s his records came in quick succession and were played back to back on Radio Nigeria, besides several live performances he did in Radio Lagos studios. His songs were party favourites of the time and were loved by even those who did not understand the dialects he sang in. Yet, his songs dwelt on family values, love, hard work and morality.
Born Erekosima Jim Lawsonon 4 March 1938, his father was of the Kalabari Ijaw ethnic group in present-day Rivers State; while his mother was an Igbo from Owerri.
It is said that his name, pronounced as
“Ere ke o sima”, actually means “this one will not live long”. The name was as a result of his father’s conviction about how long the sickly Rex would live when he was an infant, following a pattern of deaths which had claimed his first three children. At the time, the young Rex was battling severe small pox infection but his mother was determined to see him live. She was said to have sought the assistance of medicine men from outside the Kalabari environment for his treatment. Finally, her efforts paid off as Rex survived and lived beyond infancy.
After his (Erekosima's) primary school education in Buguma, Rex Lawson is said to have rejected his father’s suggestion and plea that he proceed to high school and perhaps university. He felt going to school would either slow or derail his plans to become a great musician. His elder sister named Daba also joined his father to plead with him for a change of heart, but he rebuffed their entreaties.
As his fame grew, Rex’s teeming fans also gave him befitting titles. At a point, he was nicknamed Pastor Jim Rex Lawson, then Bishop, before finally taking on the lasting title ‘Cardinal’. In an uncut interview on Voice of America (VOA) recorded for music specialist Leo Sarkisan in August 1965, Tunde Sowande, the Nigerian interviewer, asked Rex how he came about the title Cardinal. His reply was that his fans gave him the nickname because of the way he performed religiously.
-Written By Philip Jakpor For Money Issues Nigeria, During An Interview with Alabo Lloyd Jim Lawson, At Buguma On April 19th 2019.
