By Charles Okogene
He was a prominent member of Onyeka Onwuenu’s Kabasa band. That was in the days when Onyeka and the late Christy Essien-Igbokwe, were the leading female musicians in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria.
Together with the likes of Zubby Enebeli, Mercy Adichie, his fellow Ukwani ethnic nation folks of Delta State, they made Kabassa band strong, lyrically with their sweet sound vocal power.
However, like the Yoruba adage will say ’20 children cannot play together for 20 years,’ the cord that held them together with Onyeka and Kabassa snapped and they all went their separate ways.
While the crux of the matter that set them against Onyeka who was then referred to as ‘elegant stallion’ is not the crux of this piece. What concerns us here is that Chris Hanem, has bitten the dust. The dark complexion man with a nightingale voice is no more. He was pronounced dead on December 3, 2019. According to his former band mate, Enebeli, who announced it in a WhatApps group, Hanem gave up the fight to live in a difficult country like Nigeria in the early hours of that day; leaving behind a beautiful wife and children to mourn him.
Early music days…
After leaving Kabassa band in acrimonious way, Hanem went solo; released a debut in the 1980s entitled ‘Ozigizaga’. The album not only became popular and was used to identify him, he won the Performing Musicians Employers’ of Nigeria (PMAN) prestigious new artiste of the year award with it. That was in the days of Chief Tony Okoroji as PMAN president. Then the artiste was managed by Mr. Gideon Nwaomu now of Giddys Place Asaba and who had just left Onyeka as a road manager.
After Ozigizaga, which still commands some measure of airplay till date, released other albums, which as they say in showbiz, did not fly.
Coupled with the precarious situation of showbiz in Nigeria, Hanem fell into hard times and began to play in club houses, pubs and roadside bars until he gave up the ghost. He will missed by all who knew the power in his vocal chord.
