I don’t smoke weed, but it’s good, medicinal –Victor Essiet

Legendary reggae musician, Victor Essiet, lead singer of The Mandators, who was in America for a very long time, but is now back in the country, tells OSEYIZA OOGBODO BLOG how he’s faring with his return.

How many years, or how long, did it take you to organise the Africa Meets Reggae Festival?

It took me two years. First, I had to pay for the franchise, because the down payment is a million dollars. Then I started planning it, and all-in-all, it took a couple of years.

So how do you feel that it has held?

You know like everything that you’re trying to do, it’s like planting a seed. You want to see it bring forth fruits, you know what I mean. And there’s nothing you do that doesn’t involve money, you know, so if you’re trying to do something like what I did, you’re having people at heart, you want to try to do something to give back to the people, you want to see it succeed, and when it shows some green light, it’s a great feeling.

Would you say your return to Nigeria from America to take up your music career again is going the way you want?

Remember that, I’m a very big artist. And most people never knew that when I left Nigeria that I went on performing, touring, recording, and things like that. And I even won an award. I would have shown you the award so you’ll understand that reggae music is strongly an international music. So I have never lost my place in the society. So I am greatly welcome. I was in America for twenty-two years, and yet everywhere I go, it’s Mandators, Mandators, so we’re still in our place.

Have you dropped any single since your return?

I have too many things on my hand. But I’m recording all the same, and from those recordings came a single, Freedom Train. And which I introduced around September (2014). But we’ve not really promoted it. We’re just letting people know that something is coming, that we have a big album coming soon, and that we have a lot of things in the works.

You are actively campaigning that the media should take note of reggae. But a reggae musician, Rymzo, says maybe reggae lost its glory because it’s drugs infested. What’s your own take on that?

It’s not so. We’re the most purest musicians. We’re the ones actually trying to uplift people’s consciousness. We’re the ones that helped to create awareness about things that are against people. We’re the most reasonable musicians when it comes to music. You wanna talk about Bob Marley who became the biggest superstar from the third world? You wanna talk about Jimmy Cliff? The Marleys? Lucky Dube, was he smoking weed? I don’t smoke weed, you know what I mean. But weed is good. It’s medicinal, the healing of a nation. But then, it has to be controlled, so that it doesn’t go into the hands of people who don’t have to use it. Check this out. Cigarette is the most dangerous drug. Beer is the most dangerous drug. Brandy is the most dangerous drug. Have you seen reggae musicians performing, holding drinks in their hand? Have you seen reggae musicians smoking weed, performing? No. So why would anybody say that? It is just demonising nice people who are actually bringing nice things to the nation. During MAMSER, Babangida who was an army president had to use us to be able to make MAMSER successful. Me, Majek, we’ve gone round this whole country. Which musician has such capacity? Which musician can preach peace that people can actually reckon with? We are the ones that have the voice, and so that’s why they have to do something about us. They must give reggae musicians air play too so they can equally earn a living and of course pay tax back to the government. Entertainment is a big deal, you know. Like California has no oil and no natural resources except entertainment. And the US government does not play with entertainment because entertainment grosses more money than oil and every other thing added together.

Talking about your sons from your late popular wife, Peggy, are they stepping into your shoes?

My children are very creative. One of them is a cartoonist. He draws, and if you see his drawings, you’ll be blown away. The other one sings, plays guitar, creates beats. But they are their own people, they are free to do what they want to do, and if anyone wants to do what I’m doing, it’s cool with me.