The Secret That Led To The Death Of Chief Oliver De Coque, Africa’s Most Popular Highlife King.
Chief Dr. Oliver Sunday Akanite, also known as Oliver De Coque, was a Nigerian highlife musician and guitarist with over 50 albums to his credit and a career spanning four decades, making him one of Africa’s most popular highlife kings. Oliver and his band, ‘ Ogene Sound Super of Africa, ‘ fused modern highlife and traditional Igbo music.
The musician had 12 children, 7 boys and 5 girls, who all enjoyed having their father around. ” It was fantastic. My siblings and I didn’t think of him as a celebrity. He was a typical, caring, jovial, and loving father to us ” One of his sons, Darlington Akanite, revealed.
Oliver was dubbed ” The Game Master” as a child because he excelled at the game of Draft. ‘ Okwe’ is the Igbo word for draft. People began to refer to him as ‘ Oliver Di ka Okwe. ‘ He then changed the name to sound more like a French name, which is how ‘ Oliver De Coque’ came about.
He enjoyed shopping for clothes and spent a lot of money on maintaining his appearance. In fact, he spent #30, 000 per week on his beard, totaling $120, 000 per month. He went to the salon twice a week and always claimed that his beard was his signature look. He stated that if someone chose to keep a beard, he should do so.
He became ill near the end of 2007. He had diabetes and high blood pressure. Most artists don’t like to talk about their health problems, and his son believes that if Oliver had told people about his health problems, he would have gotten help sooner. ” He had been sick for three months. In February 2008, he recovered and resumed performing. He died on June 20, but he had planned to visit the United States on July 2 for a checkup ” Darlington continued. He went on to tell the press that it was as if his father knew he was going to die because he chose to stay indoors on the day he died. ” And he instructed me to remain by his side. “
“He became ill after eating breakfast that morning and canceled his appointments for the day. I had no idea it was such a serious matter, all I could do was console him. I went to the bathroom to take a shower and then told him I wanted to see some friends, but he begged me not to leave his side, and I became irritated. I assumed he was simply preventing me from having fun. I resisted the urge to leave.”
While Darlington remained with him, he began to tell him about how he began his career. He complained about his breathing while telling the story. Oliver then decided he needed to go to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he instructed the driver to increase the air conditioning because he was feeling hot. “Wheelbarrow! Wheelbarrow! Darlington, please bring a Wheelbarrow!” His done and came terrified. Darlington who wondered what was going on after his death realized that the highlife maestro was referring to a Wheelchair and not a Wheelbarrow.
“I believe he was going paralyzed and unconscious. When we arrived at the hospital, he was rushed to the emergency room. He begged me to save him throughout his stay in the hospital, but there was nothing I could do. His son said.
As he took his last breath, he held Darlington’s hand close to his side. His son kissed him on the cheek and closed his eyes. “I was so perplexed by everything that happened.”
His son believes that if he had made his health condition public, more than 200 Igbo people would have given their lives for him. He’s gone leaving behind a vacuum, but he’s taught the entire family that when faced with a challenge, one should not remain silent about it. I want people to take something away from his death.”
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The Secret That Led To The Death Of Chief Oliver De Coque, Africa’s Most Popular Highlife King.
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