by Chi Ibe

Everyone in Nigeria’s music industry knows Sunday Areh. With his trademark white hair, and his aggressive manner, he has parleyed decades in the industry – music – into a name that signifies competence, experience, and success.

The man who now manages acts including Omawumi however has seen his share of controversy included a celebrated spat with the masked Lagbaja two years ago. Strangely, on parting with Mo’Hits pre-split, he has been quiet about the circumstances leading to and after – at least until now. He shares more than a but in this interview with soft-sell weekly, Encomium. We sum up the interview in three sub-heads below:

Parting with D’banj

‘What many people don’t really know is that before Mo’Hits eventually broke up, I have made up my mind to stop working with D’Banj. Don’t get me wrong, D’Banj is one artiste I will continue to love whether we see or we don’t see, whether we talk or we don’t talk….The love I have for him was dropping and two weeks before they announced their break-up, something happened between us during a show in Asaba, and that night, I wouldn’t lie to you, I said to myself, I am not going to work with him again’.

‘I think it’s not important anymore. Truly, I was not happy during the period but that was then. Life goes on and till tomorrow, he’s somebody I still love, respect. So, I thank God that he’s doing well and I am also doing fine. I am very happy because I know what I have achieved since they left. I know what God has done for me since they parted ways’.

Mavin acts

The thing is, when I stopped working with D’Banj, I still maintained my working relationship with others in Mo’Hits but I never knew they had planned to break-up. When the break-up came, I went back to the drawing board and planned my next move. I still got shows for them and connected clients who needed D’banj, Wande Coal and others for shows, even for Tiwa Savage. There’re sometimes I collected service charge but in most cases, I did it for free. So, it wasn’t like a working relationship I had with them as members of Mo’Hits.

On Don Jazzy

‘That word, ‘aide’ sounds weird because if you check my age and that of Don Jazzy, the gap is wide. Let me tell you the truth about myself, I am a proud person and I respect myself. I may not be more than this but I know my worth. So, I am not comfortable with the word. But, the truth of the matter is that he called me one afternoon that my children (referring to Dr SID, and D’Prince) are missing me and they wanted to see me. I told him I would be travelling out of the country. So, when I came back, we met and he specifically told me that I should take care of Dr SID and D’Prince the way I am taking care of my artistes. That was about a year after they registered Mavin Records. I accepted and collected their materials, their singles and I did the promo CD for their new songs. So, it is not like a management deal but rather me helping them because of the bond we’ve shared together’