Sonny Okosun

Sonny Okosun (1 January 1947 – 24 May 2008 in Washington DC) was a musician from Nigeria. He is best known as the leader of the Ozzidi band. He named his band Ozzidi after a renowned Ijaw river god, but to Okosun the meaning was "there is a message". His surname is sometimes spelled Okosuns and his first name Sunny. He was one of the leading Nigerian musicians from the late 1970s to mid-1980s.

Okosun's brand of African pop music, Ozzidi, is a synthesis of Afro-beat, reggae and funk music. From 1977, he became known for protest songs about Pan-Africanism, freedom and a few other social and political issues affecting Africans.

As a young boy, Okosun spent his early childhood with his grandmother at Ibore, near Irrua in Edo State, thereafter, he moved to Enugu to live with his parents and where his father worked with the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Okosun attended various training schools starting with St Brigid's School, Asata, Enugu before enrolling at a government trade centre in Enugu. He left the training centre before completing his studies. Excited by a career in entertainment, he travelled to Lagos to further his interest in acting. In Lagos, he took drama lessons at a drama school in Surulere but left after a few months returning to Enugu. In Enugu, he found opportunity in small roles where he participated in a few dramatic productions; he also worked with a notable Enugu drama studies teacher, professor John Okwerri. His participation in Okwerri's group and his determination to succeed in entertainment led him to be featured in some radio and TV skits with the Eastern Nigeria Television Station.

Okwerri was a member of the Mbari Club, the movement started by Ulli Beier, with J. P. Clark and Wole Soyinka was a meeting spot for artists and writers. It was there that Okosun began to develop an interest in music. Appearances at the Eastern regional television station gained him notice from Mariam Okagbue, who bought him a guitar and encouraged him to continue working on music. In 1965, he was a participant in a drama group that won the first prize at a competition, the group's winning play was a dramatic version of J. P. Clark's Song of a Goat and Okwerri's Masquerades. As the winning group they represented Nigeria in the 1965 Commonwealth Arts Festival held in London. He used the opportunity to tour England attending concerts by the Rolling Stones, The Who, and Herman's Hermits. When he returned, Okosun joined the cast of Ukonu's Club, an Eastern Nigeria Television variety show where he was able to showcase his guitar playing abilities.

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