Veteran Nigerian Musician, Basil Akalonu Dies At 72

Mr. Basil (Bazy) Akalonu, 72,  a seasoned musician and member of the Sweet Breeze band, which shook Nigeria, particularly the South-East, in the 1970s and 1980s is dead.

The death of Akalonu, the former group’s lead drummer, was announced on Monday by the Dozie Owerri Secretariat in Abuja.

“With a heavy heart, we wish to announce the demise of our own dear Mr. Basil Chukwujike Akalonu (Nda Bazy), who remained a very committed member of Dozie Owerri Association, Abuja Branch, until his sad passage in the early hours of yesterday morning (Sunday, 6th August 2023),” Dozie Owerri said. He’ll be sorely missed.

“We encourage members to reach out to his immediate family in this time of grief, as we collectively mourn his passage. Further information and directives will be communicated to us as they unfold.

“May his jovial soul enjoy peaceful repose in God’s heaven, Amen,” the statement emphasised.

Between the late 70s and the early 80s when reggae music and highlife was the order of the day in Nigeria, particularly in the South-east, musical bands like Sweet Breeze, a pop group stood out for drawing its membership from various institutions of higher learning.

late Akalonu was born in Lokoja, now in Kogi State, and attended St. Mary’s Lokoja Primary School before transferring to St. Bridget’s Primary School in Enugu. Akalonu also received his secondary education at St. Patricks College Asaba, which was cut short by the Nigerian Civil War. He later graduated from Sacred Heart College in Aba.

A native of Owerri, Akalonu went on to study Accountancy at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu and Marketing at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt.

In one of his most recent interviews, Sweet Breeze‘s main drummer stated that he grew up like any other typical child in a middle-class family. He was a party regular who enjoyed performing music and travelling.

He visited Obudu Ranch, Ogbunike Cave, the junction of the Rivers Niger and Benue, and the Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi state.

He stated that his musical career began during the Civil War and that his voyage into the world of sound began when he joined forces with several pals in Owerri to establish The Blossoms. Aba was the next stop. The band’s name was changed to The Blue Birds this time. He went back to Owerri.

Meanwhile, his parents urged him to continue his education. He was admitted to IMT Enugu in 1972, Enugu, where he was introduced to bands such as Goddy Okwu and the High Breeds and Stone Face Iwuagwu.

Late Akalonu briefly joined the High Breeds, and at the time, Dallas and Jackie Moore, who would eventually join the Sweet Breeze, were with Stone Face Iwuagwu.

They collaborated with Roy Obika, who eventually moved to Canada, and Vincent Iketuonye took his place. Sweet Breeze felt like a close bunch of pals. Every weekend, they were just messing around with musical instruments.

Everything changed with the intervention of his immediate elder brother, Chief Pal Akalonu, producer of ‘Now Sound’ on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

“That weekend he came to my place to see how we could salvage a situation. The Actions, a musical group, were billed to perform that evening on the programme, but they have not arrived. So he now came to see what we could do to keep the programme on. We were rushed to the studio.

“In the studio, somebody asked the pertinent question, ‘What is the name of this group’? A lot of suggestions came up. One word that remained constant was Breeze. Somebody said the Breeze and another person said, Sweet Breeze. That is how Sweet Breeze stuck.

“We were all students. Dallas Kingsley Anyanwu who was in IMT hails from Amaraku in Imo state, I was also at IMT and I am from Emii in Owerri North, Vin Iketuonye from Ozubulu in Anambra State and was a student of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and Jackie Moore who just finished High School then came from Umunkwo in Imo State.

“He was working with one of the ministries. Dallas was a singer and a keyboardist. I played the drums. Vincent Iketuonye was a bassist and Jackie Moore was the lead guitarist.”