Izuchukwu OkosiVeteran pop Nigerian singer, Chris MBA who serenaded music lovers in the late 70s and early 80s has died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The death of the ‘Baby Don’t Cry’ crooner was announced on Thursday by the General Manager of Premier Music, Michael Odiong through his Instagram handle.
Odiong however revealed that the singer who was popular in his hey days by his signature jerry curl hair-do died late Wednesday.
Odiong wrote on his Instagram page: “Premier Records expresses sadness on the death of one of its artistes, Chris Mba.
“Chris Mba was a bundle of talent who localised pop music by adding local instruments into his music to give the African feel.
“He made waves in the late 80s up to the 90s when he released hits like “Baby Don’t Cry”, “Money” etc.
“We condole with the family and pray God to give them the fortitude to bear the loss,” the Premier Music General Manager noted.
MBA joins a list of music artistes who the country had lost in recent years particularly in the last few months following the demise of gospel music star Sammie Okposo.
According to information available to Prime Business Africa, Mba died of health complications related to his heart.
Tony Okoroji, the Chairman of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) said of the demise of the musician.
“I am beyond sad at the loss of my colleague and friend, Chris Mba, a great musician, whose contribution to the repositioning of the Highlife sound is unquestionable.
“Not too long ago, I visited Chris at his Surulere home with the great Richard Cole, my colleague on the COSON Board.
“We went to share camaraderie with him upon his ill health and offer whatever support we could. His death is devastating, but we are consoled by the fact that as a great artiste, he left great recordings to which we continue to sing and dance.
“Our heartfelt condolences go to his family, friends and numerous fans”.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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