Meet Mike Ejeagha, iconic Nigerian singer behind viral ‘Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo dance’

In this piece, News360 Nigeria narrates a brief profile of legendary Nigerian singer, Mike Ejeagha.

Mike Ejeagha is a Nigerian folklorist, songwriter, and musician from Enugu State.

He began his musical career in the middle of the 20th century and has contributed significantly to the development of Igbo music for more than 60 years.

His first hit came in 1960, the year Nigeria achieved independence.

Brief profile of Mike Ejeagha

Gentleman Mike Ejeagha as he is fondly called hails from Enugu State in Southeastern Nigeria and was born on April 4th, 1930.

Ejeagha is a unique storyteller who uses a guitar style to accompany him. Proverbs are interwoven throughout his lyrics, giving his music a didactic feel.

He composes all of his own music, and he uses Igbo for his lyrics. “As long as you have good health, which the Almighty God grants you,” Ejeagha (2004) said, “life in old age is quite enjoyable.”

Over three hundred recordings that Ejeagha made while on the ground researching Igbo folklore and highlife music have been added to the National Archives of Nigeria.

Some of his popular hit songs are; Akanchawa, Uwak Mgbede, Ezi Nwa Mgbeke, Enyi Ga Achi, Onye Uri Utaba, Ka Esi, Le Onye Is Oche, amongst others.

In July 2024, “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche”, a song which was released in 1983 as part of his album Akuko N’Egwu Vol. 1, gained widespread recognition due to a viral dance challenge inspired by comedian Brain Jotter.

Story Behind Song

The Igbo-language song, which was released in 1983 as part of the Akuko Na Egwu album, Vol 1, narrates the tale of a cunning tortoise who traded an elephant to his in-law in exchange for a princess he desired to marry.

The princess had declined numerous proposals until her father, the king, inquired as to why.

She informed him that she was in need of a groom who would present her with an elephant. Next, the tortoise tricked the elephant by pretending to be the chairman of a ceremony. However, the cunning tortoise, a common figure in Igbo mythology, only succeeded in tricking his friend, which infuriated the giant.

To give the hit song a viral twist, comedian Brain Jotter used it as a dance move in one of his skits, which happened just 41 years after the retired legendary Ejeagha who is in his 90s released it.

Trending Dance Challenge

The comedian Chukwuebuka Emmanuel Amuzie, popularly known as Brain Jotter mimics the behavior of the elephant that fled from the tortoise after realizing it was tricked by pursuing his friend in a dance move.

The thumping sound of the elephant’s leg while pursuing his companion, the tortoise, was depicted in the song “Gwo gwo gwo ngwo.”

Two people facing each other and going in different directions meet at a point in the dance move. Here, they perform a humorous leg dance, and then the chorus’s “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo” part reverberates in the background as one of them chases the other.

The song by the folklore-style artist has been given a new twist as a result of the widespread use of Brain Jotter’s track in the viral dance challenge.

Social media users have taken to the dance challenge, particularly on TikTok, where it has amassed millions of views as a result of the viral song “Onye Isi Oche.”