Akke International Guitar Band of Nigeria was led by guitarist and bandleader Akuwudike Ezewunwa Eke, better known by his alias Akus Oriental. A journeyman of Igbo highlife music who began his musical career in 1968, Eke served his apprenticeship in one of Nigerian music’s most formative eras, playing alongside and learning from the masters who shaped the post-independence sound. His musical education reads like a who’s who of Igbo highlife royalty. Eke played with Douglas Ederi Chukwueke, the philosopher-musician whose highlife music became synonymous with deep Igbo cultural wisdom. By 1981, having accumulated over a decade of experience with more than a score of prominent bands, Eke stepped into the spotlight as a bandleader with his debut album Agaghim Ahapu Chukwu (I Won’t Leave God). The album represented what contemporary liner notes described as “a curtain raiser, bridging the modern highlife music and disco for the youngsters.” This positioning was strategic, Igbo highlife was evolving rapidly in the post-civil war era, absorbing influences from Congolese soukous, Cameroonian makossa, and the funk rhythms gaining global popularity. Eke’s vision was to honor the guitar-driven traditions he’d learned while making the music accessible to a younger generation drawn to dance-floor grooves. The three tracks on Agaghim Ahapu Chukwu, the title track, “Onye Ji Aka Gbue Onwe Ya,” and “Hashi Am Mjiri Ukwum” showcased the intricate guitar interplay that defined Igbo highlife. This style, pioneered in the 1960s and refined through the 1970s, distinguished Igbo highlife from its brass-heavy West African cousins, creating space for the guitar to serve as both lead voice and philosophical narrator. Working in an era when artists like Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, Oliver De Coque, and the Oriental Brothers dominated the Igbo music landscape, Akke International Guitar Band represented the countless skilled musicians who sustained the genre’s vitality beyond the spotlight of its biggest stars. These journeymen carried the tradition forward, performing at ceremonies, social gatherings, and neighborhood celebrations where highlife remained the soundtrack of Igbo cultural life, preserving the intricate guitar techniques and spiritual depth that made the genre a pillar of Nigerian musical heritage.