Timeless Nigerian Songs That Live On Through Generations

Some songs don’t age. They wait patiently, waiting to be rediscovered everywhere. Across Nigeria’s vast musical tradition — from juju rhythms and highlife love songs to the incipient thumps of Afrobeat — there was a golden age of artists who wrote songs that still drift across radios, family reunions, and late-night streams. They are more than music: cultural relics, stories, and timeless companions.

It is not a list of following the earliest releases or grounding songs in a particular timeframe. Instead, it is a collection of songs that continue to return — utilised by pop stars who sample them, re-mixed by DJs, sung by choirs or remembered by those who originally danced to them. Nigerian oldies still dominate as they were built upon soul, story, and sound that refuses to fade.

1. Rex Lawson – “Sawale”

Rex Lawson’s ballads in highlife are part of the emotional fabric of Nigerian love songs, and Sawale is as legendary as any. Its melodic composition and romanticism are forever unchangeable, inspiring remakes and reinterpretations over the generations.

2. Victor Uwaifo – “Joromi”

Both musically and mythically, Joromi told the tale of a mythical warrior in making one of highlife’s most recognisable riffs. Victor Uwaifo blended storytelling and electric energy, resulting in a song that repeatedly comes back — in live bands, club remixes or vintage film montages.

3. Ebenezer Obey – “Board Members”

Ebenezer Obey had a tongue-in-cheek wrapped in sugary juju. Board Members satirise arrogance and vanity in society using humour and rhyme. It’s a social commentary that still has traction, tiptoeing around facts most people would rather not know.

4. Haruna Ishola – “Oroki Social Club”

A virtuoso of apala in the fullest sense, Haruna Ishola composed half-sermons and half-celebratory tunes. Oroki Social Club owes homage not merely to a geographical location; it sustains the spirit of gathering, performance, and Yoruba pride of culture in every pulse beat of the talking drums.

5. Celestine Ukwu – “Money Palava”

Few singers were able to interpret philosophy as smoothly as Celestine Ukwu. In Money Palava, he reflects upon love, survival, and societal expectations — all wrapped in a full-bodied highlife beat. The lyrics are still full of observations about what it is like to live, love and lose.

6. The Lijadu Sisters – “Danger”

The Lijadu Sisters brought a rough, defiant, harmonious energy into a man’s world. Danger is funky, bold and laced with snappy lyrics of social injustice and survival. Their music was experimental and confrontational, inspiring women-led alt-Afrobeats today.

7. IK Dairo – “Salome”

One of the Juju music genre pioneers, IK Dairo, integrated accordion playing with highly rhythmic storytelling. Salome remains a celebratory delight, overflowing with joy, gentleness and dance. It’s a family reunion and communal spirit music.

8. Bobby Benson – “Taxi Driver”

Witty, humorous, and catchy — Taxi Driver is tale-telling in its finest form. Heartbreak is turned to humour as Bobby Benson narrates a love triangle that goes sour with a smile in his tone. The song continues to induce smiles with each listener.

9. Sir Victor Olaiya – “Baby Mi Da (Baby Jowo)”

Sir Victor Olaiya eased walls with sweet love songs, his trumpet permanently at the focus of his tunes. “Baby Jowo” is a tender sound love letter — timeless, ageless, and full of sweetness. It remains a favourite wedding and solitude classic. A half-century after, the enduring beauty of the song inspired an awe-inspiring remix with 2Baba (2face Idibia), linking generations together in sophistication and soul.

10. Bongos Ikwue – “Still Searching”

The tune is one of Bongos Ikwue’s most legendary tracks, a soulful reflection on humanity, yearning, and love. In its smooth beat and contemplative lyrics, the tune was one of the generations’ favorite songs, even decades past its 1970s creation.

11. Chief Osita Osadebe – “Osondi Owendi”

A musical proverb, Osondi Owendi, reminds one that one’s pride another would cast aside. The pace is smooth but heavy with depth — highlife with a philosophical heart in it. It’s one of those songs that could be played repeatedly yet still feel fresh.

12. Fela Kuti – “Water No Get Enemy”

Fela’s soulful other persona shines through in this sweet but victorious anthem. The horns flowed, and the words piled up. It’s a meditation, a groove, and a lesson — Afrobeat at its most contemplative and enduring.

13. Oliver De Coque – “People’s Club of Nigeria”

A vintage praise anthem of brotherhood, community, and prosperity. Oliver weaves his classic guitar riffs with praise-singing in the praiseful style only he could deliver.

14. Dr. Sir Warrior – “Akwa Uwa”

A reflective highlife norm by the leader of the Oriental Brothers Band. Akwa Uwa (The Cry of Life) touches on pain, perseverance, and the ebbs and flows of life.

15. Bright Chimezie – “Ube Nwanem”

Merging a funky twist of highlife with traditional spice, Ube Nwanem is energetic, funny, and filled with Bright Chimezie’s own “zigima” zing. It’s danceable but perceptive.

16. King Sunny Adé – “Ja Funmi”

One of the pioneers of juju music, King Sunny Adé, synthesised indigenous sounds and modern elements to create something new. Ja Funmi is a master class in rhythm and storytelling, its hook-laden rhythms and dynamism. The song remains a cultural touchstone and still stimulates an audience, exemplifying the potential of juju to bridge gaps and ages.

Why They Still Reign?

These songs, amongst others not mentioned, still reign not because they are old but because they’re timeless. They spoke truths, soothed hearts, and pleaded with folks to get a move on — and still do. They remind us that music isn’t where it was written but what it still makes us feel.

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Ikenna Churchill

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Culture storyteller

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