October 1, 1972. Independence Day. Lagos was loud. Music was everywhere.
At the center of it was Saibu Ayinde Bakare Ajikobi— _Mr. Juju_. 60 years old. 37 years on stage. The man who helped build Juju music with Tunde King.
That day he had 2 shows: Morning: Wedding at Isale-Gangan, Lagos Island Evening: Another show in Ijebu-Ode His advance band had already left for Ijebu-Ode. Then he v@n!shed.
After the first set, Bakare went backstage to rest. Some unknown people called him aside “for a discussion.” He n£ver came back.
At first, people laughed it off. _“Band leaders and women na 5 & 6.”_
Deputy leader Ayanniyi Atanda took over. He even shared the day’s money — and left nothing for Bakare.
When Bakare didn’t show up in Ijebu-Ode either, the jokes stopped.
October 4, 1972. Marine pol!ce pulled a m@le body from Lagos Lagoon near Bonny Camp, Victoria Island. No ID. B@dly bruis£d. It was dump£d in a m@ss gr@ve at Atan C£metery, Yaba with 40 other bod!£s..
Weeks p@ssed. No Bakare. His first wife, Alhaja Amudat Lemomu,sent a telegram to his son Shina Ayinde Bakare in Mubi (Adamawa state)_Come home. Your father is missing. Shina, 29, came back and gave pol!ce one clue:
“My father had a tattoo on his right hand: A.S. Bakare.”
That’s when a police officer remembered. They £xhu*med the mass gr@ve. After digging through 41 bod!£s, Shina saw his f@ther’s legs. And there it was , the tattoo. A.S. Bakare.
Mr. Juju had been bur!£d as a nobody. Apala legend Ayinla Omowura later sang it:
_“Kikida Bakare lo ko s’Apa ni o je kon mo pe Bakare Ayinde l’oku” _It was because he tattooed A.S. Bakare that they knew it was him._
_“Ayinde mo l’aiye, o mo l’orun, Oku ogun’jo o mo j’era…”_
Ayinde was pure in life and in death. 20 days later, his body had not dec@yed. Autop#sy by Dr. Nasirudeen Akinlade ruled it: Drowning.
The Coroner’s Inquest, April 30, 1973