Nigeria Operates A Vulture Culture – Victor Essiet (The Mandators)
With back-to-back hit songs, The Mandators well known in the 80s and 90s was Nigerian reggae band to be reckoned with. Known for socially conscious lyrics, energetic performances, and powerful rhythms, with albums like Rat Race, Crisis, and Power of the People, the band stood out. But for over 3 decades, nothing much was heard from them save for the fact that the team leader, Victor Essiet had relocated to the United States of America. In this interview with Edoamaowo Udeme, He opened up on his sojourn abroad, his alleged kidnap story and why there is no change in the system. Excerpts: –
The fact remains that you need no introduction, but some people want to attach a face to that name once again, so let us meet you
My name is Victor Essiet. My stage name is the Mandators, I am an entertainer and entrepreneur.
We’ve always known You as an entertainer, could you let us in on your entrepreneurial life?
For that, I’m not going int that, I will leave it like that.
Okay, you have been in the music industry for over 40 years….
(Cuts in) 46 years
Okay, and we’ve come to realize that the hit songs you sang then were protest songs asking for societal and governmental change because of what was happening in the country as at that time, do you think that those songs have any impacts? I mean, have there been any change since then?
It is said that the beginning shows what the end, what is being hidden from the wise and the prudent is revealed to the babies, we are the babies that things has been revealed to, in my song, Survival, I said that our forefathers warned them, our fathers come to warn them. we the children, are now warning that strong people make strong nation, weak people make weak nation. Where are we going? That our money disappearing each and every day, that is government magic in our country that causes our money, you know what I mean, to disappear? Where are we going? So that beginning, as I grew up, going through what the ill in the society caused by the governments in which today, are the citizens, a lot of them are becoming like the government themselves, who are destroying the nation. So, we are the children that what has been hidden from the whites and the prudent has been revealed to. We’re still warning right now that we’re about to see catastrophic of some level of standard that people would see and shiver.
Sadly, what you sang against that time, what you complained about that time is even worse now, what do you think is a reason?
Because we are unscrupulous and unpatriotic individuals who don’t care about the nation but themselves, who keep down the people who could help the nation, who hates those that would have a better idea, because it has become the winner takes it all, this is a vulture culture situation
What do you what do you mean by vulture culture? Can you elucidate?
Vultures grab food from anywhere and fly away, the rat race is a vicious circle where everyone can struggle together, you know, the strongest could take but there’s still going to be a little left for the weak to manage, but in the vulture culture, the vulture takes it and flies away, that is the situation we are right now.
So, what would you advise the present government?
There is nothing you can advise, you know, like a crippled person, every time they rise up, they show you their ass. These people don’t get nothing for the people you know. They know exactly that the situation is getting out of hand, and if they let it continue to go like this, they will pay the price. The people will rise up one day in this country, now that they think people are crippled and that nothing is going to happen, but they will rise up one day and they will surprise them.
In some other countries, if they want to protest, they could gather and agree to protest, and they all go to protest, but in Nigeria as we are gathering, someone said already sending a messages, audios and video clips to those we want to protest against, are you sure that protest/revolution is possibly in Nigeria?
Very possible, it is going to be spiritual because when the weak gets weaker, those who continue to aid the government to hurt the people, they have families too, it is going to get to a point that even they themselves will be eaten when the poor, when the rich taking everything, and the poor have nothing to eat, one day, they will eat the rich.
Okay, now, let’s talk about your over 30 years sojourn in the US, don’t compare in terms of GDP, but these are some things there in the US that if Nigeria had adopted or can adopt, they would have managed the country a little bit better, what are those?
Well in America, people are patriotic, people wanting to see the country survive and is very important to the citizens of United States that the country thrive, even though the system there is worse, we’re talking about capitalist system that keeps everybody living from hand to mouth some people pay debts for the rest of their lives. The system whereby you buy a house, it is being financed by the bank, you give me 30 years to pay to finish the mortgage for payments, and then along the line after you might have paid for 20 years and you are out of work, they step in and take your house. They don’t care what happens to you and your family. You become homeless. In America, there is a saying that you’re one paycheck away from being homeless. You cannot buy a cylinder to go and buy gas, you can’t use water without paying for it, you can use anything, all those are provided for you. For instance, if you didn’t pay for your gas, as the law permits, they will disconnect the gas from the office. So, when you come back to your house to cook you find out that the gas or light isn’t there because you didn’t pay on time. But in Nigeria, that’s why this place, Africa would be the best nation in the world, provided we prevent it from becoming capitalist system. You buy your own the little gas to cook, when it’s finished, it’s finished. but in America, you can’t do anything. Everything is capitalist. If you don’t have money to pay for your waste, you find a way in Nigeria to go and somewhere that is not obstructing the people and dump it, but in America, you can’t do that. if you have $1500 you can get a bank to finance you to buy a car buy if you have a problem and lose your job, and you can’t pay, even if it remained $1000, they will take back the car and sell it, and you will be on your own jumping buses and taking trains. America spends, billions and trillions fighting war, but the citizens are suffering. The system is the same everywhere, but in different ways. Some people think that internet is so free there, no, it is not. It was President Joe Boden that insisted that schools and the inner cities should have access to internet. So, the only major difference is that they have a running system.
You said it is a different ball game out there but as compared to Nigeria, don’t you think that we have the resources to make our system work?
That is what I am saying, people are unscrupulous, the do things with impunity because they have some Godfathers, If they don’t have Godfathers, they get some unscrupulous people to do dirty jobs for them foe free So there is no consequences of repercussions in Nigeria. So that’s why nothing can work here, because from the top to the bottom.
You talked about patriotism in America, and why Nigerians are so unpatriotic….
(Cuts in) …And the same Nigerians, some of them when they go to a foreign country, when they try to apply the same stuff they do here, and they get caught and put them in jail. When I was on tour in Europe. I got to find out that whole bunch of Nigerians in jail and why Europe is good for them is because when they get out of jail, they don’t deport them back to Nigeria, but in America, if you are not a citizen, when you commit a crime, they put you in jail, once you come out, you are automatically deported. I am not saying that Whites, and others aren’t committing various crimes, they get same treatment. In America, the institutions are strong, you cannot bribe your way out of police, no godfather, so you can’t bribe the judge, nothing, justice will take its cause. So, if you are doing something bad, it is at your own peril because no matter how long it takes, they will get you.
Lets get back to music, how were you able to sustain your musical lifestyle in the and was a successful, because when some musicians relocate they dump music and do one or two other things, for them, music comes once in a while, but you’re still very much in the system you went to an extra mile to introduce Africa Meets Reggae, a good show, How are we able to sustain that?
Everything is decreed spiritually, because sometimes it is not possible for the physical to understand, mine was decreed by the Most High. My father used to say that you have to play a part of what you want God to do for you. The fact that it was a decree, I never relaxed, I try to do things that matter, things that are interesting for the people, because I stand for the people.
We miss you the music industry, your first set of albums albums were a hit, and we all loved it. I remember cramming all the lyrics up till this minute, So, what happened that you are no more releasing albums?
I never stopped releasing albums only that I didn’t bring them to Nigeria. I remixed Inflation, Stand up, Follow me, all in international versions other than that, I have been releasing albums in America and Europe.
You said that you will be releasing Singles
Yeah, once we’re finished, we’ll start releasing them, soonest.
You dont smoke or drink, even your former backup guitarist confessed that he was shocked to see you even take a sip of alcohol, considering the kind of job, nature of your business, kind of circle you belong, how possible is?
Being entertained or regular musician, it is stereotype. You know that when people see Rasta, they think a Rasta is a smoker but I love myself, I don’t smoke, never smoked and never will. It is not good. I don’t need anybody to tell me that, and that’s why I don’t smoke, even the drinking I started drinking, when I got to America, but only drink when I am not on the road, performing and stuff. When I’m free, I can take a little sip here and there, but you have to understand that you have to take care of yourself first. That’s the only thing you have. A lot of people who are smoking having health problems, you don’t understand I’m saying, so I have a choice. Smoking is a choice, drinking is a choice. Everything is a choice people make.
You look this fit, nothing much has changed about you in decades, no weight problem, gray hairs and other stuff, how old are you really?
I turned 65 October 1, 2024. Like I said, God gave us life, and whatever you do with your life is yours, I have got to do what I want my life. My life means a lot to me. I have a lot of people that love me, I don’t want to do something that will make them sad, I’m going to die one day though, we all are going to die one day but it is important that you take care of yourself. My life is important so I take care of myself.
Back to Akwa Ibom State, you were allegedly kidnapped sometimes ago, could you please let us in on that story?
I adopted a kid from Ikono-Ini, His name was Godwin, I took this kid, took care of him, a child I took as my son, I showed him love. He wanted to learn how to do clearing and forwarding of goods, I paid someone to train him, later one, he wanted to get married, I saw him through that too, I used to send money to him, sometimes ask him to run some errands for me. So, one day, he called me, told me about a guy this guy that has been helping him with little works here and there in clearing goods and he wanted to import a trailer, I warned him that the guy may be a criminal and would want to play a fast one on us, he argued and I gave it a try. I spoke with this guy named Anthony Maurice Etim, from Ikot Oku, an Akwa Ibomite, it was because of this guy that I reached an outsourcing company in the US. I was on tour, I did all these inside my computer in a tour bus. So the company will send it to me and I will forward it to him, he said he needed 5 trucks, we eventually cut it down to 4 trucks, each time, he will beg and come up with lots of excuses about payment until the company said we must put $30,000 as down payment, I did on his behalf but when he wanted to pay, he paid for just 1 truck and the company forfeited my $30,000 . (this adopted son of mine Godwin, died last year, he is supposed to stay and suffer from what he did to me because he stood with Anthony Maurice Etim to lie against me). So when I finished the tour, I did send a bill of lading to him, somehow, my heart was beating so fast, so when I got to Florida, I called the company in New York and asked if they had sent the trucks, I was fortunate that they hadn’t, so I automatically stopped the transaction. If that guy had gotten that bill of lading, he would have cleared the 4 trucks while he paid for only one, my own tribal person wanted to dupe me. So, once I finished the tour, I came to Nigeria to present the document to him myself. I confronted him and he told me that he hasn’t seen those trucks yet, who knows if it will be what he wanted? I lost my cool and people blamed him and he apologized for his actions, I left him. Do you know that this guy did? He sent $86,000 to people he never met, that is how Jah works, they took his money. So since then, anything I see about him via email, I will delete it immediately without reading it. When we are angry, we should be very careful, because if God did not stand with me, I would be in jail today because I got mad I got really mad do you know that he petitioned me at the law court that I must pay him half a million dollars? He was really out to defraud and extort from me, people had told me already not to do anything for this guy, but because of the love I have for my boy, I took that risk and did. I took the case to a human rights organization. Through the human rights, that is how God punishes bad people, that made his lawyers to go and preach everything that indicted this guy, So don’t play with God though, the documents I used to delete, I didn’t have them anymore and that was what I needed to save me, do you believe he printed and presented those documents in court? That’s why I talk about God people think I am playing, He is my Messiah, also my life, the document he gave to the court, the court gave us copies for perusal, that was how I saw the letter he sent to me and said, “Thank you for one truck you bought for me”. I told them, I gave him only one and I took the remaining money. But the ones he sent wasn’t to me or that company. How would I have proven my innocence after I was angry and deleted all those stuffs? So at this point, the judge that was handling the case was a new woman that just been appointed a judge she blamed them for arresting and brutalizing me, I was exculpated. He didn’t stop at that he still went extra mile to bribe that I be jailed, still threatening that I give him money and this was when my boy stood with this guy to lie against me, he died last year, he should have stayed and suffer more. It was during this problem that the kidnap story surfaced, I wasn’t kidnapped.
Back to Akwa Ibom, how has the government of the day performed? If you were to think differently, what would you advise the present government?
They should create jobs for the masses
But we have, syringe and toothpick factories, we have coconut and….
(Cuts in) …They only exists on Facebook and other social mediums. But I think that the way this present one (Governor Umo Eno) has started is very good. And I’m not a I’m not a spoiler. I only used to be angry with the government, because when the masses are not okay, things don’t work out right. I have people who worker/ work in the government and their leave grant (Pension) were not paid, Godswill Akpabio did not pay them, Udom Emmanuel Didn’t but Umo Eno came and paid them all. Old people were begging for their pension. Udom Emmanuel sent was selling police to throw tear gas at them. Some of them had died, and their family were begging for funds to bury their dead, Udom punished them, but this man has come and paid them. Remember the young girl that died in the boat mishap that claimed several lives including a popular actor? She finished school, no job, and she became a makeup artist just to survive and she died in that accident, if it were the previous Governors, they would have ignored her, but this one threw his full weight to support the family gave her a befitting burial and even gave the sister a job, and then the family was not doing well, he took care of that as well, you cannot just overlook all those good gestures. How many years you tell me which government has come to the state and started do building teachers quarters so that the teachers won’t be far from schools, he is doing that in less than one year. I’m not going to say, because I don’t like government, you know, maybe he doesn’t like me. I’m not going to say not doing anything good. He’s doing something better, different from what others did.
You don’t like government but you have seen something different in Governor Umo Eno, have you had a one on one meeting with him or have you tried to have one?
I’ve been around for a long time, none of none of these people can come close to where I am, I’m not interested. I have something to offer to the state, The state doesn’t have anything offer to me. So, if the governor wants to see me, it’s good, not good for me, good for the people, because that’s things that I have to add to what he’s trying to do. So, if he is honest that he wants to do great things for the people, he has instruments in his hand which he can use to make greater things. Yes, I spoke with him and told him I was coming, he said okay, he’s expecting me, but when I arrived he neither picked my calls nor reply my chats
If you were to sing a song now that had to do with what the current situation, what would you do differently?
Watch out, you will see the song that’s coming. that’s the answer to that.
Sir thank you so much for having my time
You are welcome.
