MOMRI Director Conducts Online Class with Dr. Gideon Danja, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

Dr. Gideon Danja received his PhD in Ethnomusicology last year, and he has started the first class on Music in Peacebuilding at the University of Maiduguri this year. It might be the first class on this topic in Nigeria, and even in Africa!

The topic of the class was “Ethics and Challenges in Music and Peacebuilding,” and some of the questions we explored with the students were:

• Who are the key stakeholders to consider in a peacebuilding initiative?
• What ethical principles should guide peacebuilding efforts?
• What musical approaches can be utilized during religious, ethnic, and political crises?
• In what situations might music be counterproductive to peacebuilding?

What I learned from the students this time is the admirable resilience they show while navigating various cultural challenges on the campus of the University of Maiduguri. Indeed, there are students from a wide range of horizons studying together.

• The Yoruba Muslims from Western Nigeria love drumming and singing,
• But this is not the case with other groups,
• There are also various Christian communities who love diverse types of music,
• Students speak Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba depending on where they come from.

Several students mentioned that one song that changed the dynamics of life on campus was composed by Dr. Danja, and it is called Tare. The lyrics are in Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, and also in English (and some Nigerian Pidgin English), and it is based on a rhythm that is appealing to all groups on campus. Students were able to sing and dance together on this song, and to create bonds with other students they could not approach before. It is a good example of an original song that was designed to promote peacebuilding in a particular context, and that successfully fulfilled its purpose.

The song, composed in 2020, is described on the website hosting it as follows:

TARE (let's live together) is a song that was inspired and composed during the 8th workshop online by the SDG Graduate School “Performing Sustainability, Culture and Development in West Africa” University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. It [incorporates] the three popular languages in Nigeria (Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba), to promote the culture of togetherness, peace and unity, which is in line with the UN's SDG 16.

Please check out the song here!

The multilingual lyrics can be found below.

If you like Dr. Danja’s work, please visit this MOMRI's Latest piece from 2021, featuring another song called “We Are The Future,” tackling the topic of our duty to protect children and ensure their flourishing.

TARE (Let’s Live Together) by Danja Ft. Belle Aires & Mèka

Introduction:
It’s Danja on the instrumentals
Oh, oh, oh, oh, here we go now
Oh, oh, oh, oh, haka ne [Hausa] (that’s right)
Ku zo, ku zo, ku zo, ku zo [Hausa] (you come, you come, everybody come, come)

Chorus:
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)

Verse 1:
Ah, ok!
Mu zauna tare [Hausa] (let’s live together)
Move your body
Hakuna matata [Swahili] (everything’s fine)
No worries…
I'm feeling good, feeling blessed I'm alive
and I'm gonna vibe to this…
I'm so thankful, I'm grateful, I’m gonna rock to this
Move your feet to this, everybody hold your hands, fly, fly high
Happiness e go multiply ai, ai, ai… [Nigerian Pidgin English] (happiness will multiply)

Chorus:
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)

Verse 2:
Many, many people dey find to live in peace o [Nigerian Pidgin English] (Many people are seeking to live in peace.)
Make we no dey reason to fight before we gree o [Nigerian Pidgin English] (Let’s not consider starting a fight before we come to an agreement.)
Cos if there is peace on the inside
Yes I believe, we go dey ok [Nigerian Pidgin English] (we will be alright)
Eje ka tete gba fun rawa [Yoruba] (let's all be in agreement)
Igba melo lama lo laye [Yoruba] (life is short)
Ema de je ka tun para wa [Yoruba] (let's not kill ourselves)
Igba melo lama lo laye [Yoruba] (life is short)
Cos when we live in peace, we go surely dey ok [Nigerian Pidgin English] (we will surely be alright)
We go surely dey ok [Nigerian Pidgin English] (we will surely be alright)

Chorus:
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)

Verse 3:
White flag, green lights
You got the rhythm wey dey burst ma mind… [Nigerian Pidgin English] (You have the rhythm that blows my mind…)
Where are you at now? This is the time...
Come let the music make us all unite...
Hear the melody from so far away...
Pouring over me, like the morning rain...
Liberating me, I can’t feel my face,
It’s a glorious feeling that I can’t explain…
Renew your mind …
Bia kene [Igbo] (Come) (3x)
Ka’anyi n’orlu na’udo [Igbo] (let us stay in peace)
Renew your mind
Bia kene, ka’anyi n’orlu na’udo [Igbo] (come, let us stay in peace)

Chorus:
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)
Ku zo mu zauna tare [Hausa] (come let’s live together)

Outro:
Thank God for the oxygen
Baba God na the origin, [Nigerian Pidgin English] (God the father is the origin/source)
Ok, eh eh eh eh, bansuwe*
Eh eh eh eh, bansuwe
Eh…, bansuwe
Eh eh eh eh, bansuwe

(*Bansuwe is a traditional folk dance of the Bura people of Borno State, Nigeria)