Emperor Pick Peters became one of the most recognisable personalities in Nigerian juju music through the name “Omo Ode”, meaning “the hunter’s son”. During the 1970s, the expression appeared in a sequence of recordings involving Peters, King Sunny Adé and Admiral Dele Abiodun. Listeners interpreted the songs as warnings, accusations and replies, turning them into one of the most memorable musical conversations of the period.
The four recordings at the centre of the story were King Sunny Adé’s E Kilo F’Omo Ode, Peters’s Omo Ode De, Admiral Dele Abiodun’s O Jebi, O Jebi Omo Ode and Peters’s answering song, E Juba F’Omo Ode.
The exchanges reflected more than personal disagreement. They revealed the commercial structure of Nigeria’s recording industry, the influence of musicians’ fan clubs and the Yoruba tradition of communicating through praise, proverbs, coded language and carefully constructed criticism.
Emperor Pick Peters and His Early Musical Career
Emperor Pick Peters was widely identified during his career as Peter Akanni Akorede. A family funeral announcement later named him as Prince Peter Seido Francis Awuji. Professionally, however, he was known throughout his career as Emperor Pick Peters and as the creator of the “Omo Ode” musical identity.
He came from the Ipokia area of Ogun State. His family associated him more specifically with Gbekon Araromi Onfo in Ipokia Local Government Area.
Peters began his professional musical journey after leaving his employment at Pfizer Products in the late 1960s. He used the money available to him after leaving the company to acquire musical instruments and pursue a career in entertainment.
He taught himself to play the guitar by repeatedly picking rhythms and musical patterns. According to Peters, this habit produced the professional name “Pick”. He later performed at venues including Boundary Hotel, Temi Ogbe Hotel and the Lido Bar in Idi Oro, Lagos.
The Lido Bar became particularly important to his career. Peters performed there while Fela Ransome-Kuti operated a venue nearby. Idi Oro was then a lively entertainment district where musicians competed for audiences and built loyal followings.
From Marijos Records to TYC African Songs
Peters released his first record, Kango Kango L’Agogo N Dun, through Marijos Recording Company in 1973. The recording attracted wider attention the following year and established him as a rising juju musician.
His career changed after representatives of the recording organisation associated with Chief Bolarinwa Abioro approached him at the Lido Bar. The organisation was connected with African Songs and TYC, meaning Take Your Choice.
Peters agreed to join the company after negotiating for musical equipment and a Kombi bus that could transport his instruments. The organisation accepted his conditions and provided the requested facilities.
Chief Bolarinwa Abioro was a record company proprietor and must not be confused with Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. Obey was one of the leading juju performers of the era. Abioro was a businessman whose recording organisation had previously worked with King Sunny Adé.
Peters joined TYC after Sunny Adé’s relationship with the company had deteriorated. This timing encouraged rumours that Peters had been recruited to replace Sunny Adé or compete against him. Peters rejected that interpretation and maintained that he and Sunny Adé had known each other before the dispute and remained friends.
EXPLORE NOW: Democratic Nigeria
King Sunny Adé’s Warning to the Hunter’s Son
The Emperor Pick Peters controversy developed around King Sunny Adé’s E Kilo F’Omo Ode, recorded in 1974. The Yoruba title is commonly translated as “Warn the Hunter’s Son”.
Because Peters had become publicly associated with the identity “Omo Ode”, many listeners assumed that Sunny Adé was warning him. Journalists and supporters approached Peters to ask whether the recording had been directed at him.
Peters denied that interpretation. He described Sunny Adé as his friend and senior colleague and recalled visiting him when the musician lived near Ikorodu Road in Lagos.
Peters also connected the musical idea behind E Kilo F’Omo Ode with the Nigerian guitarist and bandleader Ambrose Campbell. He maintained that Sunny Adé had not created the song specifically to attack him.
Public interpretation, however, gave the record a life beyond the intentions described by the musicians. Once audiences connected the phrase “hunter’s son” with Peters, every new use of the expression could be heard as a message about him.
Emperor Pick Peters and the Arrival of “Omo Ode”
Peters strengthened the identity with Omo Ode De, meaning “The Hunter’s Son Has Arrived”. The recording appeared in 1975.
The record transformed “Omo Ode” from a phrase used by others into Peters’s own artistic declaration. Rather than appearing only as the subject of a warning, he presented the hunter’s son as a confident and commanding musical character.
This form of musical self-definition was familiar within Yoruba popular music. Performers used praise names, family histories, proverbial expressions and recurring characters to create identities that audiences could immediately recognise.
The “Omo Ode” name became closely connected with Peters’s public career. It also ensured that later references to a hunter or hunter’s son would be interpreted within an existing musical conversation.
Admiral Dele Abiodun’s Accusation at Ita Faaji
The most direct confrontation in the story involved Admiral Dele Abiodun. Peters dated the beginning of their musical exchange to a burial ceremony held in the Ita Faaji area of Lagos Island in 1975.
Peters and Abiodun had both been engaged to perform. Abiodun arrived first because Peters had another engagement in Ogun State. After Peters reached Ita Faaji, the musicians greeted one another, ate and drank together, and agreed to alternate their performances.
The atmosphere changed when Abiodun performed O Jebi, O Jebi Omo Ode. The title means approximately “The Hunter’s Son Is Guilty”.
Peters’s supporters treated the performance as a public challenge. Members of his fan group demanded a reply and threatened to transfer their allegiance to Abiodun if Peters remained silent.
The episode demonstrated the influence fan clubs exercised in the Nigerian music industry. Supporters did more than purchase records and attend performances. They defended musicians’ reputations, interpreted lyrics and pressured their preferred artists to answer perceived insults.
The Powerful Reply, “E Juba F’Omo Ode”
Peters said the refrain E Juba F’Omo Ode came to him during the Ita Faaji confrontation. The expression can be translated as a call to honour, respect or pay homage to the hunter’s son.
He quickly rehearsed the new composition with members of his band before performing it at the event. He later entered the studio in 1976 to record the song.
The chronology places the inspiration and first performance of E Juba F’Omo Ode in 1975, followed by its studio recording in 1976.
This sequence is important because the song is sometimes described only as Peters’s answer to King Sunny Adé’s E Kilo F’Omo Ode. Sunny Adé’s record formed an important part of the background, but Peters identified Abiodun’s accusation and the demands of his supporters as the immediate reasons for his reply.
The musical conversation therefore involved separate but connected episodes. Sunny Adé’s warning helped establish the public controversy surrounding the hunter’s son. Peters answered that atmosphere through Omo Ode De. Abiodun later declared the hunter’s son guilty, and Peters responded by demanding honour for him.
Juju Rivalry as Performance and Business
Musical rivalries were an important feature of Nigerian popular culture during the period. Songs could contain praise for patrons, moral instruction, political observations and messages aimed at other performers.
The language was not always direct. Musicians used proverbs, metaphors and praise names that allowed listeners to debate the intended targets. A song could be understood as entertainment by one listener and as a serious public attack by another.
Peters described the exchanges as music politics and musical strategy. He recognised that controversy attracted listeners and encouraged record sales. Audiences followed each instalment of the conversation and waited to hear how a musician would respond.
The public exchanges did not necessarily indicate permanent private hostility. Peters continued to describe Sunny Adé as a friend. He also maintained a professional relationship with Dele Abiodun despite their musical disagreement.
The Emperor Pick Peters episode should therefore be distinguished from the more famous commercial rivalry between King Sunny Adé and Ebenezer Obey. Peters’s story was connected more directly to TYC African Songs, Bolarinwa Abioro, the public interpretation of Sunny Adé’s recording and the confrontation with Admiral Dele Abiodun.
A Career Beyond the “Omo Ode” Records
Although “Omo Ode” became Peters’s most enduring identity, his career extended beyond the records associated with the controversy.
He recorded songs and albums including Kango Kango L’Agogo N Dun, Eda Aiye Nreti, Igbeyin L’Alayo N Ta, Peter L’Aja Kan and Irawo. Peters released more than 20 albums through record companies including Olumo, EMI and his own Identity label.
He also remained active long after the 1970s. In 2012, he released Igba Otun, meaning “New Dawn”. In January 2015, he followed it with the five-track album Iyanu, performed with the Seidor International Band.
Peters wrote, arranged and produced Iyanu. The project was recorded and mixed at Tweet Studio in Buckingham, England, and released through Golden Point in Lagos. Its appearance demonstrated that Peters’s recording career continued decades after the musical exchange that first brought him widespread recognition.
EXPLORE NOW: Biographies & Cultural Icons of Nigeria
The Death of Emperor Pick Peters
Emperor Pick Peters died on 2 November 2023 after a brief illness. He was reported to have been 74.
His final rites began with a Christian wake on 16 November 2023, followed by an all-night gathering for musicians and associates. He was buried on 17 November at his residence in Ayobo, Ipaja, Lagos, in accordance with his wishes.
His death marked the passing of a musician whose career connected the social world of Lagos nightspots, the record company system and the competitive culture of classic juju music.
Conclusion
Emperor Pick Peters did not become a juju music legend through a single personal feud. His “Omo Ode” identity emerged from a more complex sequence of records, business disputes, fan loyalty and public performances.
King Sunny Adé’s E Kilo F’Omo Ode introduced a warning that listeners associated with Peters. Omo Ode De announced the arrival of the hunter’s son. Admiral Dele Abiodun’s O Jebi, O Jebi Omo Ode declared him guilty. Peters’s E Juba F’Omo Ode answered with a demand for respect.
Together, the four records reveal how Yoruba musicians used language to build public identities and sustain conversations across performances and recordings. They also show how fans, record companies and the press could transform musical phrases into enduring cultural history.
Author’s Note
The story of Emperor Pick Peters demonstrates that Nigerian musical rivalry was rarely a simple matter of private hostility. The “Omo Ode” records grew from the interaction of artistry, business, fan loyalty and Yoruba verbal expression. Peters’s enduring achievement was his ability to take a phrase that appeared to place him under warning and transform it into a confident identity that remained associated with him for the rest of his life.
References
P.M. News, “I Never Fought Sunny Ade, Pick Peter”, 19 August 2011.
Daily Times Nigeria, “I’m the Only One Fela Anikulapo Ever Sprayed with Money, Emperor Pick Peters”, 29 April 2016.
P.M. News, “Musician Emperor Pick Peters Drops New Album”, 9 January 2015.
Saturday PUNCH, “Lucrative War: How Artistes’ Rivalries Fuel Conflict, Boost Revenue”, 15 April 2023.
The Sun Nigeria, “Veteran Juju Musician, Emperor Pick Peters, for Burial Today”, 17 November 2023.
ThisDay, “Memory Lane with Emperor Peter”, 5 January 2001.
