Pericoma Okoye occupies a distinctive place in the cultural history of south-eastern Nigeria. Remembered for his commanding voice, proverb-rich compositions and close identification with Arondizuogu traditional culture, he built a musical career that stretched across several decades and made him one of the most recognisable performers associated with Igbo masquerade music.
His public image eventually became inseparable from stories of unusual spiritual power, particularly the famous account of his encounter with informal tax collectors at Upper Iweka in Onitsha. Yet Pericoma’s enduring importance rests on much more than those stories. His musical career presents an artist deeply concerned with language, morality, communal responsibility, peace, traditional values and the preservation of Arondizuogu identity.
Pericoma Okoye and His Arondizuogu Roots
Pericoma was widely known as Chief Damian Azubike Nwankwo Okoye and came from Ndiogbuonyeoma, Ndibeuche, Arondizuogu, Imo State, an area renowned for the annual Ikeji festival and its rich traditions of music, masquerade performance and communal celebration.
A 2024 academic study by Emmanuel O. Iroh gives 1948 as Pericoma’s year of birth. A BusinessDay retrospective published after his death in 2017, however, reported that he died at the age of 81.
Arondizuogu possessed an established tradition of music connected with masquerade performance, storytelling, festivals and communal celebrations. Pericoma became one of the most influential modern exponents of that tradition.
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Among the titles associated with him were Ichie Mezuo and Arusi Makaja 1, with the latter also rendered as Alusi Makaja in some published accounts. He was additionally described in cultural commentary as a “cultural prime minister of music”, reflecting his prominence within the traditional musical life of his community.
The Musical Career That Made Pericoma Okoye Famous
A detailed academic study of Pericoma Okoye traces his formal entry into Arondizuogu traditional music to 1976.
According to Emmanuel O. Iroh, Pericoma joined the Arondizuogu Traditional Masquerade Group, popularly known as Njima, under the leadership of Mazi I. E. Kanu. He was introduced to the group by Chief Almos Omeokachie and became its lead vocalist.
The group produced a four-track recording, but Pericoma later left following an internal disagreement and established his own performing ensemble, known as Pericoma Okoye and His Traditional Music Group, Arondizuogu.
One of his early independent releases was the six-track Ekere Mgba. Its appearance around the period of the Ikeji festival helped strengthen his reputation and established him as a distinctive voice within Arondizuogu cultural music.
His career continued for decades.
Recorded works listed in Iroh’s study include Isi na Udo ga Adi Vol. 2 in 1980, Ejezuo Vol. 2 in 1981, Oderigwugwu in 1986, Irigorogwo in 1987, Uto Nti in 1988, Anulika-Oforndu Special in 1989, Ogba Ahara in 1990, Aja Egbu Edi in 1991 and High Tension in 1998.
Later recordings continued into the twenty-first century. The 1980s and 1990s were major decades of his popularity, but his musical activity covered a substantially longer period.
Proverbs, Music and Moral Instruction
Pericoma’s distinctive sound drew heavily on traditional instruments, particularly gongs, drums and flute.
His lyrics were equally important. They employed the Arondizuogu variety of Igbo alongside proverbs, idioms, anecdotes and moral lessons. His performances functioned simultaneously as entertainment, cultural commentary and instruction.
Recurring themes in his music included peace, unity, brotherhood, forgiveness, restraint and the need to avoid destructive conflict. His compositions frequently explored human behaviour and the consequences of greed, revenge, dishonesty and social disorder.
This dimension of his work helped make Pericoma more than a popular entertainer.
His songs transmitted expressions, proverbial wisdom and ideas about community across generations. They also connected listeners outside Arondizuogu with aspects of the community’s cultural traditions.
BusinessDay remembered his music as deeply philosophical and rich in Igbo proverbs, history and cultural values.
A Traditionalist with a Powerful Public Image
Pericoma openly identified with indigenous Igbo tradition and became particularly associated with the cultural and spiritual traditions surrounding Arondizuogu.
That identity contributed enormously to his public image.
Stories of extraordinary spiritual ability circulated around him, especially in connection with the Ikeji Arondizuogu festival, where masquerade performance and traditional religious practices form important parts of the celebration.
For many admirers, Pericoma became a symbol of indigenous cultural confidence at a time when traditional religion and masquerade practices were sometimes dismissed or misunderstood.
His music also reflected the layered religious environment of his society. BusinessDay recalled a song in which Pericoma referred to the Supreme God using Christian language, including Alpha and Omega and the idea of the Trinity.
Such references illustrated the complex cultural and religious world in which he lived and performed.
The Famous Upper Iweka Story
The best-known story associated with Pericoma concerns Upper Iweka in Onitsha, Anambra State.
According to the popular account, Pericoma was travelling to Onitsha when informal tax collectors, commonly called agberos, stopped him around Upper Iweka and demanded evidence that he had paid a levy.
After he refused to comply, one of the men was said to have lifted him onto his shoulders to take him away.
The story continues that Pericoma became extraordinarily heavy, leaving the man unable either to carry him normally or put him down. The men reportedly pleaded with him until rituals were performed and the confrontation ended.
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The episode became one of the best-known stories associated with Pericoma and was further popularised through music and oral retellings.
The expression “Pericoma na-anyi ajo aru”, referring to his extraordinary heaviness, became closely associated with the story.
Accounts of the incident also circulated that the confrontation frightened informal tax collectors operating in the area and reduced their activities around Upper Iweka.
Whatever its place within oral tradition, the story became central to Pericoma’s public image and contributed significantly to the aura that surrounded him during his lifetime.
Pericoma Okoye, Nollywood and the ‘Lion of Africa’
Pericoma’s reputation eventually reached beyond music.
Later in life, he appeared in the Nollywood film Lion of Africa alongside Pete Edochie and other actors. The appearance strengthened the association between Pericoma and the “Lion of Africa” description that became attached to his public identity.
His venture into film was comparatively brief. Music remained the foundation of his cultural reputation.
His standing within Igbo cultural circles also received formal recognition.
On 10 July 2010, the Mbari Literary Society in Owerri conferred a Distinguished Achievement Award on Pericoma for his contribution to the growth and preservation of Igbo language and culture.
The award was presented in connection with the public launch of Aja Mbari, the society’s maiden anthology of poems. Pericoma was unable to attend the ceremony personally, and members of the organisation later delivered the plaque to his home.
The honour recognised his contribution to Igbo language, traditional music and cultural memory.
Speed Darlington and Pericoma’s Family Story
Nigerian entertainer Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, spent part of his childhood in Pericoma’s household.
During an episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast released on 22 December 2025, Speed Darlington explained that Pericoma was his stepfather, not his biological father. He said his mother had given birth to him before her relationship with Pericoma.
Darlington recalled joining Pericoma’s household when he was around nine years old and said he was treated as a member of the family.
He also remembered appearing on the cover of one of Pericoma’s albums alongside two of his half-brothers.
His recollection provided a more personal picture of life in Pericoma’s household. Darlington remembered a welcoming home where visitors could eat and where he himself was accepted as part of the family.
The account added another dimension to the image of a man more commonly remembered through music, traditional titles and stories of spiritual power.
Death and Cultural Recognition
Pericoma died on Thursday, 16 February 2017, after a brief illness.
Contemporary reports stated that he died at about 4.30 a.m. in a hospital in Okigwe, Imo State. News of his death was followed by tributes remembering his role in traditional music and the cultural life of Arondizuogu.
He left behind wives, children and grandchildren, as well as a large body of recorded music.
The response to his death demonstrated the extent to which he had become a cultural symbol. His name was associated with traditional music, masquerade performance, proverbs, the Ikeji festival and a generation of Igbo musicians who used indigenous languages and instruments to communicate cultural knowledge.
His recordings remained important to listeners interested in traditional music and the preservation of the Arondizuogu variety of Igbo.
Conclusion: Why Pericoma Okoye Still Matters
Pericoma Okoye remains historically important because his career demonstrates the power of traditional music as a repository of language, memory and cultural philosophy.
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He took a musical tradition closely connected with Arondizuogu masquerade performance and helped bring it to audiences across south-eastern Nigeria and beyond. His recordings combined rhythm and entertainment with proverbial language, moral instruction and commentary on relationships within society.
The extraordinary stories that accumulated around him became part of his cultural identity, particularly the famous Upper Iweka narrative. Yet those stories represent only one part of a much larger legacy.
Behind the imposing titles and stories of spiritual power stood a prolific traditional musician whose career extended from the 1970s into the twenty-first century. His work preserved elements of Arondizuogu speech, performance, philosophy and cultural memory during a period of immense social change.
That achievement remains central to understanding why Pericoma’s name continues to command attention years after his death.
Author’s Note
Pericoma Okoye’s life illustrates how music can become an archive of a people’s language, beliefs and social values. Although dramatic stories helped create his legendary public image, his most enduring contribution lies in the music through which he preserved Arondizuogu expressions, proverbs, traditional performance and ideas about peace, responsibility and communal life. Remembering Pericoma primarily as a musician and cultural figure places his legacy within the broader history of Igbo artistic expression and the continuing importance of indigenous music in preserving cultural memory.
References
Emmanuel O. Iroh, “Teaching and Preaching Peace and Togetherness Through Music: The Pericoma Okoye Example”, Ochendo: An African Journal of Innovative Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2024, pp. 84–93.
Chuks Oluigbo, “Pericomo Okoye: When a Big Masquerade Exits the Stage”, BusinessDay, 19 February 2017.
Rita Chioma, “Singer and Traditionalist, Ichie Mezuo Pericoma Okoye, Arusi Makaja 1 Reportedly Dead”, Vanguard Allure, 16 February 2017.
The Honest Bunch Podcast, “A Speed Darlington Christmas”, 22 December 2025.
Pelumi Bolawa, “Speed Darlington Reveals Late Singer Pericomo Not His Dad”, TheCable Lifestyle, 23 December 2025.
