‘The Witness Remains’: Creative protégés honour Tam Fiofori’s visionary legacy
By Godwin Okondo
CREATIVE artists, photographers, filmmakers, and cultural advocates gathered online on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, for “The Witness Remains,” a special memorial session held under the Afterlives Series on Instagram Live to honour the remarkable life, career, and enduring legacy of the legendary filmmaker, photographer, writer, and cultural icon, Tam Fiofori. Hosted as part of a series dedicated to celebrating the indelible marks left by transformative African figures, the virtual gathering brought together two of Fiofori’s close young collaborators—cinematographer and visual storyteller, Kagho Idhebor and musician, ethnomusicologist and cultural advocate Gerald Eze.
Together, two artists shared deeply personal accounts of Fiofori’s visionary foresight, uncompromising intellectual rigor, and unwavering commitment to preserving and elevating African heritage. The virtual session was moderated by curator and writer, Ayo Akinwande.
Throughout the session, Idhebor reflected on Fiofori’s distinct approach to storytelling and cultural commentary, emphasizing his courageous willingness to confront topics that mainstream society often ignored, side-stepped, or wrote off as insignificant. He highlighted Fiofori’s seminal documentary work on the Oja, a traditional Igbo wooden flute, as a prime example of how the late master brought dignified and critical focus to traditional African art forms.
“He talks with facts and evidence. The kind of things he wants to address are things that people shy away from, things that people view as irrelevant,” Idhebor said. “For example, the Oja—people see it as a regular instrument, but when Uncle Tam talked about it, or addressed it in his film, you would pay attention. You have no choice than to listen and admire him.”
Idhebor further noted that Fiofori possessed a rare, innate instinct for observing subtle cultural shifts and acting on them instantly—a quality he argued is desperately missing in contemporary artistic practice. He recalled how Fiofori frequently converted his home into a vibrant salon, inviting artists, intellectuals, and young thinkers to engage in deep, reflective dialogues about politics, art, and the evolving dynamics of society.
“He has that instinct to observe what is relevant around our environment, and how things are changing in the society,” Idhebor explained. “Those moments in his house were mostly reflections on a lot of things, like politics, arts and culture. It’s one of those events where you sit down and listen, because there would be so much to learn. Uncle Tam knows how to argue very quietly… His body failed him during his last days, but his mind never did. He was as sharp as a youth.”
For Gerald Eze, Fiofori was not just a mentor but a monumental catalyst who fundamentally redefined his artistic identity and global trajectory. Eze recounted their initial meeting years ago at Freedom Park in Lagos, where a quiet encounter following his performance developed into a life-changing professional and personal bond. Fiofori, then in his 70s, approached the young performer with a specific vision to create a film centred on him playing the Oja alongside a poet.
“He came to me like a spirit and told me he wanted to make a film on me and he doesn’t want anyone to hear about it,” Eze recounted. “A lot of people met me and told me they wanted to do things with me, but they didn’t follow up on the project. Uncle Tam was in his 70s at the time, and he followed up. When I was in Lagos, he would just invite friends to his house to show them the documentary film he made on me.”
That project materialized into the acclaimed documentary film, Ogbu Oja Eze, a title that Eze eventually adopted as his official stage name. Fiofori personally championed the film across prestigious international platforms, including the iREP International Documentary Film Festival and CameraAfrica, where it received standing ovations and catapulted Eze and the Oja onto global stages.
“This man saw what was to come, and he institutionalized it and made me aware,” Eze said. “He saw the future, and he saw that the future and the present were the same. People saw a boy in Lagos playing Oja, but he saw how far the Oja would go. He saw my future and the future of the instrument.”
Eze noted that Fiofori’s extraordinary foresight was validated in 2022 when he mounted a stage at Freedom Park without prior rehearsals and played the Oja over contemporary Amapiano beats—marking a historic moment where the traditional instrument bounced on modern popular African rhythms, exactly as Fiofori had envisioned years prior.
Beyond his artistic guidance, the memorial highlighted Fiofori’s deep sense of integrity and protective mentorship. Both speakers recalled how Fiofori guarded the personal growth, confidence, and physical safety of the young artists he mentored. Eze shared how Fiofori continuously advised him to drop his overly accommodating nature so that people would not exploit his gentle demeanor, demonstrating his determination to protect those carrying symbolic African arts.
Reflecting on the solemn experience of performing on the Oja during Fiofori’s final rites, Eze revealed that his tears were not merely born of grief, but of profound self-realization fostered by his mentor’s unwavering belief in him.
“I cried like a baby while playing the Oja when he was being laid to rest,” Eze said. “I didn’t know I would cry, because my function was to play Oja, and you have to be a brave man to play. I wasn’t just crying because he died; I was crying because now I knew who I was. This is one of the miracles of Uncle Tam.”
