By Tahav Agerzua
One of the greatest Tiv oral poets, Atim Kasua, was laid to rest on Friday, 28th February, 2025, in his family compound in Tarka local government area of Benue State. He passed earlier in the month at the age of 62 having been born on 7th March, 1962.
Anyone who listened to his songs and understood the Tiv language which was his medium of communication, readily acknowledged that he belonged to the pantheon of the greatest in the land.
In one of his songs he lambasted the Tiv who he says have gone astray in the area of expensive and lascivious funerals thereby feasting on their dead and encouraging death to take their best.
In another, he celebrated General Sani Abacha’s creation of Tarka local government and his stepping down of electricity at Wannune as God’s reward to Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka who he says did not amass wealth in his public service to the people.
Kasua was most caustic in his criticism of moral decay which he says results in widespread AIDS which he says if it doesn’t kill makes one poor, as part of God’s punishment.
He sang about how poverty made one woman wise enough to create a scene which attracted men to troupe to her place to quickly finish the Burukutu she sold leaving that of those who had better ones.
I recorded him twice, at the height of his compositions, on 5th November, 2006, and at the twilight of his life, on 10th June, 2024.
During our last interaction, he had given up his performance career on account of what he described as poor patronage.
He said he gave up performance in 2021 when he was not able to raise money during a performance tour which lasted several days, to take care of one of his sick children who needed medical attention.
Kasua lamented that earlier in his career which came to limelight around 1992 patrons took good care of him and his assistants which encouraged them to explore new frontiers.
Although he had stopped performance he remembered and sang one of his most memorable songs and I was also able to retrieve some of the earlier ones from the 2006 recording.
When I featured the last interview I had with Atim Kasua on Gurgur and Msaanyol on Asking Radio 98.5 SPEED FM on Saturday, 29th June, 2024, listeners who called were unanimous that he could indeed be ranked among the greatest.
He is survived by two of his three wives, 23 children and several other relatives.
