Safin De Coque, one of the sons of the late legendary highlife singer, Oliver De Coque, has expressed joy that people still celebrate his father who died on June 20, 2008, at the age of 61.
Celebrating his 74th posthumous birthday, Google honoured the legendary guitarist with a Google Doodle.
Reacting to the gesture, Safin De Coque, in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH, noted that the family was happy that their father was being celebrated even years after his death.
“Personally, I feel happy that people are still celebrating my father even though he had died. The fact that he is gone but still remembered shows the amount of effort and dexterity he put into his craft while he was still alive. I think it calls for celebration and I am happy about it,” he said.
Oliver De Coque fathered about 12 children, of which five of them are musicians. Safin De Coque, who has toed his father’s path as a musician, stated in an earlier interview with The PUNCH that none of his father’s children could fit the shoes he left behind.
Safin said, “I don’t think any of my father’s children would surpass his record in highlife. We can only try, but there can only be one Oliver De Coque. We are only living under his glory.
“We would find it very hard to break his record. Don’t forget my father had been making waves even before the advent of the internet and social media. I am just being truthful and realistic; I cannot beat my father’s record.”
Asides from Oliver De Coque’s family, Nigerians were also ecstatic about the Google Doodle as they took to Twitter to air their excitement.Onye Nkuzi, via his handle @cchukudebelu, noted that it was a pleasant surprise. He said, “I was pleasantly surprised to see a Google doodle on Chief Oliver de Coque’s 74th birthday.” (Punch)