Veteran singer, Chris Hanen of ‘Ozigizaga’ fame, is dead

A veteran Nigerian singer, Chris Hanen, who was popular for his 1990 hit track, ‘Ozigizaga’ is dead.

The singer, whose real name is Christian Aghanenu, died on Wednesday after an illness. He was 60.

The chairman of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Tony Okoroji, disclosed this in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

“I just received with shock the news of the passing on of the great Ozigizaga exponent, Chris Hanen. Chris was a very talented and committed musician who worked with me closely on several projects in our days at EMI,” Mr Okoroji wrote.

“Last year, Chris Hanen was at the funeral of Moses of Felyxx and Mozzyz fame. He was also at COSON House for the celebrated funeral of Rub-A-Dub Master, Ras Kimono. Chris was very humble and an easy-going person who will be terribly missed by all of us in the music industry who knew him. May the soul of Chris ‘Ozigizaga’ Hanen rest in peace.”

The soft-spoken singer shot into limelight after the release of his debut album ‘Turning Point’ in 1990.

But his fame and fortune began to dwindle, shortly after he dropped his sophomore album, ‘New Dawn’ in 1991.

He faded off the music scene subsequently and remained out of the public radar ever since.

At the peak of his career, he worked with the likes of Bright Chimezie, Tony Okoroji, Stella Monye, Onyeka Onwuenu, Chris Mba and many others.

He started out as a DJ and performed for famous Nigerian musicians.

In an interview published in 2005, the late singer was quoted as saying, “I started my apprenticeship by following musicians, playing for them and eventually I did my album, ‘Turning Point’ that contained the celebrated track Ozigizaga and that was the turning point of my life”.

Listen to the singer’s hit song ‘Ozigizaga’ below.