Yahaya Usman, popularly called Yahaya Makaho, a blind singer who rose from being a street beggar to a famously known singer in northern Nigeria,spends time with some of his fans while wearing his trademark sunglasses in Kaduna, Nigeria, on September 25, 2019. PHOTO: Kola Sulaimon / AFPYahaya Makaho feels his way to the microphone before launching into a song for his new album at a recording studio in the northern city of Kaduna.
“I see myself as a superstar who has broken the jinx associated with physical disabilities,” Makaho, 37, told AFP, wearing his trademark sunglasses. Makaho — a nickname meaning “blind man” in Hausa under which the singer is widely known — has had to come a long way to record his 370 singles and three albums.
Yahaya Usman, popularly called Yahaya Makaho, a blind singer who rose from being a street beggar to a famously known singer in northern Nigeria,spends time with some of his fans while wearing his trademark sunglasses in Kaduna, Nigeria, on September 25, 2019. PHOTO: KOLA SULAIMON / AFP“It hurt me to be always asking people for money. Begging kills the spirit and I decided to become a singer,” he said.
With his soft voice he croons his way through lyrics that tackle ills such as begging, drug abuse and corruption. “They ostracised me for exposing the ills of begging in my two tracks and dubbed me an enemy,” he said.