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By Babajide Awoyinfa

The death of popular Nigerian highlife musician, Tony Grey, 70, has been described as a great loss to the country and his music missed by his fans.

One of Nigeria’s foremost poets, Odia Ofeimun, on Tuesday mourned the veteran highlife musician, whom he said would be greatly missed by all music lovers.

According to reports, the Ozimba crooner based in Warri, Delta State, had been ill and needed N10 million for treatment abroad.

He is reported to have suffered from diabetes and prostate cancer.

Although, he received a handful of donations for the treatment, the great musician who was popular in the 70s through the early 90s died on Monday.

According to reports, his family could not raise the N10 million that was needed to treat the ailment.

Tony Grey was widely known in the 1970s and 1980s in the old Bendel state, now Edo and Delta.

Tony Grey is an indigene of Aboh in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State

Some of his tracks are ‘she is my love’ ‘my message’ and ‘come back love’.

Ofeimun told NAN that the musician’s death was a big loss, as far as Highlife Music was concerned.

“In his own way, he made his contribution with several master piece songs that came out especially in the 1970s and 1980s.

“It is important that when people like him die, they are given all their due respect.

“Although, he may have not been a frontline musician like the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, but the role he played behind the scene to help in the production of great music needs to be properly recognised.

“For a very long time, he had been very much off the scene, and we didn’t know he had cancer, which is a terrible thing.

“Now that people are suffering from cancer, more and more investments should be made in the attempt to solve it for everybody.

“Every effort needs to be made to support his family, for him to be given a proper burial,’’ he said. (NAN)