The late singer and friend of legendary Nigerian musician Innocent Ujah Idibia, aka 2Baba, Sound Sultan, who passed away from throat cancer in 2021, may have lived if he had received an early diagnosis, according to 2Baba.

He claimed that when the singer of "Jagbajantis" fell ill, doctors initially suspected malaria.

He also attributed the delayed diagnosis to the nation's subpar healthcare system.

The seasoned performer made an appearance in the most recent Afrobeats podcast episode, which was hosted by British-Nigerian media personality Adesope Olajide, aka Shopsydoo.

The host asked, “How was the relationship with Sound Sultan, and how has that loss been for you?”

2Baba replied: “He [Sound Sultan] was one of the ‘goodest’, if I can use that word. He was one of the ‘goodest’ people you could ever come across, like an angel.

“For a long time, I did not want to accept that fact; it was like a joke. The diagnosis was late. We thought it was malaria; he did tests in Nigeria. But I don’t want to get into all that.”

The Daily Post recalls that Sound Sultan died in the United States on July 11, 2021, aged 44, shortly after he was diagnosed with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, also known as cancer of the throat.