NaijaTalkTalk- Femi Anikulapo-Kuti: The 54th trumpet by Azuka Jebose

Femi Kuti performing at 2015 Felabration.

To prove that his music, identity and ideology, though similar to his dad, were still at variance, he worked hard, rehearsed every day, supported and encouraged by a blossoming family which included his grandma, his mother Remi, sisters Yeni and late Sola, Dele Sosimi and that damn huge mean black German shepherd dog.


Bariga years: 1984:
The Federal Military Government under the leaderships of General Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon arrested Fela Anikulapo Kuti for violation of the foreign exchange decree.
After months of made for media trial, Fela was, in September found guilty of violating the draconian decree. The government needed to make a statement in pursuit of its war against indiscipline and Fela was a readily available and famos poster child for such nuisance.

He was allegedly found with $1200 in his possession as he attempted to board a flight to Los Angeles, United States, for the year’s summer concert tours.

Fela was an unrepentant critic of successive Nigerian governments.

His arrest, as his character, became a circus. I was a young restless reporter with The Punch, aggressively seeking anything news. I was also seriously flirting with entertainment desk at the Onipetesi newsroom office of the newspaper organization. Ladi Ayodeji, celebrated entertainment journalist, my godfather, discovered my skills.

Before joining Punch, I moonlighted as a local disc jockey of Mafoluku, Oshodi, a densely populated semi lower class project of Lagos. After few weeks of freelancing for Mr. Ayodeji on his entertainment beat, he went to the news editor’s desk and requested that I should be transferred, permanently, to the entertainment desk.

Eric Teniola, the then news editor flatly denied his request: ‘No I can’t give you Jebose, he is one of our young resilient reporters and very aggressive’
Mr. Teniola protested. The next morning, ‘Baba Erico’, Teniola transferred me to the City office inside the bustling commercial center of Lagos, to assist the city editor, Feyi Smith with news coverage.

The absence of Fela was sad emptiness in our music industry and everyday lives of the people. He was our constant voice that shared our struggles for basic necessities of life: educated us, through his music on our rights as human beings and encouraged us to be fearless, demand our rights, question our governments, as disenfranchised and underprivileged Nigerians.

The fearless spokesman for the people had been seriously silenced by a military junta determined to clean our society through its War Against Indiscipline.

Fela was considered an undisciplined man of the people. Buhari and Idiagbon were determined to make him irrelevant.

The band must play on
And there was Ndubuisi Abdul (Okwechime), Fela’s protégée creative, influential arts and features writer with the defunct Sunday Times. The best part, Abdul is from Onicha Ugbo.

I travelled every Sunday late mornings, from my home in Mafoluku, outskirts of Oshodi, to Idi Araba, where Ndubuisi lived with his brother. We would eat lunch and then leave for either Femi’s house at Bariga or Afrika Shrine at Pebble Street in Ikeja, depending on time and traffic. We were passionate about afrobeat music and the Anikulapo Kutis.

We wanted the music and its lifestyles to continue in the absence of Fela: we determined to support Femi’s emerging music career. In the absence of Fela, Femi became a temporary frontman for his father’s Egypt 80 Band.

Femi was an exciting, terrific and energetic young musician. During these times as a front man for Egypt ’80 Band, he also formed his own band, The Positive Force.

Every day, he wrote songs and rehearsed his new compositions, in concert with his best friend and roommate, keyboardist, Dele Sosimi. Femi was also recording his debut. He was, no doubt, the heir apparent to the afrobeat music kingdom.

Those days were his opportunity to step into the limelight and continue with the afrobeat music, culture and lifestyle. Femi refused to be identified as Fela’s shadow. He rejected the comparisons or narratives that he was following his father’s feet steps in music and performance. He wanted desperately an identity of his own. He hated being referred to as the heir apparent.

It was the early years of pressure cooker and maturity. To prove that his music, identity and ideology, though similar to his dad, were still at variance, he worked hard, rehearsed every day, supported and encouraged by a blossoming family which included his grandma, his mother Remi, sisters Yeni and late Sola, Dele Sosimi and that damn huge mean black German shepherd dog.

Femi’s hard work was distinct in his debut, Madness Unlimited. His afrobeat was fast tempo, laced with upbeat techno funk appeal. Fela’s creation was traditional, native, primitive and polyrhythmic. During Sunday Jumps, Ndubuisi (Abdul) and I watched Femi’s performances and utterances, we would strategize on how to assist him in assuming the headline position. We also agreed that the opportunity to release his album was then.

One Monday morning, before the raining season in 1985, Abdul and I met at the Bariga home of Femi. We decided, that day, to market Femi and his new music to the record companies.

We went to EMI on Oregun Road, Lagos: held hours of meetings with Frank Ifemesia Iferenta, the A&R manager and media relations for EMI. He told us unequivocally that EMI would not be interested in Femi’s music because of his father’s controversies, Fela’s renegade lifestyle.

Fela was bad news and bad business, especially then that he was in prison. His charming character and characteristics trickled down on Femi at EMI. The sins of the father visited an innocent aspiring musician and creative young talent. We felt the sad disappointments in Femi’s face but shrugged off the first rejection.

Welcome to show business, a cut-throat business.
The crew decided to visit Polygram Records that afternoon. As we drove along Ikorodu road, Femi asked we pulled under Anthony Village Bridge, over to rewrite the lyrics to Madness Unlimited. We sat in the car and watched him write part of the song. I was in heavens. I didn’t know that Ndubuisi and I were witnessing the evolution of afrobeat music empire.

While Fela did his two year term in Borno State prison, I became a regular visitor at Femi’s house in Bariga. The family adored and embraced me. Femi’s mom, Remi sat on the couch early mornings or evenings, smoking cigarette and always offered me a cup of tea. The family had this black mean looking German shepherd that disliked my regular visits. He would bark as soon as he smelled my scents at the door. Femi would warn that I should be still and walked into the living room slowly while he pacifies the dog with pet. Foolish animal!.

Remi once promised that I was going to write her autobiography whenever she was comfortable and ready to tell all about her love and marriage to Fela. I never got that opportunity to work with her. Dele Sosimi, skinny and smooth keyboardist was also living with the Anikulapo Kutis in Bariga. Femi and Dele were inseparable then. Femi, Sola, Yeni and I became very close family. Yeni was experimenting on her new passion: fashion designs; specializing in adire fabrics. She would design special clothes and made sure I wore them during visits, sometimes helping me to tuck in my shirts, like a caring big sister. She made sure I looked good whenever I visited. She and Sola were like sisters watching over me.

Sundays were spectacular visits. Femi, Abdul and I caught regular cabs from Bariga to the Afrika Shrine for Sunday Jump. We built trust, dependence and loyalty. Young, unconditional love, respect and one family!. That was how we connected. We were loyal, dedicated to the brand and life styles of a pop culture as its founder served out his jail sentence.

Thus, I understood why Femi drove to the Punch, in 1986, to confirm if Fela had been released from prison after 18 months by the new military administration led by Ibrahim Babangida. He told me he heard the broadcast on the national news on Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria’s 4 o’ clock news bulletin that Fela was ordered released, effective immediately. He didn’t want to believe it until he visited me at The Punch to confirm. I said ‘Yes baba is coming home’… that night, he drove long distance to bring his father home..

These were the living years I was privileged to share with a great son, an awesome musician and a dear friend that turns fifty four this month. It seemed like yesterday. He is human and my purpose is to capture those young wondering years when we were seeking definition, focus and identity. Here, my dear friend. I am still trying to understand where yesterday went: it was so fast. Yekparikpa, yeyeyeyeyekparikpa yeyeyeye… Happy birthday, omo abami eda… what a privilege to belong to this generation with you.