{"id":8237,"date":"2015-10-25T17:46:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T17:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/?p=8237"},"modified":"2015-10-25T18:03:47","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T18:03:47","slug":"why-instead-of-selling-fela-anikulapo-kuti-to-them-its-the-world-led-by-america-thats-selling-fela-to-nigerians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/why-instead-of-selling-fela-anikulapo-kuti-to-them-its-the-world-led-by-america-thats-selling-fela-to-nigerians\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Instead of \"SELLING\" Fela Anikulapo Kuti to Them, it's the WORLD - led by America - that's \"SELLING\" Fela to Nigerians!"},"content":{"rendered":"

[PHOTOS: <\/strong>A visit to Fela Anikulapo Kuti's<\/a> Kalakuta Museum with my 16 year old son - who is named after him] <\/em><\/p>\n

In my 2003 personal philosophy paper titled \"Why I Do What I Do, The Way I Do It\"<\/a>, I wrote as follows:<\/p>\n

\"In certain ways, I see myself as a non-singing ideological equivalent of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Through his lyrics, I discovered myself, and became passionately proud of being Black<\/em><\/p>\n

, Nigerian and African. (I named my first son after Fela, for this\/his other good sides). My objective is to help others achieve similar Self-Discovery.\" - Tayo Solagbade<\/em><\/p>\n

The photos below show my (now 16 year old) son who got named after Baba 70 \ud83d\ude42<\/h3>\n

\"IMG00230\"<\/a> \"IMG00231\"<\/a>\u00a0 \"IMG00233\"<\/a> \"IMG00232\"<\/a> \"IMG00228\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The photos were taken when I took him through some areas of Ikeja I used to \"pavement-pound\", doing my door-to-door marketing. That was how I worked back then (pre-2012), to find clients for my custom Excel-VB software development service and products (like the Payslip Generator, Hotel Records Management System etc).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I told him how I would park close to Fela's house, before leaving to \"hunt for clients\". AND I also told him MANY stories about how I had to go on marketing all day, most times with NO money to eat\/drink.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I'd return to take a break in the car, for 30 minutes to an hour to recover my strength - before resuming my \"runs\". Most times I returned home as late as 10p.m to 12 midnight, with little to show for my efforts (I've since learnt to make clients\/buyers come to me, instead of going to them - click here<\/a>)..<\/p>\n

But back then Fela's house was a shadow of itself, badly neglected.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recall I would sometimes see \"Seun<\/a>\" - one of Fela's sons (younger brother to Femi Kuti<\/a>), come outside from one of the rooms at the top of the building - often shirtless - having returned from a music tour abroad.<\/p>\n

Each time I parked there however, I could not help wondering how the house of a legend like Fela could have been allowed to degenerate the way it had. It saddened me greatly.<\/em><\/h3>\n

It goes without saying that I was not alone in thinking this way. Anyone who'd heard Fela's legend would naturally think the same thing on seeing the house!<\/p>\n

One time I overheard a white man with an American accent who'd come to see the house with a Nigerian friend, asking why it looked so neglected.<\/p>\n

The response he got missed me, but I'm sure it would have been along the lines of \"Search me!\"<\/em><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the broadway show named after FELA (see http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fela!<\/a> and http:\/\/felaonbroadway.com<\/a>), has helped to raise the profile of this great man's legacy to the height it belongs...<\/p>\n

...And I BELIVE the massive followership triggered worldwide by THAT wonderful broadway show<\/a>, was the reason things changed for Fela's house!<\/h3>\n

That show boosted Fela's global popularity, leading to overwhelming international demand for news and information about him. Among other things, all-white Afro beat bands springing up in Europe became commonplace. Events of all kinds, art shows etc got organized to share his story.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nigerians in diaspora who'd previously neglected to mention they knew a Fela Anikulapo Kuti<\/strong> back home, suddenly got infected with the fever.<\/p>\n

They became proud to answer questions about Afro beat when asked \"Hey, you're Nigerian...do you know Fela?\"<\/p>\n

It became \"cool\" to be associated with the name of Fela...who some had previously called \"hemp smoker\" and \"trouble maker\"...!<\/em><\/p>\n

YES. It is my considered opinion that ALL of the above made it \"politically acceptable\" for the Lagos State government and other stakeholders to finally ACT.<\/h3>\n

They provided the funding and support to transform Fela's historic building's appearance into something befitting of a true tourist attraction.<\/p>\n

But it SHOULD have been done earlier, and not just that, we should have been the ones to tell the world about Fela, from the time he died!!! <\/strong><\/p>\n

I know some will tell me I'm wrong, but I would ask them:<\/p>\n

How come NIGERIA's government waited sooooo LOOOOONG to do this simple deed of turning Fela's house into a museum???? <\/em><\/p>\n

The truth is NO answer they give can ever justify the delay.<\/p>\n

Only in Nigeria can that kind of atrocity ever be committed against a legendary figure of Fela's stature!<\/p>\n

FACT: Before now, MANY educated and enlightened Nigerians would NEVER allow their kids go near Fela's shrine or even play his music.<\/h3>\n

When I was young, I recall reading stories in print media about how some Nigerian elites accused Fela of being a bad influence on youths.<\/p>\n

They never saw anything good about him, his music or his activism.<\/p>\n

All they did was focus on the fact that he smoked weed, and had multiple wives.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet today, NONE of those arm chair theorists\/phony critics commands the recognition that Fela, and his kids (who are carrying on the Afro beat tradition admirably), enjoy from fans all over the world.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I don't smoke weed. Never have. Never will.<\/p>\n

I don't need it to function in any way. My creativity is 100% nature driven, and requires no artificial stimulation. <\/em><\/p>\n

But the fact that Fela smoked weed NEVER made him any less worthy of my admiration.<\/p>\n

What he stood for went beyond his foibles.<\/p>\n

Indeed, no genius exists without faults - and that should NOT stop us from appreciating his\/her ingenuity!!!<\/p>\n

Sadly, many of our people - we Nigerians - missed it. As a result, instead of being the ones to SELL Fela to the world, the irony is that the WORLD, led by America, is SELLING our own Fela to us!<\/h3>\n

Think about it and you'll see my point.<\/p>\n

Which American great did outsiders ever have to help Americans recognize or celebrate?<\/p>\n

None that I can think of. And that's because America always celebrates its own.<\/p>\n

That's why even though Martin Luther King Jr. has African roots and fought slavery, AMERICA was the one that SOLD him to the rest of us. <\/strong><\/p>\n

They went further and set aside a day to remember him, which even here in Nigeria we recognize and join them to observe.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I saw audience members at Benin City's Igbinedion Education Centre, applauding wildly to the rendition of Dr. King's \"I have a dream\" speech by a student, at an end of year event broadcast on TV.\"<\/p>\n

Would ANY Nigerian school, before now, have ever let students recite lyrics from a Fela album at ANY event???<\/h3>\n

Indeed, can we easily find schools today that would even readily permit that to happen?<\/p>\n

The answer is debatable...<\/strong>BUT the fact that it is ONLY serves to further underscore the point I'm making in this article, that we do NOT value our own.<\/p>\n

Instead we devote needless time, energy and money joining others to celebrate their own geniuses.<\/p>\n

For instance, as I've noted in my writing, Fela's lyrics played a powerful role in helping me learn to be proud of being Black, Nigerian and African<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, they taught me to have self-esteem: which is what schooling should do. And that makes Fela's lyrics relevant, for instance, in Civics classes, and his life story relevant for History classes.<\/p>\n

Instead, our kids\/youths get taught about Mungo Park, Malcolm X, Mahathma Ghandi, Karl Marx etc.<\/p>\n

As a result, YEARS after Fela died, we (Nigeria as a nation, and Nigerians as a people) have no formal message about his life and works to share with the world.<\/h3>\n

Many Nigerian youths today cannot really tell you what he was about. But they can tell you the life history of Michael Jackson!<\/p>\n

No \"official\" Nigeria branded interviews or documentaries were done to capture the history of his amazing life.<\/p>\n

And to make matters worse, his house was left neglected for about a decade and a half after he passed on in 1997.<\/p>\n

Things only changed when the Americans - JayZ, Will Smith etc - got a glimpse of the life and times of Fela: they instantly knew it was a story worth telling.<\/h3>\n

So the broadway show was born, about 3 years ago<\/p>\n

Eventually, after the show had generated rave reviews all over, they brought it down to Nigeria's Lagos to show it to Nigerians - last year I think.<\/p>\n

They came to show their dramatization of a legend made in Nigeria. They came to show it to NIGERIANS, in NIGERIA.<\/p>\n

They came to show it to Nigerians who should have been telling the whole world the story themselves, in their own voice, by their own people.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It thinks it's sad that it happened that way.<\/p>\n

BUT I also believe it probably would never have happened at all, if it'd been left to Nigerians to do it!<\/p>\n

And that says a lot about the people - us Nigerians - who Fela fought and died for.<\/p>\n

We have SUCH a long way to go where it concerns celebrating our own! <\/em><\/p>\n

I find it ironic that many well schooled Nigerians (who in the past snubbed Fela and those who followed him) now readily take their white-skinned tourist friends from Europe and America to see Fela's house\/shrine.<\/h3>\n

We now see\/hear them narrating anecdotes about Fela, and getting kids in their posh schools to recite his life story during history classes or celebrations.<\/p>\n

Few, if at all any of them would however admit that they NEVER identified with Fela when he was alive!<\/em><\/p>\n

On one occasion, an elderly relative pointedly told me Fela was a criminal<\/h3>\n

He claimed to have known Fela from his childhood days, arguing that he'd been \"spoiled\" by his mother - Mrs. Ransome Kuti.<\/p>\n

This elderly relative would later query me for saying Fela was my role model, adding that as far as he was concerned, \"the man was a criminal!<\/strong>\"<\/p>\n

I could not believe my ears, because I recalled once hearing Fela's music blaring from a music player in this relative's car, 3 decades earlier. <\/em><\/p>\n

When I asked why he now called Fela a criminal, he said it was because Fela got sent to jail, and served a sentence for a criminal offence (actually trumped up charges), adding that even his activism was often unlawfully done.<\/h3>\n

I countered that the logic he employed qualified to make Nelson Mandela eligible for labeling as a criminal too, but he disagreed!<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that I tossed his expressed opinion out of the window, and gave it no more thought.<\/p>\n

Today, I'm sure the massive worldwide celebration of Fela must be hitting him hard where it hurts most...his ego! <\/em><\/p>\n

Anyway, I'm glad I finally got to take my son to see Fela's tomb, and house-turned-museum.<\/p>\n

I've told him MANY stories about his name-sake, and shown him photos, plus videos of his live shows and interviews for him to watch.<\/p>\n

As far as living one's life in service of others, Fela - for me - is the ultimate role model. He took it to a whole NEW level!<\/h3>\n

Like I tell all who care to listen, Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the closest I ever came to having a human being I worshipped.<\/p>\n

And I live my life today striving DAILY to emulate him in every way possible.<\/p>\n

Not just by myself - but also through my kids...who I ALWAYS challenge to be like him in the way they FEARLESSLY stand up for truth, and justice.<\/p>\n

PS: To Better Prepare them for Life, Spend Quality Time Sharing YOUR Life Experiences With YOUR Kids<\/h3>\n

I must not end without saying this....<\/em><\/p>\n

Regular readers of this blog know I'm currently home-schooling my kids to give them Personal Achievement Education (PAE)<\/a> - with a special focus on building street-smartness and income-earning-skills to complement their academic education.<\/p>\n

Like I continue to point out to parents who will listen, PAE is crucial to giving your child the BALANCED education s\/he will need to function competently as an independent adult in society AFTER s\/he leaves your home.<\/p>\n

My actions derive from the RUDE awakening I got after leaving school - especially when I chose to leave the security of paid employment, about surviving in the real-world's shark infested waters of our society.<\/p>\n

Look around you, and observe the warped values prevalent in society today, and you'll appreciate the need to adopt a similar strategy, for your kids' sake!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[PHOTOS: A visit to Fela Anikulapo Kuti's Kalakuta Museum with my 16 year old son - who is named after him] In my 2003 personal philosophy paper titled \"Why I Do What I Do, The Way I Do It\", I wrote as follows: \"In certain ways, I see myself as a non-singing ideological equivalent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1375,1,266,814,87,10,103],"tags":[2012,2011],"class_list":["post-8237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excel-vb-solutions","category-general-2","category-my-dn-travel-news","category-my-ideas-for-making-nigeria-better","category-parenting","category-self-development","category-writingblogging","tag-its-the-world-led-by-america-thats-selling-fela-to-nigerians","tag-why-instead-of-selling-fela-anikulapo-kuti-to-them"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":2536,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8237"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8249,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237\/revisions\/8249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}