Kalakuta Diaries

© 2013 Uwa Erhabor. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 6/20/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9285-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9284-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9283-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012921826

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

The Book is dedicated to the memories of Sola and Fehintola Anikulapo-Kuti

Introduction

Kalakuta Diaries is a personal Narrative of events and characters that propelled and defined an African Social-political setting in the heart of Lagos Nigeria.

Kalakuta was a creation of an Iconic rare-breed par excellence, whose enduring legacies has left an indelible Footprint in the sands of Africa and the World´s political times and consciousness.

This narrative apart from the well known battles against the establishment, is also an attempt to emphasise the roles played by the different characters that shaped the actions and policies of a Die-hard Pan-Africanist, who had an uncanny ability to read and predict exactly, outcomes of diverse political and economic actions of the ruling Elite’ years ahead of most of his fellow countrymen.

He dared the high and the mighty, the military governments and their western collaborators. He sang his way through the hearts of European and American cities using his music as a weapon in the demand for fairness, equity and love and the unity not only for the Black in his home country Nigeria, but the whole of Africa.

That he had like every other human being, his shortcomings or weakness especially with the opposite sex is normal and also depicted in this narrative. Suffice to say his dreams, wishes and aspirations for the African continent and blacks all over the Diaspora.

Interestingly as the reader would find out, the more potent enemies he had were within his own rank and file. From kids who carried grudges on behalf of their mother, through women who desperately wanted to have kids from him, staffs who secretly aided drug dealers knowing full well that he abhorred the use of such, up to relatives, staffs and friends who betrayed his trust. The intention of the writer having being schooled by the great one himself on issues of truthfulness, sincerity fearlessness and political foresight is to depict Kalakuta as it really was, without comas, bias, hard feelings or colouration.

This is the essential Kalakuta.

CHAPTER 1

FELA: ROOTS,

RADICALISM, MUSIC, MYSTICISM

The Genesis

Kalakuta in India literary jargon means Black Dog, and in Yoruba mythology, it is the symbol of resistance and bravery in the face of adversity. The enigma who transformed this phrase into a political phenomenon was born on August 15, 1938 as Olufela Ransome-Kuti to Reverend Ransome Kuti, a School Head-Master and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a political activist from the Egba tribe in Abeokuta South-west of Nigeria. Fela grew up in a Christian home with rules and regulations dictated by a very strict Father, influenced as it were, by western colonial beliefs and doctrines.

Despite this background, Fela’s world was that of a non-conformist from childhood to the chagrin of his father but to the liking of his mum. He got an accomplice early in life in his younger brother Beko, who understood quickly that he had been saddled with a Radical for a brother, and therefore, the ultimate obligation to protect and defend him always.

It started in their school days at Abeokuta Grammar School. Whenever Fela committed an offence and their Father asked who did it between him and his brother, Beko would refuse to give away his brother Fela, preferring to share the burden of punishment with him. This was a standard procedure in their family home then; this bond was to grow even stronger in their adult life.

Beko was already studying in England to become a Medical Doctor before their parents decided to send Fela to join him for Medical Studies. But contrary to the wishes of his Parents and recognizing his God-given natural talent, he opted for the Trinity School of Music.

Fela unlike his younger brother Beko who had a house bought for him by his mother lived in a Boarding-house apartment which also accommodated other friends and Nigerian students including the late senator Victor Akan. As Fela recalled, we worked hard on our studies during the week and celebrated with parties almost every weekend.

So it was on one of those weekends that they had gone to their regular Club and in came this pretty girl that shone like a thousand stars relegating every other girl in the club to the background. Every one of them except Fela had flirted with her in the Club until she agreed to go with them to their boarding house.

Initially when they got to their Boarding-house he had lost every hope because the first apartment they went to was that of Victor Akan which was always kept very clean and tidy. So it was a big surprise when she suddenly turned, looked at all of them and pointedly asked Fela where is your own apartment?

A pleasantly surprised Fela could only manage to stutter eh, em, em downstairs. There was more surprise at Fela’s apartment when she donned an apron and simply cleaned the dishes and the whole apartment. That girl then was a certain Remi Taylor who would later become Fela’s wife and mother of his first three kids.

After completing his Music studies in England, Fela returned to Nigeria and took up a job with Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria as the music Programme Director. His family connection was first put to bear in getting him an interview to become the music director at the Nigerian Navy. But Fela intentionally got late to the venue of the interview because he did not want anything to do with the Military.

The birth of Afrobeat

While working with the FRCN Fela occasionally did jam sessions with other musicians. Playing just his Trumpet with a white Handkerchief in his hand like the Great musicians he had heard and read about or admired in the world of Jazz music like Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Miles Davis and at the same time gradually putting together his own Band. So when he left the FRCN he had enough collaborators to start the Koola-Lobitos with Benson Idonjie as his first manager.

Although he had good musicians in his Band like the great Tony Allen, Lekan Animashaun, Ingo Chico while he himself was a perfectionist, initially his music was more western inclined. It took a simple question from his mother to change all that. Fela why don’t you use African Rhythm in your music instead of this Oyinbo, Oyinbo you are playing, his mum had asked him. He said he had thought about what she asked him all night and the next day he started experimenting with it, and in no time because of his rare gift as a music Genius he started churning out one hit after the other bringing about the birth of a refreshing mix of heavy Bass, Jazzy Drums, Tenor guitar, Rhythm Congas, Rhythm guitar, Tenor guitar, rhythm piano, unparalleled Horn-sections, call and Backup singers, laced in African rhythms. He called it Afro beat.

The birth of a Pan-Africanist.

The idea of going on a musical tour in the United States of America was first muted in the late 60’s by a friend of Fela’s manager, Idonjie, who had thought at the time that Nigeria already had a Musical star that could easily meet up with international standard hence the need to go to the states for the big break. But funny enough was the youthful exuberance of going on a wild ride without taking into consideration the fact that things could go wrong. First they had no Tour Agency with a clear-cut Tour plan; and this leads to the second problem of having few or no Promoters. And thirdly, they had one-way tickets which summed up together a perfect recipe for a catastrophic Tour.

Predictably, when Fela and his then unknown Koola-Lobitos band got to the States, it took just a couple of shows and few weeks to face the reality of their situation. At the point in time, the Civil-Rights movement in America was already assuming dynamic proportions. So while his musicians were working in factories to raise the travel fares back home, Fela had to live with an Afro-American girlfriend Sandra Izsadore, who belonged to the Black Resistant movement then, called the Black Panthers. She it was that supplied Fela loads of Pan-Africanist oriented books that completely animated his political mindset. Fela spent most of his time devouring books he got from Sandra on World and African history, Malcolm X, Angela Davies, Stoke Carmichael, slavery and every other Topic he felt was relevant to the emancipation of the African race. Izsadore made Fela see the world from a perspective that was to shape the direction of the rest of his life. He came back to Nigeria with images of daily brutality against the Blacks solidly embedded in his sub-consciousness, a completely different man.

First he had to shed away his initial surname, Ransome-Kuti, substituting it with Anikulapo-Kuti. The Ransome in it was too colonial for his liking. His band also was renamed Africa 70 discarding completely the use of Western or foreign manufactured items. He started reordering his priorities using his music as a weapon. Fela attacked societal defection from the traditional use of African or locally manufactured items, government inadequacies, unbridled corruption and nepotism in government while propagating like his new found Hero, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on the need for African unity with a central Government for all Africans.

Delving into serious social and political issues, Fela attacked anything he felt was inimical to the political, social and economic advancement of the Black race. He realized early enough that his music was making the desired impact and used the fact to its fullest advantage.

These uncompromising views coupled with the fact that in Nigeria like most other African countries, a military government was in power made confrontations with the Army and Police authorities inevitable.

The First Republic

Fela’s first major brush with the police Authorities in Nigeria came in the form of a raid on his abode by the police who had gone to his house searching for cannabis. Led by a certain Superintendent Attah, who later became the Inspector-General and armed with a search warrant, they had searched everywhere in his house without success until a Corporal found the remnants of what Fela thought he had already disposed in his bedroom toilet. Fela who at this time was already teasing the police officers, accusing them of wasting his time and the tax payers’ money was edging closer to the corporal and demanding to see the evidence.

Corporal: You said you don’t smoke weed, then what is this?

Fela: What is that? (Getting even closer) I can’t see anything, you are lying.

Corporal: You can’t see what? (Now raising his hands up very close to Fela’s face) is this not…? That was all he could mutter because Fela had hit the backhand of the policeman, grabbed the weed and threw everything into the mouth, chewing and smiling to the consternation of their leader, SP Attah, who then had no choice but to take Fela to the station threatening hell and brimstone.

SP Attah: hey young man, do you know what you have just done? I am taking you to the station, either you voluntarily excrete what you just swallowed or we will pump it out of your system and use same against you in the law court.

On getting to the Force Criminal Investigation Department at Alagbon Lagos, Fela refused to enter the cell insisting that he would never walk in voluntarily with his own legs. The police had to lift him into the cell hence he won the instant respect of all other cell inmates. Inside the cell the president in concert with other inmates cooperated with Fela to circumvent the police game plan. Fela had requested his family to always cook for him food with lots of vegetables so he could purge out everything he had in his stomach. The trick was that after the police officers on duty had done their routine night inspection, Fela would excrete in a bowl provided by the cell president and this will eventually be smuggled out of the cell without the knowledge of the police officers on duty who had already been briefed that whenever Fela was ready to excrete he should be taken outside the cell and given a bowl to excrete in. That way Attah had reasoned, his excreta would be sent to the Forensic department