By Cyril Ehinomen
Grammy-nominated afrobeat singer Seun Kuti has urged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Federal Government to take drastic actions against the military to avoid a coup d’état.
The controversial singer was reacting to the insults hauled at the Governor by some yet-to-be-identified soldiers for arresting one of their colleagues over a traffic violation.
He noted that if the excesses of the military are not contained, not only civilians would suffer from it but also politicians.
Kuti also mocked the soldiers for threatening to “humiliate” social media influencer, VeryDarkMan for applauding Sanwo-Olu’s action, saying the military only bullies civilians but runs away from terrorists.
Speaking during an Instagram live session with fans, the singer said: “I didn’t want to speak on this very matter but when I opened my Instagram this morning, I saw a video of one of the unruly soldiers threatening to humiliate VeryDarkMan for making comment on Sanwo-Olu’s arrest of one of their colleagues. Imagine, in a free country.
“Sanwo-Olu and co, you people don’t understand anything. You think you [politicians] are protected from this [military] boys? Have you forgotten what military coup is? If you guys don’t do your job now, stamp down on this impunity in the armed forces, keep them to their barracks, treat their f*ckups anytime they f*ck up… If any soldier misbehave, make sure the commandant of the barrack he is attached to is removed.
“If you don’t treat them like that, do you think it is only Fela’s family they will kill? You don’t understand as the government claimed that it was unknown soldiers that killed my grandmother, Fumilayo Kuti… They killed my grandmother, threw her from the window because they were acting based on government order.
“The government protected all of them saying they were unknown soldiers. Now, they are threatening you, Governor. The table has turned from civilians now, they’re now threatening politicians too.
“Now, let me address the soldier that was threatening VeryDarkMan. I, Seun, is telling you guys that if you do anything to VDM, you guys too won’t have peace. It’s only for civilians that you can show your power, but when it comes to Boko Haram, you run away. If Boko Haram open fire, you beg Nigerians; civilians to support you in your fight against terrorists.”
