A former band leader and close associate of the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has narrated how the music legend’s eldest son, Femi, barred him from the New Afrika Shrine.
Lekan Animashaun, fondly referred to as Baba Ani, while speaking on his years with Fela during an interview on Arise TV’s The Morning Show, on Sunday said he started having problems with Femi after he declined to work for him and, instead, opted to work with his younger brother, Seun.
“I was banned from entering the shrine by Femi. When Fela died, and Beko, who was then the manager of the band, was in prison. On two occasions, Femi called me privately, asking me if I was going to join him, or his uncle and Seun. So, I told him that ‘you are the most senior son of Fela, and everything Fela left behind is in your hands’. So the request he made does not arise.
“As time went by, he saw that I was more with Seun and the Egypt 80 band… Mind you, this is a young man I know very well. So, I decided to go with Seun. I was mentoring Seun, even before Fela died. So, I think that was my offense,” the octogenarian master saxophonist who clocked 85 on Wednesday said.
Continuing, Baba Ani said: “The very first day at the Egypt 80 band, because there was a quarrel and they had to go to court, the judge in charge of the case settled the matter in the chambers, and somewhere along the line, Seun was asked to start coming to play at the shrine.
“On the very first day the band was going to play there, I got to Kalakuta, Fela’s house in Ikeja. I went upstairs to meet Seun and he told me he wouldn’t like me to be present at the show. I asked why, he said anytime he was discussing with his ‘egbons’ (sic), and he mentioned my name, what they used to say was unprintable. So, please don’t go with the band, but he assured me that I would be paid regardless.
“When he got to the shrine that night, they went upstairs in his office to greet him, and he was so annoyed. He wanted to know who was downstairs and was asking where is my gun. He started to hurl insults at me. Somewhere along with his rant, he told the boys to tell me not to show my face at the shrine anytime. Since that time, I had not gone there as well, I was banned from entering the shrine.”
Baba Ani, who has had a huge celebration over two weeks also recalled meeting Fela in 1961 while he was a member of the defunct Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC) Dance Orchestra where the Afrobeat icon was a producer, during a rehearsal and how he spent three decades as one of his henchmen.
Meanwhile, in her reaction, Fela’s daughter and eldest child, Yeni Kuti, described the allegations levelled against her brother as “outright lies” capable of fanning “flames of discord”.
Yeni narrated on her social media pages without directly mentioning Baba Ani’s name: “When Fela died, a lot of people tried to push their own agendas and for a while succeeded in dividing the family. It took a lot of wisdom and patience from Femi and I as the eldest of Fela’s children to bring peace again to the family. We faced many challenges, from abuse in the media, face to face and in many other ways. Our Creator surpassed them all and today except for little wrangling in the family we are at peace and we are one. I will not bother to go into some of the challenges we faced but I will say that I am surprised that one of the perpetrators and feeders of the ‘war’ in the family has come up to give a narrative of outright lies instead of being an elder and trying to make things right, is trying to fan once again flames of discord.
“As long as I am alive I will continue to make sure they fail. The Kuti family remains a United family. May Our Creator continue to bless everyone who has stood by us. I rest my case.”
Similarly, Seun, the youngest of the Kuti siblings whom Baba Ani had claimed he mentored and who performed at one of the events to celebrate the octogenarian on Sunday also dismissed the allegations, saying he was shocked that the octogenarian is opening up an old wound and fabricating the truth.
“It has come to my attention that some stories are occupying the social media due to what Baba Ani alleged. That is what it is, an allegation, not totally factual. My family and I decided years ago to let peace reign. I have spoken to Baba Ani several times too. I’m shocked he has decided to open up old wound and fabricate the truth. And as I have pointed out to him I stand with my family and brother Femi Anikulapo-Kuti,” Seun wrote via his Instagram handle.
