Seun
Kuti at his brother Femi Kuti's 50th birthday bash, July 2012
Afrobeat singer and son of Fela,
Seun Kuti has publicly asked the Federal
Government to apologise to his family for the death of his
grandmother, Funmilayo Kuti, before putting her picture
on the proposed N5000 note.
Let’s go back in time; it’s February
1978, and Nigeria is being ruled by the military, led by General
Olusegun Obasanjo. One of the most influential women in the
country, Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti is resting in her
Surulere abode, where two of her sons – Doctor Beko Ransome Kuti
and musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti also call home. Her
house is then invaded by a thousand unknown soldiers who attack and
brutalise Beko and Fela, vandalize property, including Beko’s hospital,
but in the worst of atrocities, allegedly throw Olufunmilayo from the
second floor of her house to the ground.
The first woman in Nigeria to drive a
car and to ride a bike; a woman often regarded as ‘The mother of
Africa’ slips into a coma and in April that year, dies from the
injuries sustained.
Fast forward to 2012; Goodluck
Jonathan is President. The Federal Government have announced a
proposed N5000 note to be printed and circulated in the country. The
have also announced that they are considering putting Funmilayo Kuti’s
picture on the note. Her four children – Olikoye, Beko, Fela and Dolupo,
who protested her death back then are all dead, but one of her
grandsons’ Seun Kuti isn’t taking the news lying down.
In an interview with Channels TV,
Seun, son of the late great Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti has rejected the
consideration and accused the Federal government of killing his
grandmother.
‘She was murdered by the Federal
Government, her house was burnt down on that same day, two of her
children were brutalised, almost killed on that same day and the family
have not receive any apology or compensation, most especially justice
for such atrocity.’
Seun, an Afrobeat musician himself, is
asking for not just an apology, but for someone to be held responsible
for the February ’78 attack which resulted in the death of his
grandmother.
‘First, the Federal Government has
to accept that they were the cause of her death. The official statement
that they are still giving us is that she was murdered by 1,000 unknown
soldiers who stormed the Kalakuta Republic’.
Social network campaigns have been put
in gear, with family, fans and friends of the Kutis. On Facebook an ‘I
Hate the New 5000 Naira Note’ group was opened. On
micro-blogging site Twitter, popular singer-producer Tha Suspect
who is also an ‘advocate of the masses’ said ‘Elder Funmilayo Kuti
On The #5,000 Note?? Plenty Apologies Go First Take Place but Shame go
Gree Govt?’
Seun Kuti is not just advocating for the
FG not to use his grandmother’s picture. From his tweets, we see he
wants the N5000 not to be printed at all. Seun also seems to be ready
for whatever, as he has also indicated that he will ‘take it to the
streets for them’ if the idea is not nipped in the bud.
‘If it’s goin to require us taking
to d streets for ‘them’ to listen, then AM READY! Nigerians RISE; &
say NO to d obnoxious N5,000 note!’ @realsuenkuti tweeted.
The bill to print the money has already
been approved by the Federal Executive Council, which
President Goodluck Jonathan heads, and has been passed on to the House
of Senate. It might be a matter of days before the CBN
governor Sanusi Lamido is given the go ahead to
commence printing. The FG is however yet to respond to his (Seun Kuti)
request, neither have they apologized.
And the question of what the other
descendants think about the whole matter arises – the most notable being
the revered saxophonist Femi Kuti and elder sister Yeni Kuti. Femi 50,
and Yeni, 51 who have stayed very close to each other over the years
seem to be more interested in honouring their late father Fela by completing the much talked about FELA Museum.
As reported earlier, Fela’s Kalakuta
Republik has received a complete overhaul and is being transformed into a
Fela-inspired Historic house museum. Renovations are still on-going and
recently, his son Femi paid a visit to the house.
In an exclusive chat with Yeni Kuti,
daughter of the late Afrobeat legend, she tells us the Lagos State
government are the only sponsors of the huge project. NET gathered that a
sum of N40m was paid to the building contractors Total Consults
to start and finish the former Kalakuta Republik.
The monument is expected to be completed
before October 15, when this year’s Felabration festival kicks off.
