Our politicians Support artist that only criminalize and diminish our heritage as black people Says SEUN ANIKULAPO KUTI.
Entertainment Parrot was Guest of SEUN ANIKULAPO KUTI at his off Allen
Avenue home in ikeja Lagos the maverick outspoken Afrobeat Apostle and Pan
Africanist was at his explosive best in
this interview.
E.P: How did your recent tour went?
Ans: The tour was okay it was
awesome we had a good time did about twenty something shows, we equally did the
promo for our new album ,most of the shows were our own night in venice we
didn’t do much festival.
E.P: The afrobeat music is noted for
the great infusion of strong African indigenous beat what is your perception of
the current trends among musicans who always like to make a copycat of
the European form of music.
Ans: I think it dosen’t l mean
anything, you know music is very broad and it can be interpreted in many forms
I don’t think
everybody has to do the
type of things I do and I don’t have to do what other people do as well I had
no feeling towards it. The only time I reacted
to it was when they try to attach the music, message and legacy of my father
with these new consumerist, materialistic and individualist
form of music it demeans Fela legacy I
don’t
really like that other than
that
I have no issues with it.
E.P: Now your band the Egypt 80s,
how many albums have you release with them?
Ans: Well we have four studio
albums and also we some remix as well, the albums are ‘ Many things' from African
with furies‘ "A long way to
the beginning" and also the one we just release called ‘ The
Black tithes"well all of them are quite successful.
E.P:When are you resuming your
performances at the new African Shrine ?
Ans: We would resume in September,
we play every last Saturday of the month if
am around, but the timing don’t coincide
with our time since we just came back we will be playing there from September.
E.P: Seun, the afrobeat music you
play cannot be removed from the politics
of the environment it came out from
,what is your perception of governance and politics presently?
Ans: My perception about Nigerian
society both business and political sphere it is basically anti- people you are
never rewarded
for doing
society
good in Nigerian ,you are rewarded only if you service the elites. Recently
awards was confer
on people who fought
for June 12 election I don’t know what that stand for but nobody award the
people of Nigeria who die in their hundreds
and
thousand in that
struggle any award. Even in the nation
newspaper uncle
Beko RansomeKuti
was just giving a foot note
after spending three years in jail they put
civil liberty
organization but never
remember that uncle Beko put everything in the forefront
of the protest and put his life on the line. Really
Abiola is not the hero
of
Nigerian people but of the
elites, Abiola a C.I.A agent who sponsored two coups
the first against a democratically elected government of Ahaji Sheu Shagari
just because they refuse to give him the presidential ticket, the second one he
sponsor it so that they woud hand over to him but his friend IBB refuse to hand
over to him, so the "wages of sin is always death." I don’t see
anything bad in that. The
moment the
Nigerian people we start to see things from our own perceptives which will determine our very survival as a Nation. That what's the Nigerian people should
understand ‘ Know thy enemy’ no matter what Dangote is saying Otedola, Tinubu,
and Buhari no matter what they are saying. They are speaking from
their own advantages
position
and influence not from the position of the people, like what Governor
Ambode is doing in Lagos displacing and pauperizing millions of lagosian,
abusing their right, people are been cleared from their homes in Lagos
including the unjust taxes placed on us, so we have to. remove ourself from the
narratives of our enemy. In America they have what they call ‘Stop and firsky’
only in black neighborhood, they keep harassing blacks their cannot get loans,
housing etc so when you come to African you will see that people who rule us
here has the same racist policy against it own people. Even here in Nigeria we
have stop and search we see our children been killed, beaten etc in the streets,
The same policy of the rulers of America against the black people even in
Europe
you see the Same policy here, why
should we practice that here ,we have Mirror image in our country of the discriminating
policy, that is the type of question we
should ask our leaders why they should have the same racist practices here to
ask our government. Our own government resemble the racist social engineering
policy we can’t have access to
housing,
and loans and electricity why black
people can't get loans
even in our country, that is the Policy of the
Europeans ,forget the corruption the west is corrupt also ,everywhere is
corrupt why is there racist policy between our government and the government of
the Europeans and America
E.P: What is your take on Governor Ambode been the first government
official to honour FELA last year during felabration ?
Ans: Well what ever governor Ambode did FELA deserves it even more than that, everything is okay for me it’s good nothing unsual, great artist all over the
world enjoy great government provision that is official recognation that
is not even enough Governor Ambode coming to commission the statute of FELA
which is built by his govt and visiting the Kalakuta Museum it in appreciation
for what FELA has done for this great country ,there is more to be done we are
greatful for the little one .
E.P: Your comment on government
attitude to the Arts.
Ans: Govt has always been open to arts that support them, people
like Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade they
have amazing careers for praise singing about the elites, I don’t think music
or acts are their problem, our government are human they are not robot they
enjoy those things we enjoy too, thing that lift their ego likewise if you look
at our entertainment industry our music acts the afrobeat as you called
it and others they are global it is not
as if Nollywood has a global film, it is
not as if musical acts has any global hits but because our government
has the resources , they can afford the P.R
to be global, so our politicians Support artist that only criminalize
and diminish our heritage as black people that is why in the movies all you see is your father want to kill you, everbody want to kill you infact your salvation lays in the
hand of the govt or a rich man You are told, he give you a job and you are
rescue from the hand of poverty, death and your enemies ( the evil ones ). Hence, we also have the
elites white Jesus. The white Jesus who also comes in the movies to rescue
you and cast away the african gods in you anything african is
evil ,,they belief that African gods don’t have any power but as soon as
something bad happens they would say it
is ogun that strike that person. that's what the youth are been fed with in churches, in schools,, at several meetings ,by the government and their television every day then you start
to blame them that they are lazy ,all these reinforces their notion that not been stupendously rich is a failure of existence .
E.P: The believe in the African
ways of life, culture, customs and tradition which has been eroded
Ans: (cuts) every African gods are
evil that is the elites belief but Jesus Christ and Mohammed have brought more
poverty to African than any other religion .
E.P: (laughing) Seun are you
serous?
Ans: Yes I tell all my friends that
nobody "s grandfather was homeless, everybody grand father' and forebears have a house in
the village, it is when Jesus Christ come that home lessness followed him, oh yes the gods and spirits you
are worshipping when you have homes and food to eat you now start calling them
evil so jesus brought homelessness and poverty. As soon as our people embrace
the evil/spirit of Jesus poverty and homelessness set in or have your father
been homeless before in the village? (to entertainment parrot).
E.P: Not at all but seun what do
you think should be the weapon of correcting this societal ills?
Ans: Yes politicise the people I
think that is the biggest thing to do as a nation , a good government should do
that through many credible institution s like the religious ,educational, media
and political in stitutions which all
goes toward politicising the nation and the people. It is a government of the
people every decision made has to be popular and are made known to the people
so if the people are not politicise any policy that is vested in the people
would be resisted, these are what most
political parties in Nigeria want to avoid. That is why they promise you
change, they give you change without you understanding the type of change even the English they speak is to mystify the
people because the people don’t understand the English of the politician. That
is why you see our president forcing himself to speak English like “a shire u,
pedential, peelings insist of feeling” why must you speak English speak pidgin,
speak Hausa let everybody hear you but
no they have to impress the white man with their command of English language so
without speaking that language they are
not civilized that is how the elites speak everybody that have money in Nigeria
what would they show for that all of them made their money from extraction what
can they show for all their type of
wealth what monumental thing can thy show that every Nigerian have access
to, they continune to deceive the people
that consumming foreign goods is the epitome of existence and not been supendiously rich is a failure
of existence. That not been stupendously rich is a failure of existence.
E.P: Your message to your fans
Ans: simple, simple, for everybody is
to politicise yourself become a part of the
solution, when you ask people what is your priority they will never say to make
my country great but say to have many cars and mansions. travel overseas
always, even old men
of 60yrs plus will
still be dreaming of what they were dreaming at 16yrs,they will be talking of
fucking more women, having many mansion but they will never say I want my
country to be great and what their are going to do for it to be great,
infantile ambition.
Ans: The
Abuja International Film Festival was born in 2004, out of the need to grow and
expose the local industry here in Nigeria to the international Film community
what do I mean by this sometime around this time in 2003, for the first I
attended the Cannes Film Festival, for me it was mind blowing, for me I had
never seen such a large turnout of people gathered for the event, the number of
exhibition pavilion at the festival was impressive, the different screening
cinema halls for different categories of film genres I was also excited and of
course the numerous tourist from different parts of the world in attendance on
the fringes just to have a glimpse of the favorite star walk the red carpet and
I said to my husband who incidentally we had to work on every film project
together this is do able back home. So that was where the idea of the festival
was born. But beyond the glitz and glamour we realized that for the industry to
grow and be boisterous there was need for a film festival to create an enabling
environment for film makers to showcase their creative work on the big screen
and also expose them to prospective distributors and the possibilities of
co-production and collaborations basically to create an ambit for film makers
to convene, exchange ideas, relax, unwind and expose their creative talent to
the world.
