FELABRATION: Remembering Fela and his briefcase…..
By Charles Okogene
Towards the last days of the military regime in Nigeria, especially that of the late Gen. Sani Abacha era, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLA) was dreaded by all and sundry. The agency, like the present day Directorate of State Security (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) were lords over themselves if you know what that means. The mention of NDLEA was the beginning of wisdom for socialites and musicians especially those in love with weeds, which Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called Nigerian Natural Grass (NNG). That was also in the days of the ‘barb wired’ mustache man, Brig. Ishaya Bamaiyi as the boss of the agency.
That was also the time Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was arrested by the agency and charged with possession of marijuana in commercial quantity. This was shortly after he had been released alongside some of his boys from Ikoyi Prison over the death of one of his then electricians, Sanwo that police alleged in their charge sheet was ‘flogged’ to death on the instruction of Abami Eda, the great Afrobeat music inventor right inside Kalakuta Republic.
Anyway, that is not the crux of this piece as Majemite Jaboro, now based in London, has done more than enough justice to the issue in his book,Ikoyi Perspectives published years ago.
The operatives of the dreaded agency had stormed the musician’s Ikeja home, turned it inside out before taking him away to their Ikoyi headquarters for arraignment in court. From Ikoyi Prison, he was transferred to the infamous Kirikiri Prison on the order of the court. And as days roll into weeks, weeks into mouths, Fela languished in the prisons while his brother, Prof Olikoye Rasome-Kuti, his children led by Femi and his other siblings battled to get him out. Remember that while all of these were happening, Dr. Beko Ramsome-Kuti, his manager then was also in detention for life imprisonment with othe civil rights crusaders for treasonable felony.
While these were on-going in the outside world, Nnamdi Kanu was busy organising his five million man Youths Earnestly Want Abacha (YEAA)in Abuja match in Abuja; an event that provided a window of opportunity for the then late Lady of Songs, Christy Essien-Igbokwe led Performing Musicians’ Employers Association (PMAN) to tap into. PMAN provided all the musicians. Added ‘colour’ to the five million man match that held at the popular Eagles Square, Abuja. Only a few Nigerian musician was left out of the big pay concert. And one of those who declined the filthy lucre, at the last minute was Femi Anikulapo-Kuti the first son of Fela whose ‘Wonder! Wonder! Song was at that time, on top of the chart in Nigeria and elsewhere. Femi, no doubt, then, was one of the sought after musicians by the organisers of the pro-Abacha match. Emissaries were sent to him to come for a discussion for the show at Ikeja PMAN headquatres. And on the appointed date for the discussion, Femi arrived with his manager, the late Mr. Jerry Mukoro (son of advertising guru in Nigeria, the late Ted Mukoro).and his then bandleader. Unaware of a battery of entertainment journalists, including this writer and the late Amadi Ogbonna, photo-journalists that had taken vantage positions at the PMAN office. He walked in as if his foot was afixed with a spring.
While the journalists hid and waited with much suspense to know whether Femi, whose father was in jail over Indian Hemp possession allegations will accept to go and perform in support of Abacha’s transition from khaki wearing to Babariga adoring president, unknown to some of them, Femi had come to look Essien-Igbokwe straight into her eye balls and turned down the offer with a question “so if na you dem lock him papa, you go go perform….?
“How do they want me to go to Abuja to perform for them when they are holding my father in prison on flimsy charges of hemp possession?” a visibly angry Femi later asked the journalists who had emerged from their hideouts to confront him before he walk into his Peugeot 504 car and drove off. With that, matter ‘come closed’ on whether or not he will be a part of the show while Fela continued to ‘cry his cry’ with Bamaiyi’s NDLEA in court.
Days later, the court freed him and it was an excited Femi that drove to the defunct Daily Times premises on Agindingbi to tell this writer, “dem don release Fela and he say make I call you.”
I have taken time to go on this long narrative because of the belief by some of his fans then, though, with no proof, that Fela might have died due to the treatment subjected to him by NDLEA, a belief that was fueled by the late Orlando Owoh who months after the afrobeat creators’ death, released an album asking “wetin kill Fela” after the musician’s former health minister brother, Olikoye, while announcing his death, told the world that he died of AIDS related complications.
Pronto! I raced to Fela’s Gbemisola Street house with Fela for the first time, already seated in his then living room waiting for his guests. Others like Mr. Segun Banjo, of the defunct Fame Weekly magazine and Dede Mabiaku joined in the interview, which turned out to be one of the best this writer ever held with Fela before his show in Port Harcourt that was his last public outing before he took ill and died.
Back to the interview, which was published in the then Saturday Times with the titled “my case don pass briefcase, na luggage now” he opened up on his experiences in detention. How he was treated nicely by his captors, his stance on the Abacha’s planned transformation from military head of state to a civilian president, the NDLEA charges and just then, Dede interjected. “Fela! Contempt of court,” he shouted. “You are playing with contempt of court…,” he continued. And immediately, Fela who by then had started showing the physical signs of the disease that killed him eventually, took a drag on his weed, and coughed his usual hard smokers’ cough and said, “my brother! My case don pass briefcase. Na luggage now. Contempt of court na serious matter…” and thus, what looked like a beautiful interview session ended suddenly but later turned out the last interview with the ‘wise’ one we are all celebrating this week due to the creativity of Ms. Dupe Ajayi the then editor of Saturday Times who snapped her fingers on hearing the encounter and said,” that is the headline (the briefcase and … matter). Transcribe and let’s have it; no matter how small….he is a news maker and a must read”
