Rotimi Agbana
Seun Kuti, the youngest son of late Afro-beat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has revealed that over the years, the media has deliberately misrepresented his personality just the same way his late father’s image was misconstrued.The controversial singer made the revelation, among other
things, during a chat with Chude Jideonwo, on his podcast programme,
#WithChude.
According to the leader of the Egypt 80 musical band,
contrary to a widespread conclusion that he started smoking at a tender age, he
did not do so until he was 21 years old.
He noted that the media also projected his father’s image in
a bad light during his lifetime, stressing that this made the general public
come to the wrong conclusion that his father wore underpants all the time while
performing on stage.
Setting the records straight, the singer said, “I think it’s
deliberate on the part of the media to project me out. It’s the same way they
projected my dad, and people thought he wore pants all the time to perform.
They kept showing him at one rehearsal at home, where he wore pants. But that
was part of a documentary. People thought that was the truth, and they felt
Fela was crazy”
“For example, I didn’t start smoking until I was 21 years
old. I was in Liverpool, and that was when I knew that peer pressure is the
biggest influence in the life of a growing human being.”
While revealing how he finally started smoking at the age of
21, during his 20 years of living in the Kalakuta Republic, he advised parents
to pay attention to their children and their friends, noting that it would be
the best gift a parent can give to their children.
He stated, “Watch your child’s friends, that’s the best gift
you can give them. For the 20 years that I lived in Kalakuta Republic, everyone
was smoking around me, and I never smoked. After just one year of living with
my flatmate, Alex, who was smoking all the time and was my agemate, he
initiated me.”
Speaking further, he lamented how the media wrote articles
about him taking drugs he never took.
“At that time, they had started writing articles about how I
was taking all kinds of drugs. I think it’s a way they project people in
certain ways that society disregards. It’s a kind of alienation tactic”, he
said.
Sharing his experience on the loss of his late parents, Seun
revealed that he is yet to come to terms with the loss of his mom unlike that
of his dad. According to him, the reason is that when his dad died, he had time
to grieve but never had time to grieve his mom’s loss because he was on a music
tour.
He added that to date, he is yet to have closure on his
mom’s death like he has achieved for his dad’s.
“I grieved for my dad because he was the closest person to
me, and he was the first person I know that died, so for me, it was a really
impactful experience losing my dad; it was like losing my best friend, my dad,
and a family member, all in one. I really grieved for a long time. I grieved my
dad.
Recounting his experience in detention, after his assault
encounter with a policeman, he said, “Well, my case is in court, so I will not
really delve deep into that issue, but I will say this, I don’t believe that
protecting my family is a crime. An 8-second video doesn’t explain an incident
that happened for about 15 minutes.
He went further to debunk rumours gone viral that he became
a pastor while he was in detention.
“What I learned is that anybody could be in that cell. From
what I saw in that place, I knew anybody could be in that cell.” Responding to
the story peddled that he prayed in the cell, he said, “I didn’t become a GO in
the cell. I don’t pray. I meditate a lot with my ancestors and share my plans
and ambitions. It’s just the continual onslaught of the Nigerian media against
me that painted it as though I was praying”, he submitted. -PUNCH