By Dafe Ivwurie
“I noticed that your neighbour has moved out of the house”
“You mean Peter? Is he not your neighbour, too? I only discovered that two days ago when I ran into him at the cinema. I was complaining to him about the light situation and he looked blank and couldn’t say much”
“There was no way he would have known if he had not been staying at home. I don’t know what man would abandon his wife.”
“Bimpe, the way you are sounding, it looks like someday your husband might abandon you for always jumping into conclusions. Who told you he abandoned his wife?”
“I will pretend I did not hear that remark.”
“It’s true now. You just think a man will get up and leave his home, his wife and his property and take refuge in a peaceful place for no reason at all? And certainly Peter doesn’t look like he is psychologically disturbed to me, well not until I saw him at the cinema; he looked disturbed.”
“Ehen! Really?”
“Something to the effect that his wife is driving him round the bend and he just decided to move out before something dangerous happens.”
“Haha, that is bad.”
“Well, I don’t have details to give you if that is what you are waiting for. But I seriously think it is a wise decision to take all necessary precautions.”
“Men and their game. Abeg talk another matter. Are you sure he has not found a new lover and moved in with her?”
“Then the women should begin to examine themselves on why a man would go AWOL after just six months of marriage and abandon you.”
“Tam, you seem to suggest that people should just pack up a marriage because there is a minor misunderstanding.”
“Did you say minor, Bimpe? What is minor about someone you call your wife, your partner threatening to ruin you or poison you over whatever? You know me Bimpe, when a relationship is not working and simple issues are turning into a shouting competition it is best one of the parties involved packs out before you have a case in your hand. I think this marriage thing is just overrated. The church, the society and family want you to sit in an abusive relationship and expect it to work somehow.”
“It cannot be that bad now that they are not able to resolve their differences in an amicable way and move on. The thing is that you men just want to dominate always. You want to dictate always forgetting that a woman has her own opinion about how things should be done.”
“That is even a small matter. A woman can have her way a million times for all I care. But can you imagine Debbie slapping Peter?”
“Wow! That is, err... I don’t know what to say”
“It is good to see you speechless sometimes. What if he decided to teach her a good lesson that a wife is not supposed to lay her hands on her husband other than in a loving way?”
“That will be barbaric now Tamuno.”
“Ohoo. Really it will be barbaric, abi?”
“It takes a real man to walk away from a woman when he has been abused.”
“I agree with you but I also wish that women could be taught some lessons too when they won’t gag their tongues and launch into verbal assaults and throw expletives like they are going to be banned in a second.”
“I guess, I will agree with you on this one; walk away. Peter has handled the matter better than that ambassador that beat his wife. How can a man with that kind of position stoop as low as to beating his wife? That is really crass.”
“Have you read the man’s response to the accusation? Apparently there has been some kind of history of violence on the part of the woman from Nigeria to Tokyo to London and now to Nairobi. The woman’s violent behaviour does not know borders or respect diplomatic decorum and etiquette.”
“Did you expect that the man would just sit idly by and not present a story? I read it and I blame the man for inviting the woman back to his post in Kenya.”
“He was only trying to help her”
“More like he was trying to make himself look good in the eyes of the world. Remember, he married another wife at a point and that marriage did not last. He wanted a woman to fulfil a role and hold the office of a wife. Typical of an African man; marriage makes you feel responsible even if you do not act responsible. So it was a case of the devil you know better than the angel you do not.”
“Well, I guess you never know the devil. Brings us back to my point, flee from every appearance of evil.”
“You men always think you can tame a woman.”
“And we certainly won’t be thinking of taming if their acts are not so wild.”
“But do you think the woman is a gold digger?”
“Bimpe, I think every woman is a gold digger. It just depends on the tool they are digging with. But that is a subject for another day. The matter now is that people should not think an abusive relationship would go away. Our man in Nairobi obviously thought that giving that woman a status of prestige would solve the problem. The woman too should have just respected herself and continue to enjoy the perks till they go for another posting.”
“A man will never know what a woman wants.”
“My friend, Wole Oguntokun, said that much in his play, The Anatomy of a Woman. But while they are busy scheming, they should be careful not to drag the name of the country in the mud. They whole matter just looks like the script of a Nollywood movie, which I hear is very popular in Kenya.”
http://www.inlng.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=35703&print=1
Nigerian Music, popular culture and politics
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Toast to Freedom Park
Dafe Ivwurie
Revellers smoking, clutching bottles of their preferred lager or soft drinks, even water and dancing to the heavy beats of the music of 9ice, Naeto C, D’banj, D Prince, Duncan Mighty and several other new age chart toppers from the club of musicians who refer to their music as Naija hip-hop. The young boys (and girls too) knew all the songs, they sang along, they danced rhythmically, the new age dance - the woman in front, the man holding her waist and both of them gyrating back and forth and sideways, sweat dripping down their faces.
No. It is not a club, neither is it one of those carnivals in Rio or Notting Hill. It is twenty-first century Ikoyi Prisons. And no, these were not prisoners. They were free people, fun seekers, partiers and merrymakers within the confines of what was once a notorious holding place for troublemakers, political prisoners and those awaiting the hangman’s noose.
Back track to the twentieth century, to the political history of Nigeria and the names that you would find behind those walls will read Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Herbert Macaulay, Michael Imoudu and Adeyemo Alakija, just to mention a few. They were either jailed for daring to ask for freedom from the colonialists or incarcerated for treasonable felony, for trying to “subvert the unity of Nigeria.” We may not go into a political discourse here as to whether the reasons these men were held as inmates in this place were justified, but we may draw a lesson or two on life and freedom and what they mean to different generations.
Sir Herbert Macaulay and Chief Michael Imoudu were among the first generation of Nigerians that began to ask for independence from the colonial masters. Their agitation and political activities were what landed them in the then dreaded Ikoyi Prisons. These were founding fathers of Nigerian democracy, of the rights that we now enjoy to organise political associations and organise ourselves into government that will benefit the people either on the long or short term.
For the men mentioned above, they probably never knew if their struggles would yield any tangible result. But for some of the characters in the scene described in the opening paragraph, they probably never knew the history that place holds or the history that these men wrote with their lives.
We have enjoyed 50 years of self rule and the journey has been long and hard for majority of Nigerians and it was proper that this once iconic landscape and piece of real estate of great notoriety be turned into something of value; a place where history can be learnt, a place where the human desire for freedom is perpetuated and given space and the wings to soar.
I am happy that this place was not sold to the banks, multi nationals and the money bags, who would have broken it down and built some money spinning high rise of no meaningful impact to the common man.
But greater kudos must go to Theo Lawson, that architect of impeccable reputation for conceptualising the idea of a Freedom Park out of the Old Ikoyi Prisons; of bringing out the beauty of modern Nigeria from the ashes of colonial and chequered history.
Since the commissioning by Babatunde Raji Fashola, governor of Lagos State, the Freedom Park has hosted dozens of cultural, dramatic and arts festival, the last being the CORA (Committee for Relevant Arts) stampede on Yeni Kuti at 50 and discourse of Nollywood as it is today.
Ten or 15 years ago, this same kind of event would have held in the premises of the Goethe Institute or the French Cultural Centre, which were the unofficial but de facto ministries of culture in Nigeria. The directors of these institutions would have sat at the head of the table to pontificate about us, our culture; our way of life, our music, our drama, our art, our being and point us in the direction to go. We had to defer to them because we did not have the venue or resources.
Today, Freedom Park provides that opportunity for big celebrations like the Black Heritage Festival where what used to be the hangman’s noose has been turned into a stage that hosted Ajantala Pinocchio by Bode Sowande; where the grounds that hold the invisible footprints of men once incarcerated now tremble under the feet of dancers stomping to the contemporary groove of Nigerian musicians.
Fashola hit the nail on the head and prophetically pronounced, “This is why we now christen it Freedom Park because it was a road to our freedom and we intend to keep it as a favoured destination to tourists and all those who seek freedom as a memorial in honour of all those eminent and illustrious nationalists who protested against and successfully ended colonial rule and dominion in Nigeria.”
The redeveloped site is now, indeed, the new destination on the Lagos social and tourism map.
On Broad Street, opposite Island Maternity, behind the tall archaic walls of an old prison there is rebirth and a cry for cultural freedom midwifed by Nigerians, for Nigerians; one that will make the founding fathers of a free Nigeria smile in their resting places and say “truly the labours...were not in vain.”
Revellers smoking, clutching bottles of their preferred lager or soft drinks, even water and dancing to the heavy beats of the music of 9ice, Naeto C, D’banj, D Prince, Duncan Mighty and several other new age chart toppers from the club of musicians who refer to their music as Naija hip-hop. The young boys (and girls too) knew all the songs, they sang along, they danced rhythmically, the new age dance - the woman in front, the man holding her waist and both of them gyrating back and forth and sideways, sweat dripping down their faces.
No. It is not a club, neither is it one of those carnivals in Rio or Notting Hill. It is twenty-first century Ikoyi Prisons. And no, these were not prisoners. They were free people, fun seekers, partiers and merrymakers within the confines of what was once a notorious holding place for troublemakers, political prisoners and those awaiting the hangman’s noose.
Back track to the twentieth century, to the political history of Nigeria and the names that you would find behind those walls will read Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Herbert Macaulay, Michael Imoudu and Adeyemo Alakija, just to mention a few. They were either jailed for daring to ask for freedom from the colonialists or incarcerated for treasonable felony, for trying to “subvert the unity of Nigeria.” We may not go into a political discourse here as to whether the reasons these men were held as inmates in this place were justified, but we may draw a lesson or two on life and freedom and what they mean to different generations.
Sir Herbert Macaulay and Chief Michael Imoudu were among the first generation of Nigerians that began to ask for independence from the colonial masters. Their agitation and political activities were what landed them in the then dreaded Ikoyi Prisons. These were founding fathers of Nigerian democracy, of the rights that we now enjoy to organise political associations and organise ourselves into government that will benefit the people either on the long or short term.
For the men mentioned above, they probably never knew if their struggles would yield any tangible result. But for some of the characters in the scene described in the opening paragraph, they probably never knew the history that place holds or the history that these men wrote with their lives.
We have enjoyed 50 years of self rule and the journey has been long and hard for majority of Nigerians and it was proper that this once iconic landscape and piece of real estate of great notoriety be turned into something of value; a place where history can be learnt, a place where the human desire for freedom is perpetuated and given space and the wings to soar.
I am happy that this place was not sold to the banks, multi nationals and the money bags, who would have broken it down and built some money spinning high rise of no meaningful impact to the common man.
But greater kudos must go to Theo Lawson, that architect of impeccable reputation for conceptualising the idea of a Freedom Park out of the Old Ikoyi Prisons; of bringing out the beauty of modern Nigeria from the ashes of colonial and chequered history.
Since the commissioning by Babatunde Raji Fashola, governor of Lagos State, the Freedom Park has hosted dozens of cultural, dramatic and arts festival, the last being the CORA (Committee for Relevant Arts) stampede on Yeni Kuti at 50 and discourse of Nollywood as it is today.
Ten or 15 years ago, this same kind of event would have held in the premises of the Goethe Institute or the French Cultural Centre, which were the unofficial but de facto ministries of culture in Nigeria. The directors of these institutions would have sat at the head of the table to pontificate about us, our culture; our way of life, our music, our drama, our art, our being and point us in the direction to go. We had to defer to them because we did not have the venue or resources.
Today, Freedom Park provides that opportunity for big celebrations like the Black Heritage Festival where what used to be the hangman’s noose has been turned into a stage that hosted Ajantala Pinocchio by Bode Sowande; where the grounds that hold the invisible footprints of men once incarcerated now tremble under the feet of dancers stomping to the contemporary groove of Nigerian musicians.
Fashola hit the nail on the head and prophetically pronounced, “This is why we now christen it Freedom Park because it was a road to our freedom and we intend to keep it as a favoured destination to tourists and all those who seek freedom as a memorial in honour of all those eminent and illustrious nationalists who protested against and successfully ended colonial rule and dominion in Nigeria.”
The redeveloped site is now, indeed, the new destination on the Lagos social and tourism map.
On Broad Street, opposite Island Maternity, behind the tall archaic walls of an old prison there is rebirth and a cry for cultural freedom midwifed by Nigerians, for Nigerians; one that will make the founding fathers of a free Nigeria smile in their resting places and say “truly the labours...were not in vain.”
Monday, May 09, 2011
Trending controversy
By Dafe Ivwurie
“Ol’ boy did you hear that Big Brother has started again?”
“Are you referring to America killing Osama bin Laden?”
“Who is talking about that? Do you not have time for softer issues? Must life always be about war, politics and where politicians are moving money to?”
“Well, I guess that is what defines our every day existence now; war, politics and thieving politicians. Are you not heartbroken by all the poverty, underdevelopment and gloom around you? There is more to life than a bunch of jobless children locked in a house full of booze and made to waste away in idleness while feeding the eyes of the entire world with their body parts. Since when did voyeurism become an African pastime? When I tell you that Africa is at the receiving end of the negative aspects of globalisation, you tell me that I refuse to see the bigger picture, that I am too negative in my analysis of situation.”
“I beg calm down jor. You over analyse issues. I agree that some of those boys and girls are dimwits but surely some of them have represented their countries, their families and themselves well. Besides, I think that the programme unites the youths of Africa; it makes us see how we are not so different from one another, how there can be a United States of Africa. Globalisation is not so bad because technology has brought us closer, you know the facebook, twitter and all the social networks on the worldwide web.”
“You miss the point, don’t you? United States of Africa? You know that will never happen; forget all that ranting by Ghaddafi. Did Africa not embark on unification before Europe? But today we have a more cohesive, more united and better organised Europe with the success of the EU. Technology is what the west has used to deceive you people just like they deceived your forefathers with looking glasses and religion in the past. How are your people taking advantage of the cyber space? Fraud, internet scam, that’s how.”
“Still you over analyse issues. We have contributed very positive things to the worldwide web than you ever give credit for; there are countless ezines and blogs pushing Nigerian contemporary culture to the fore on the Internet. Remember that the last election was largely successful because of effective real-time reporting by the youth of this country, many of them who have never voted before, got on the bandwagon and contributed their quota to ensuring that the elections were credible. So you see, it’s not all doom and gloom.”
“I hear you. But that still doesn’t make Big Brother a show for any responsible adult to watch when there are more important things like killing Osama happening in the news. I mean, don’t you just love the Americans; they waited 10 years to avenge the death of their citizens in the hands of those terrorists.”
“Yea, while their President was playing big brother watching the ‘movie’ real time. I find all that surreal...”
“My guy, forget surrealism. But if you must, what could be more surreal than a bunch of heartless fellows flying fully loaded commercial airplanes into high-rise buildings? You would agree with me that that changed the world as we know it. As for Obama watching the operation live, I thought it was a smart thing to do before people start coming up with all sorts of conspiracy theory. I hope you know some Americans do not believe that the guy is an American; they don’t believe that he was born in Hawaii.”
“Are you minding Donald Trump? He won’t get anywhere with all that. But I am happy for Obama. The guy told them that America had the capabilities of smoking Osama out of his hole. Right from the beginning he told them to wind down the war on Iraq and focus on finding America’s number one enemy. That is great insight for someone who has had no military or intelligence training. Just three years into his administration he has delivered on his most important campaign promise. I just hope that our politicians are watching and learning on how to deliver on campaign promises.”
“You are obviously smitten by that guy, Obama. Well, I offer you two Nigerians that you should show a lot of respect for at the moment.”
“Who are they?”
“Fashola and Amaechi.”
“I hope they can sustain the momentum in their second term and not get drawn in by complacency. But it is President Goodluck Jonathan that I want to see action from. He needs to deal with violence that is fast becoming a culture in this country.”
“On the Jonathan matter, me I’m not holding my breath. I want the guy to surprise me and it is not the violence that is his greatest challenge; I believe that violence should be tackled, but I beg the economic issues are more compelling these days. What really divides us in this country is the increasing gap between the poor and the rich, the haves and the have nots occasioned by the collapse of the industries and the entrenchment of corruption by the political and business class. Give people jobs, give them something to do and see whether the violence you are talking about will not end.”
“Much as you have a point, you have to realise that the Arab Revolution was spearheaded by professionals – doctors, lawyers and students – who were fed up with the way thing were going in their country. So it is not only enough to give the youth something to do, the government has to create an enabling environment. The same things that we were clamouring for 20 year ago are still the same issues today - power supply, good roads, qualitative education and water supply. It seems to me that rocket science is even easier to comprehend these days than how to provide basic amenities in this country. It’s a shame.”
“So what are you doing this weekend?”
“Soccer o, I’m watching the entire Premiership games, particularly the Manchester United and Chelsea game on Sunday. And I am hoping Chelsea shocks Man U. Their own don too much. I hope you know they can end up winning nothing this season.”
“Let’s wait and see.”
“Ol’ boy did you hear that Big Brother has started again?”
“Are you referring to America killing Osama bin Laden?”
“Who is talking about that? Do you not have time for softer issues? Must life always be about war, politics and where politicians are moving money to?”
“Well, I guess that is what defines our every day existence now; war, politics and thieving politicians. Are you not heartbroken by all the poverty, underdevelopment and gloom around you? There is more to life than a bunch of jobless children locked in a house full of booze and made to waste away in idleness while feeding the eyes of the entire world with their body parts. Since when did voyeurism become an African pastime? When I tell you that Africa is at the receiving end of the negative aspects of globalisation, you tell me that I refuse to see the bigger picture, that I am too negative in my analysis of situation.”
“I beg calm down jor. You over analyse issues. I agree that some of those boys and girls are dimwits but surely some of them have represented their countries, their families and themselves well. Besides, I think that the programme unites the youths of Africa; it makes us see how we are not so different from one another, how there can be a United States of Africa. Globalisation is not so bad because technology has brought us closer, you know the facebook, twitter and all the social networks on the worldwide web.”
“You miss the point, don’t you? United States of Africa? You know that will never happen; forget all that ranting by Ghaddafi. Did Africa not embark on unification before Europe? But today we have a more cohesive, more united and better organised Europe with the success of the EU. Technology is what the west has used to deceive you people just like they deceived your forefathers with looking glasses and religion in the past. How are your people taking advantage of the cyber space? Fraud, internet scam, that’s how.”
“Still you over analyse issues. We have contributed very positive things to the worldwide web than you ever give credit for; there are countless ezines and blogs pushing Nigerian contemporary culture to the fore on the Internet. Remember that the last election was largely successful because of effective real-time reporting by the youth of this country, many of them who have never voted before, got on the bandwagon and contributed their quota to ensuring that the elections were credible. So you see, it’s not all doom and gloom.”
“I hear you. But that still doesn’t make Big Brother a show for any responsible adult to watch when there are more important things like killing Osama happening in the news. I mean, don’t you just love the Americans; they waited 10 years to avenge the death of their citizens in the hands of those terrorists.”
“Yea, while their President was playing big brother watching the ‘movie’ real time. I find all that surreal...”
“My guy, forget surrealism. But if you must, what could be more surreal than a bunch of heartless fellows flying fully loaded commercial airplanes into high-rise buildings? You would agree with me that that changed the world as we know it. As for Obama watching the operation live, I thought it was a smart thing to do before people start coming up with all sorts of conspiracy theory. I hope you know some Americans do not believe that the guy is an American; they don’t believe that he was born in Hawaii.”
“Are you minding Donald Trump? He won’t get anywhere with all that. But I am happy for Obama. The guy told them that America had the capabilities of smoking Osama out of his hole. Right from the beginning he told them to wind down the war on Iraq and focus on finding America’s number one enemy. That is great insight for someone who has had no military or intelligence training. Just three years into his administration he has delivered on his most important campaign promise. I just hope that our politicians are watching and learning on how to deliver on campaign promises.”
“You are obviously smitten by that guy, Obama. Well, I offer you two Nigerians that you should show a lot of respect for at the moment.”
“Who are they?”
“Fashola and Amaechi.”
“I hope they can sustain the momentum in their second term and not get drawn in by complacency. But it is President Goodluck Jonathan that I want to see action from. He needs to deal with violence that is fast becoming a culture in this country.”
“On the Jonathan matter, me I’m not holding my breath. I want the guy to surprise me and it is not the violence that is his greatest challenge; I believe that violence should be tackled, but I beg the economic issues are more compelling these days. What really divides us in this country is the increasing gap between the poor and the rich, the haves and the have nots occasioned by the collapse of the industries and the entrenchment of corruption by the political and business class. Give people jobs, give them something to do and see whether the violence you are talking about will not end.”
“Much as you have a point, you have to realise that the Arab Revolution was spearheaded by professionals – doctors, lawyers and students – who were fed up with the way thing were going in their country. So it is not only enough to give the youth something to do, the government has to create an enabling environment. The same things that we were clamouring for 20 year ago are still the same issues today - power supply, good roads, qualitative education and water supply. It seems to me that rocket science is even easier to comprehend these days than how to provide basic amenities in this country. It’s a shame.”
“So what are you doing this weekend?”
“Soccer o, I’m watching the entire Premiership games, particularly the Manchester United and Chelsea game on Sunday. And I am hoping Chelsea shocks Man U. Their own don too much. I hope you know they can end up winning nothing this season.”
“Let’s wait and see.”
Monday, May 02, 2011
So Broadway brought Fela to Lagos
I never saw Fela Anikulapo Kuti perform live anywhere, not at the Shrine, his spiritual and musical enclave where fans, followers, protégés and wannabes congregated for what could be referred to as a convocation of the faithful, not at the countless places he performed before his demise.
I was cultured to be contented with his philosophy that blared from my father’s Grundig vinyl player and speakers that was amplified by a Kenwood amplifier. His words and ideas, which I came to know as Felasophy, his sound, big, loud, elaborate and delightfully long-winded made from a fusion of jazz, highlife and the big band combined to create what is now known all over the world as Afrobeat, was part of what I had to listen to every weekend when my father played DJ and was trying to impress us that he had an eclectic taste in music. He would also play Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Gustav Mahler amongst other classical greats.
I took to Fela quite easily probably because I could relate to the language and the issues that he sang about rather than for his musicianship; I was completely smitten by the latter after I started studying music and understanding the role of musical instruments and their arrangements in ensemble. Fela was a genius. He brilliantly brought the colour, energy and character of the musical instruments to life in one lively orchestra that lives in your head after the music’s last cadence.
That was what Fela in Lagos did.
Afrobeat may be about Fela, his idiosyncrasies and wild life of women, weed and war waged on him by the establishment and the ones that he also instituted against numerous oppressive military and civilian governments, the Broadway re-enactment made it all beautiful, classy and sassy. I guess it had to be to appeal to the politically correct taste of some people who were too scared, too prude and too fly to visit the shrine when the chief priest was alive and doing his crude non-conformist thing.
Sahr Ngaujah, the primo oumo, may not look like Fela; he however made up for it with the energy he brought to the stage and the good understanding of the character he was playing. Playing an energetic, iconic and revered character on stage or in a movie could be the most difficult venture any actor can ever embark upon, Sahr rose up to the occasion squarely just like Morgan Freeman ‘killed’ the Madiba role in ***Invictus***. If Sahr had any flaw it will be that he ate his words sometimes at end of some sentences betraying his true accent.
The trinity of Fela’s deity (I am not one of those who believe in that deity) were present on the night; I speak of the sound, the word and the energy. As with the Trinity of the Creator, the three are inseparable.
The whole movement was backed by Antibalas, the Brooklyn-based Afrobeat band modelled after Fela’s African 70 band. Fela’s music was replicated note for note, nuance for nuance, bringing you to a place of complete adoration and pride that something from Africa, nay Nigeria has crossed borders and influenced cultures. The intensity and stamina from the stage was reinforced by the dance routines, the multimedia application and the synergy between them.
The conversation has arisen on why it had to take America to bring Fela to Nigeria, to the world. The simple truth is that, as with almost everything in this country, a project dies at conception because of vested interest, lack of structure and unprofessionalism. I doubt if we would have been able to pull it off. Now, do not get me wrong, we have the personnel to do it; after all, Fela’s children and family are still alive to provide some perspective to his being, most members of the Egypt 80 band are also still very much around to help re-enact some of the sounds that they helped Fela to create, we also have some of the best trained theatre artistes around who can recreate the Fela story from the eyes of a Nigerian in a language that we can understand. The whole entertainment industry in Nigeria has a question to answer.
In Nigeria, we love imported things. Fela had a word for it, ‘colo mentality’.
In spite of his shortcomings, Fela’s image will always loom larger than the lives of the unknown soldiers and those who ordered them to rape defenceless women, maim and kill people who were only armed with music during that infamous Kalakuta raid. Not that I think that music is powerless, it is just that I shake my head in pity at the stupidity of those who think that they can kill a message by killing the messenger. No messenger is bigger than the message; Fela was certainly not bigger than the message, he took the message seriously at the risk of losing his life.
So Broadway may think that they brought Fela to Lagos; they only gave us the show, the razzmatazz and showed us how to celebrate legends, but the real experience belongs to us. I guess Broadway can only celebrate him, it is our turn to immortalise him.
I was cultured to be contented with his philosophy that blared from my father’s Grundig vinyl player and speakers that was amplified by a Kenwood amplifier. His words and ideas, which I came to know as Felasophy, his sound, big, loud, elaborate and delightfully long-winded made from a fusion of jazz, highlife and the big band combined to create what is now known all over the world as Afrobeat, was part of what I had to listen to every weekend when my father played DJ and was trying to impress us that he had an eclectic taste in music. He would also play Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Gustav Mahler amongst other classical greats.
I took to Fela quite easily probably because I could relate to the language and the issues that he sang about rather than for his musicianship; I was completely smitten by the latter after I started studying music and understanding the role of musical instruments and their arrangements in ensemble. Fela was a genius. He brilliantly brought the colour, energy and character of the musical instruments to life in one lively orchestra that lives in your head after the music’s last cadence.
That was what Fela in Lagos did.
Afrobeat may be about Fela, his idiosyncrasies and wild life of women, weed and war waged on him by the establishment and the ones that he also instituted against numerous oppressive military and civilian governments, the Broadway re-enactment made it all beautiful, classy and sassy. I guess it had to be to appeal to the politically correct taste of some people who were too scared, too prude and too fly to visit the shrine when the chief priest was alive and doing his crude non-conformist thing.
Sahr Ngaujah, the primo oumo, may not look like Fela; he however made up for it with the energy he brought to the stage and the good understanding of the character he was playing. Playing an energetic, iconic and revered character on stage or in a movie could be the most difficult venture any actor can ever embark upon, Sahr rose up to the occasion squarely just like Morgan Freeman ‘killed’ the Madiba role in ***Invictus***. If Sahr had any flaw it will be that he ate his words sometimes at end of some sentences betraying his true accent.
The trinity of Fela’s deity (I am not one of those who believe in that deity) were present on the night; I speak of the sound, the word and the energy. As with the Trinity of the Creator, the three are inseparable.
The whole movement was backed by Antibalas, the Brooklyn-based Afrobeat band modelled after Fela’s African 70 band. Fela’s music was replicated note for note, nuance for nuance, bringing you to a place of complete adoration and pride that something from Africa, nay Nigeria has crossed borders and influenced cultures. The intensity and stamina from the stage was reinforced by the dance routines, the multimedia application and the synergy between them.
The conversation has arisen on why it had to take America to bring Fela to Nigeria, to the world. The simple truth is that, as with almost everything in this country, a project dies at conception because of vested interest, lack of structure and unprofessionalism. I doubt if we would have been able to pull it off. Now, do not get me wrong, we have the personnel to do it; after all, Fela’s children and family are still alive to provide some perspective to his being, most members of the Egypt 80 band are also still very much around to help re-enact some of the sounds that they helped Fela to create, we also have some of the best trained theatre artistes around who can recreate the Fela story from the eyes of a Nigerian in a language that we can understand. The whole entertainment industry in Nigeria has a question to answer.
In Nigeria, we love imported things. Fela had a word for it, ‘colo mentality’.
In spite of his shortcomings, Fela’s image will always loom larger than the lives of the unknown soldiers and those who ordered them to rape defenceless women, maim and kill people who were only armed with music during that infamous Kalakuta raid. Not that I think that music is powerless, it is just that I shake my head in pity at the stupidity of those who think that they can kill a message by killing the messenger. No messenger is bigger than the message; Fela was certainly not bigger than the message, he took the message seriously at the risk of losing his life.
So Broadway may think that they brought Fela to Lagos; they only gave us the show, the razzmatazz and showed us how to celebrate legends, but the real experience belongs to us. I guess Broadway can only celebrate him, it is our turn to immortalise him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)