How Fela Invaded Dodan Barracks with Mum's Coffin - Ex Pianist of Late Afrobeat Singer, Finally Opens Up

Fela's pianist, Duro Ikujenyo

 

While speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Duro Ikujenyo, who was Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s pianist and traveled with the late singing maestro across the world, has opened up about what it feels like turning 60, his music and the day Fela ‘invaded’ Dodan Barracks.

 

Below are excerpts from the chat;

 

You turned 60 years recently, do you feel fulfilled?

 

You can see where I am living. I am living with ordinary people. My life is a very big experience; it is not just about me but my environment because whatever my environment is, that is what I am. If I am in an American environment my house will not be like this and my account will be loaded. I have released four albums. I started releasing albums very late about 10 years ago but I am thanking God that I am doing everything at his divine time.

 

Have you made money from music, are you fulfilled?

 

My happiness is an everyday thing. My philosophy is that I don’t depend on perishable things. And that is what my band; The Age of Aquarius is all about. The Age of Aquarius is not the change Buhari is talking about. Buhari is talking about material things. If you dwell on material things you will have hypertension and be taking coca-cola and all the things that will destroy you without looking for your own original roots. I use chewing stick because it is very medicinal; you can also crush it and put it in your tea, it is the strongest vitamin C and mint. When I was growing up, with N1000 you could buy a car so how can you be talking about being fulfilled when Nigeria is getting underdeveloped. When I read Walter Rodney’s “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa”, I forgot about the Nigerian  government because they can never ever change. Like I said, I live with the people. They come and say they are hungry, they have not eaten, no light and no water. And my landlady has bought five pumping machines and they all went bad. 

 

In fact, I don’t want to talk about fulfillment. If you are talking about fulfillment in Nigeria just forget it because any day there is an election there is always fuel pump price increment. Do you know how many times they have increased fuel pump price after elections? There is no planning in Nigeria. My fulfillment will be that day when we have a revolution. I have a song entitled Revolution which I specially composed for Nigeria. And the revolution must be dynamic and coordinated. Fela was a leader with a strong philosophy. We must know that as Nigerians or Africans, we are all one. But the first thing we must think of is how to organise ourselves into a community. That is why we have an organization called May25 Group which originated from Fela’s MOP (Movement Of The People ). You can hear it in  Fela’s song, the one dedicated to the day he carried his mother’s coffin to Dodan Barracks. I was right there at the front of the action that very day.

 

Can you recall what happened?

 

It was a Sunday, the last day before Obasanjo handed over to Shehu Shagari. Fela rented two buses, a coaster and a normal bus and put the coffin in the small bus while 75 people boarded the coaster bus. We took off from Fela’s house in Ikeja by 12pm and drove straight to Eko Bridge. We were in traffic and police tried to stop us because they informed them that Fela was coming so we did a detour and came in through Apapa. When we got to Dodan Barracks, there were no soldiers because Obasanjo was handing over power the next day and the gate was opened so we drove inside  because there was no soldier to assault us.  We had a photographer by name Femi Osula. 

 

There was also another photographer from Punch by name Dare. Femi climbed over the fence and took photographs and disappeared. That was when the army got wind of what was unfolding and they alerted the barracks that ‘ahh… there is wahalao-o! Fela has brought a coffin.’ Before we knew it over 1000 soldier jumped on us from every angle with every kind of weapon and beat us blue black! However, one intelligent officer ordered them to stop so we were bundled into the bus and they took us to a mobile police station on Awolowo  Road where they used to interrogate armed robbers. About 52 of us where put in two small rooms. After four days they took us to court and the case was thrown out because there was no offence and besides, the military was no longer in power.

 

Click here to read the full interview on Daily Sun.