By Innocent Onoh
Nigerian Afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, may have died but his music and memory certainly live on. Last Sunday, hundreds of Fela’s fans including the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, converged on Victoria Island, Lagos, for the opening of a two-week show featuring live drama about the music legend.
Tagged ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’, the night event featured dances, choreography and drama, reflecting the activities, ideology and personality of the music legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
Beyond the presentations which entertained the guests, clad in glamorous Nigerian wears, the artistic design of the film house was a major attraction. On the walls of the film house, the guests fed their eyes on colourful pictures of Fela and his ladies as well as the landscape of the then Kalakuta Republic, the name he gave the place where he operated his musical band and daily routine.
Speaking after watching the show, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who described Fela as a man with foresight, commended the idea of the film house, which he noted was in line with the federal government’s objective of exploring creative industry in the drive to diversify the economy. He intoned, “Fela is not just an icon, he lived far ahead of his time. It is about time we started telling our stories in our own perspective. What is happening tonight is a reconstruction of the true story of Fela and his 27 women”.
Alhaji Mohammed said the federal government would soon fully revive the culture of cinemas and theatre as it plans to build film houses across the country through Public-Private Partnership. “This dance drama in a theatre as you can see has employed many people. You can see how much wealth is being created”, he explained.
The elated Minister continued, “And in terms of foreign exchange, this same show is going to be shown all over the world. What we do as a government is to ensure we provide the right environment for the theatre to thrive. And what is happening today is a good example of the collaboration between private and public sectors”.
The Information Minister stated that some Indian nationals, who are among the prospective investors, have expressed readiness to commit twenty million dollars to the building of film theatres across the country. He listed the major steps taken to fully revive theatre, film and music which constitute the creative industry to include war against piracy, provision of infrastructure and opening windows of funding for practitioners.
Fela’s long-time pianist, Duro Ekujeyo said he would forever miss the late musician, describing him as an institution that should form part of the country’s best education curriculum.
In her remarks, the producer of the show, Mrs. Bolanle Austin- Peters said her involvement in the historical piece about Fela was borne out of the passion to correct the false stories told about the country which dented its image in the international community. She said she decided to honour the memories of Fela and his Queens, their struggles and bravery with the musical show.
The show featured the performance of some of Fela’s hit songs including Democracy and Gentleman, even as the performers mimicked the late music icon and his crew members to the admiration of the spectators.
Some of Fela’s crew members including his two popular female dancers attended the event which was graced by some Nollywood stars – Olu Jacobs, Joke Sylva and Hilda Dokubo – as well as many foreign nationals.
