By Majemite Jaboro
On October 15 2011, the Chief Priest Fela Anukulapo Kuti would have been 73 years old, if he had been alive. However, Last August I visited the Kalakuta Republic, the famous white two-storey building on Gbemisola Street (Ikeja), which was home to Fela and his family (and family by association), and was shocked by the state and appearance of the building.
The building looked like it was haunted, but it still bore signs of a glorious past. There was, of course, the pyramidal tomb where the Afrobeat creator lays buried after his death in 1997, fortunately well maintained. Gone was the poster of Fela’s album cover for Teacher Do Not Teach Me Nonsense, which used to be a permanent feature of the front wall of the building (beside the first floor balcony). It bothers me why this building should not already be a Museum of African, Political and Spiritual Thought, attracting tourists from all over the globe.
While staring at the building once again, my mind raced back to the time when I used to be part of the daily goings-on within the premises. On Saturday mornings, after séances with the Kalakuta Medium, Fela would give me money to buy schnapps, kola nut, palm wine, palm oil and salt. Later in the day, I would head to the Shrine (Pepple Street), a brisk 30 minute walk through the middle class Gbemisola Street, clean the vicinity as well as the sacred objects. On the right side of the white painted altar was an oil portrait of Fela’s mother Funmilayo, a wrapped bust of a Bini king and a clay pot containing water from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Shrine décor
In the centre of the altar are the porcelain plates that would contain the mixture of palm oil and salt, including the honey we would bring from Kalakuta when coming with Fela for the evening’s performances. On a high pedestal were four small calabashes: one big calabash for palm wine and the other for schnapps; on the left side sits another clay pot containing fresh water and an oil portrait of Kwame Nkrumah, which was painted by Lemmy Ghariokwu. I loved this portrait for the fact that it shows Nkrumah standing in a fire and giving the ‘Black Power’ salute, and he holds a book with the words ‘Nkrumah Lives’ printed on it.
Also on the left side of the altar is an Asante stool (painted white), and which Fela said contained the souls of our African ancestors. On the multi-coloured wall, the names of African gods and goddesses were written with cowries. There were two clay pots on the two sides of the altar which we use for bonfires. The shrine was also decorated with coloured bulbs which were left on 24 hours a day, except when there was power failure.
By 10 p.m. I would have finished my work on the shrine and the shrine was ready for ‘Comprehensive Show’, as Fela called his Saturday nightly shows. I would have rolled cotton wool and put them in the clay pots which would contain kerosene and palm oil (for the bonfire). Before leaving for Kalakuta l would meet Anigboro, Charles Taylor and Yao. (The first two guys were bodyguards for the shrine, while Yao was the shrine supervisor on Saturday, responsible for preparing Fela’s giant reefer called the ‘Comprehensive Jumbo’.)
Usually, we were back in Kalakuta by 11 p.m. After a short rest and a bath we were ready for the show. On Saturdays Fela would tell us the four dancers who would dance when he playedhis final number. Since it was a ‘Comprehensive Show’, both the Egypt 80 musicians and the Afrika 70 dancers would wear their costumes, led by Najite and Sewaa. At about 1.30 a.m. we would be in Fela’s room cracking jokes and watching TV. By 2.30 a.m. we would be in the shrine.
Divine Intervention
After Fela had finished singing one number, there would be a short break for divination. The senior dancers would change into their skimpy outfits; Fela would remove his shirt and paint his face with native chalk, which was also part of the make-up kit of the Egypt 80 singers and dancers.
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