Afrobeat singer and grandson of legendary Fela Kuti, Made Kuti, has shared an experience involving three band members from his father Femi Kuti’s band who went missing shortly after arriving in America for a show.
Kuti while speaking recently recounted how the band members, who had travelled to the United States to perform with his father, disappeared without a trace just two days after their arrival.
According to the singer, the Bass guitarist, saxophonist, and Trumpet player ran away from the band two nights after entering the country. He added that the situation left his father stranded as he had sixteen more shows to perform at, both in the US and Canada.
He emphasised that although Nigerians often blame corrupt politicians for their actions, all they do is stop the opportunities they had for those coming after them.
In his word: “My father has been touring the world for four decades, and recently he took a lot of energy and sacrifices to get fifteen musicians out of Nigeria to America and every time he does that, there’s a risk of whether or not the Nigerians will run away or come back to Lagos.
“This time, it was particularly unusual because the embassy resolved all the issues at the dying minute, allowing the band to travel to America.
“There were two people, and they did not want to give that Visa to. After two nights, those people absconded from the band, and my father had sixteen more shows, in the US and Canada at the time, and he didn’t have a bass guitarist or saxophonist and before I got on stage, just as I was backstage, I got a message saying, We can not find the trumpet player.
“These people will blame President Bola Tinubu for whatever decision they made. But what they did was stop the opportunity they had for other musicians who would later work for the shrine.”
