27th May, 2023
Yeni Kuti, one of the daughters of Fela Anikulapo Kuti has said her father was a bad father to them while they were growing up.
Speaking in an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo, Yeni said “He (Fela) was not quite a good father,” but said she never told him that when he was alive.
She said her brother, Femi used to have running battles with him, saying that “Femi will give it to him straight.
“Shola and I, we were like timid. You know, they say, ‘When two elephants are fighting, the grass will keep quiet.”
According to her, she could remember that one day, Fela just came in and said, “Three of you are useless children.”
“Femi just said, ‘For what?’ Femi just started facing him and then they started facing each other. Shola and I will say, ‘it’s okay’.
“Fela will say, ‘No’. And Femi just said, ‘Let him go.”
She said she did not think she had ever had that kind of confrontation with her father, saying maybe because she is a woman.