25th March, 2024
By Oluwapelumi Oluwayemi
Fuji music legend, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as Kwam1, has responded to allegations made by some of his band members, including Ayankunle Ayanlowo, accusing him of confiscating their passports and subjecting them to mistreatment.
In a recent interview, Ayanlowo, a former drummer who claims to have worked with Kwam1 for 32 years, alleged a recurring pattern of abuse and mistreatment.
He stated that passports were seized during international trips, leaving them at Kwam1’s mercy for reasons undisclosed.
Ayanlowo recounted distressing incidents, including being ordered to return home instead of receiving urgent medical care.
He attributed the stress to the onset of an ulcer, revealing the enduring impact of his encounters with Kwam1.
In response, Kwam1 dismissed the allegations as mischief, suggesting that Ayanlowo and others were attempting to tarnish his reputation.
He claimed that Ayanlowo absconded from the band during a tour in England, resulting in his passport being withheld by British authorities for overstaying.
He said, “Ayankunle and two others ran away from the band in England with their passports. And we returned to Nigeria. That was in the 90s. After he ran away, information reaching us indicated that in the course of him overstaying, he gave his passport to someone to come and present it at the British embassy. As of that time, they were not stamping visas on passport leaflets. The person successfully had his details changed to his while he maintained Ayankunle’s passport.
“On scrutiny, the embassy detected and withheld the passport. Ayankunle’s passport is at the British High Commission. This is someone who can barely read or write, and I facilitated a passport for him. I’m not the one who collected his passport. He has run away with it. How come the same passport is with me?”
Kwam1 also accused another band member, Ismaila Olubade, of withholding his passport and leaving the group stranded in America to visit his ex-wife in London.
He emphasized that such issues prompted him to disband the group and recruit new members.
Regarding the alleged passport confiscation, Kwam1 stated that all members had their passports and denied any wrongdoing, stating that immigration or customs would have intervened if such actions had occurred.
He concluded by suggesting that band members running away was a common occurrence.
In his words, “Is it possible for them to return to Nigeria without their passports? Of course, they all have their passports. If I had withheld their passports, Immigration or Customs would have questioned what I was doing with such a number of passports.
“When I saw that their problems were becoming too much for me, I disbanded them and then regrouped again with new members. After them, another set of people has run away. It’s a common thing with band members.”