Fela was an Icon but he wasn’t a good father – Yeni Kuti

Yeni Kuti, the daughter of afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, expressed her view that her late father was not a good father. Despite this, she acknowledged him as an icon and a role model.

Yeni mentioned that although she never directly confronted her father about his shortcomings as a father, she observed that there were constant conflicts between Fela and his first son, Femi

She revealed this during an interview with Chude Jideonwo

She said, “He [Fela] was not quite a good father. No [I never told him that he isn’t a good father]. Maybe Femi, not me. Femi and Fela used to have battles. And Femi will give it to him straight.

“Shola and I, we were like timid. You know, they said, ‘When two elephants are fighting, the grass will keep quiet.

“I can remember one day, Fela just came 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’.

“I don’t think I have ever had that kind of confrontation with my father. Maybe because I was a woman.”