Fela: Why black man ‘dey’ suffer today, By Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf

Fela waged his struggles mainly through music. Music, he repeatedly warned, is not primarily for money-making, or even entrainment – important as they are. But that it is a weapon for promoting emancipatory struggles and advancing the spiritual development of humanity. No wonder, Neil Spencer eulogised Fela in the London Guardian newspapers of 30 October, 2010, as a “hero”, “political insurrectionist”, “tornado of a man”, “an archetype in modern clothing”, and “a world citizen with engaging presence.”

Afrobeat  creator, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, joined his ancestors on 2 August, 1997. He was named Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti before changing his name. ‘Anikulapo’ translates as a person who has death in his pouch. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a grassroots, politically restless, and radical womanist fighter, while his father was a Reverend gentleman, educationist, trade unionist, and moderniser. His grandfather, Reverend Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti, who was also Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s maternal grandfather, was known as “The Singing Minister.” He is also credited as Nigeria’s first recorded artiste.

Born on 15 October, 1938, Fela was vilified as an amugbo (Marijuana-smoker), rascal, hedonist, and misogynist. Nevertheless, he was, indeed, an outstanding “critical everyday historian”, “radical human rights and pro-democracy activist”, “Pan-Africanist”, “Blackist”, and “humanist”.

As a critical everyday historian, Fela musically recorded the daily problems, challenges and struggles of Africans. As a radical human rights and pro-democracy activist, he fought tirelessly for human rights, democracy, and development. Also, he challenged Nigeria’s despotic, kleptomaniac and retrograde military and civilian regimes.

As a Pan-Africanist, he identified with, and restlessly promoted, the national liberation struggles against European settler colonialism, racism, and apartheid in Africa. But he knew that the ideals of Pan-Africanism could not be realised so long as the African people suffer from “colo-mentality” – that is colonial mentality.

As a Blackist, he repeatedly propagated that the crises confronting black people are historical and political; crises, which must be challenged – mentally, physically, politically, economically – and transcended. This was why he consistently preached against “copy-copy” and “follow-follow” – the uncritical acceptance of European and foreign values, traditions and cultures. In so doing, he instilled confidence in the Black people, and urged them to love themselves, their heritage, their cultures, and struggle for their humanity.

As a humanist, he criticised imperialism in all its manifestations. He particularly castigated African rulers who mortgaged their countries to Western powers. The United Nations was not spared. He saw it as a hypocritical and undemocratic organisation, and a vehicle for Western imperialist domination and enslavement of the world.

Fela waged his struggles mainly through music. Music, he repeatedly warned, is not primarily for money-making, or even entrainment – important as they are. But that it is a weapon for promoting emancipatory struggles and advancing the spiritual development of humanity. No wonder, Neil Spencer eulogised Fela in the London Guardian newspapers of 30 October, 2010, as a “hero”, “political insurrectionist”, “tornado of a man”, “an archetype in modern clothing”, and “a world citizen with engaging presence.”

…Fela’s intellectualism – captured, reflected, simplified and popularised in his songs – has been greatly underrated, underplayed and understudied. His lyrics, like those of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Mariam Makeba, are philosophical, poetic, inspiring and emancipatory. His lyrics are useful in unearthing and understanding the political economy of the African crises.

Twenty-seven years after he sojourned to other climes, Fela remains one of the greatest musicians of all time. The musical wizard combined intellectualism with activism. He confronted many African governments for their inhuman, anti-African, anti-democracy and anti-development practices.

Fela demystified military despots, calling them “Zombies” and posited that: “uniform nah cloth, nah tailor dey sew am.” He physically confronted General Olusegun Obasanjo’s despotic rule.

Yet, Fela’s intellectualism – captured, reflected, simplified and popularised in his songs – has been greatly underrated, underplayed and understudied. His lyrics, like those of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Mariam Makeba, are philosophical, poetic, inspiring and emancipatory. His lyrics are useful in unearthing and understanding the political economy of the African crises.

Arnold Temu and Bonaventure Swai, in their “Historians and Africanist History: A Critique,” wrote that crisis, in general, “are not natural; rather they are social occurrence; they are not acts of God.” For Marx, “the importance of crisis (in society) lies … in its ability to lay bare the inner workings and dynamics of a specific social formation, and… in exposing the contradictions inherent in that social formation.” Crises are “not aberration, but rather an integral and necessary part of a given social formation.” This too was Fela’s position.

In his “Why Black Man Dey Suffer” song released in 1971, Fela asked: “Why Black Man dey suffer today?” His answer was that: “…We dey sit down for our land jeje/… Some people come from far away land/Dem fight us and take our land/Dem take our people and spoil our towns/Na since den trouble starti oh (huh, huh)…/Na since den trouble starti oh (hmm)./Our riches dem take away to their land/In return dem give us their colony/Dem take our culture away from us/Dem give us dem culture we no understand/Black people, we no know ourselves/We no know our ancestral heritage/We dey fight each other every day/We’re never together, …/we’re never together at all/… That is why Black Man dey suffer today/That is why Black Man no go moon/That is Black Man no get money today…”

Walter Rodney agreed with Fela, and even elaborated these ideas further in his, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. In it he traced the African crises to the invasion, enslavement, plundering, and colonisation of Africa by non-African peoples, especially West Europeans.

Like Fela, Rodney paid detailed attention to how colonialism deflated African ancestral heritage, indoctrinated Africans, bastardised African culture, and emptied the continent of its religions. These marked the beginning of the underdevelopment of Africa.

…Fela was not a mechanical activist. He was a dialectician and materialist. Which was why he saw the African crises as not just one perpetrated by only Western powers, but also by African rulers. Fela, in fact, described and condemned many African rulers as “Animals In Human Skin”, “Beasts of No Nation” “Vagabonds in Power” (VIP), and “International Thief Thief”, amongst others.

But countries like the United States, Brazil and India were colonised and yet they became developed. So why is Africa different? The nature of colonialism in these areas differed from that of Africa, which has been described as “late colonialism.” In Africa, the colonisers avoided the ‘mistakes’ they had made in the Americas and Asia, which led to their liberation.

In the Americas and Asia, the infrastructure for development were built, but not so in Africa. Here, attention was mainly paid to the crude exploitation of human and natural resources. Where Western education was provided, it was mainly half-hearted. Even then, the focus was primarily on “liberal” and “vocational” education, while science and technology were de-emphasised.

Thus, the indoctrination, de-culturalisation and depersonalisation of Africa, the looting of its cultural heritage, and the exploitation of its human and natural resources, were the legacies of colonialism in Africa. Which was why Rodney submitted that: “colonialism had only hand: it was a one-armed bandit.”

But, Fela was not a mechanical activist. He was a dialectician and materialist. Which was why he saw the African crises as not just one perpetrated by only Western powers, but also by African rulers. Fela, in fact, described and condemned many African rulers as “Animals In Human Skin”, “Beasts of No Nation” “Vagabonds in Power” (VIP), and “International Thief Thief”, amongst others.

He proclaimed that if Africa must be truly liberated, democratised and developed, African rulers must equally be shamed, confronted and fought like their imperialist masters in Washington, London, Paris, Bonn, Lisbon, and Madrid.

Fela, thus, shared the views of Samora Machel, the founding president of Mozambique, that: “a parasite is always a parasite, whether he is white, he is parasite; whether he is black, he is a parasite; whether he is yellow, he is a parasite.” For, parasites don’t: “live on milk, or live on water but from blood.”

Fela, son of Funmilayo and Israel Ransome-Kuti, rest in power!

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: aaramatuyusuf@yahoo.com