Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Babafemi Ojudu has revealed how he once ate cake allegedly baked for late activist musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.<\/p>\n
Ojudu, who was once a Senator representing Ekiti Central in the National Assembly, however, admitted he did not know the cake was baked with solution extracted from marijuana until he landed in the hospital afterwards.<\/p>\n
In a personal story, titled, \u2018A ganja trip with Fela,\u2019 which was published on his Facebook wall, the journalist-turned-politician also revealed some aspects of Fela\u2019s life which may be unknown to the public.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cThis is Fela\u2019s week. We must continue to thank Femi, Yeni and their siblings as well as the devotees of The Shrine for keeping the memory of our icon alive. What they are doing billions of Naira left by the rich could not do for the departed owner. Which is to say do what is worthy, and not stashed up wealth and materials things. All of that will never keep your memory in the minds of the living.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis piece is on a lighter mood, an anecdote to further give us an idea of the free spirit of the man who had death in his pouch and will never die. Our own Anikulapo \u2013 Kuti.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when Fela changed his name from Ransome \u2013 Kuti to Anikulapo- Kuti and his elder Brother was asked why he didn\u2019t go with him in the change of name business his retort was that Fela never discussed it with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went further to say \u2018I am a medical doctor who is trained to stave off death how then can I say I have death in my pouch.\u2019 Prof Olikoye had a wry sense of humor and he was a delight to be with particularly when in company of his maverick siblings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the \u2018koko\u2019 of this piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you have seen the title of this piece. Don\u2019t start judging me. I can see some of my enemies, old boy many
\nthey are, saying \u2018ah amugbo ti e ni. No wonder ki gbo, ki gba.\u2019 No I never smoked and will not do although I love the swag of the revolutionary Che Guevara holding the tobacco.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo try and read this as you follow me on a journey with Abami Eda, Fela Anikulapo \u2013 Kuti.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not an astral travel. It is real. It was a journey I made with him in 1990(? ).<\/p>\n
\u201cBeko Ransome Kuti and his comrades in trouble Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Baba Omojola and I think that young man then, Mayegun, the one with dada hair on his head made a lot of noise in Lagos questioning the authority of Ibrahim Babangida, our then military President.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learnt the man with the gap tooth (IBB) had sleepless nights. Our activists brothers even threatened to organize a sovereign national conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cConference was not the problem but the word \u2018sovereign\u2019 just as now that protest is not the problem but the phrase \u2018revolution now\u2019. Let me not put my feet on a treason ground, a dangerous path to thread.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I was saying our brothers, no woman among them o, the Beijing Conference has not held then, were arrested and taken to Abuja. Before we could locate them they have been charged with treasonable felony and remanded in Kuje Prison.<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing in their case was to come up in a Kuje Magistrate Court some days after to determine if they qualified to be bailed or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo cut a long story short and not delay this trip, we the activists, from veterans to rookies mobilized to give support to our comrades in Abuja on the chosen day.<\/p>\n
\u201cFela too was not left out. The abami eda hardly left his house except when on foreign tours or had a show in some parts of Nigeria. He offered to be part of the Lagos crowd storming Abuja.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was exciting that he chose to go. There will be drama with his presence and that we reasoned will provide good copy for the media both local and international.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my lot to travel with him and some of his aides as well as three of his numerous wives. Apart from we humans he had with him there were three pillows and a big piece of home baked cake. The pillows were meant to support his bum. He suffered then from a chronic case of hemorrhoid. The cake was to be our snack to and fro.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we set out he regaled us with stories. You cannot but laugh at Fela stories. He said looking back he consider himself stupid for singing \u2018my darling valentine\u2019 at a point in his musical career . He made jest of Beko and his human rights campaigner crowd and said a lot of self deprecating things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t only enjoyed stories but guffaw as I helped myself with his my share of his cake. I have never had any cake that delicious. I learnt from him it was called sponge cake. Sponge cake ? Iyen tun yato. The onijekuje that I was then, had a fill going to Abuja and returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cFela got to Abuja, spread his mat on the floor in front of the court and laid face down while people trooped to see abami himself. It was a rare life opportunity, particularly for northerners who have heard of him but have never seen him live.<\/p>\n
\u201cCase called. The accused persons to our utter surprise were granted bail. Of course there had been an outcry in the media and internationally. Bail was a face saving measure for the then Babangida regime. There was jubilation and back slapping. Lagos here we come. Abuja was like a no no for many of us at that time. It was a bourgeois enclave where we reasoned the national wealth was stolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe set out. Fela puffed on his Obiaruku jumbo wrap. We became passive smokers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not only that day I have passive smoked Igbo around Fela. If you were a journalist at this period or human rights activist, you have a sit at a special location at the Shrine. Dele Omotunde, that great journalist, now a Redeemed Church pastor, Lance Arogundade, Femi Falana, Chuzi Udenwa, also now a pastor in US among several others, were devotees of the Shrine and we had our special place then. I once returned home one day at about 4.00 am and had my head light and my gaze and steps not stable. It took three days of sleeping before I recovered.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn our way back from Abuja to Lagos I continued sponging on Fela\u2019s cake. We arrived Akure and decided to refuel and empty our bowels. Chief Fawehinmi visited the bathroom. We almost lost him that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know how spiritedly he walked you will imagine what I am talking about Not seeing the drainage on his path he slipped into it one leg first and fell hard. We rushed to pull him up. It was scary. We thanked God then he didn\u2019t hit his head on the concrete floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe proceeded on our journey to Lagos eating Fela\u2019s sponge as if it was going out of fashion. We arrived Lagos and I left for my home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe following morning I found myself in the heart of Mushin where Beko had his clinic being attended to by one Dr Balogun. No one could explain what the matter was with me. I couldn\u2019t decode it neither the doctor could. It was assumed it was exhaustion. And I was placed on intravenous drip.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater in the evening, Beko came to see me on my sick bed as he resumed his daily consultation at the poor folks enclave.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018What is the matter with you,\u2019 he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeeling dizzy, couldn\u2019t stand on my feet and my head spinning, I told him. What did you eat in the morning? Nothing, I said. What of yesterday, he asked? I only had cake, I told him. \u2018You bought it?\u2019, he asked. I took from the cake Fela brought along to Abuja, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Ha ha ha\u2019, he smiled wryly. \u2018O lo je cake Fela?\u2019 ( you ate Fela\u2019s cake)? Igbo lo je yen (you ate Indian hemp. It was then I discovered that Fela baked his cake with hemp soaked water.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Babafemi Ojudu has revealed how he once ate cake allegedly baked for late activist musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Ojudu, who was once a Senator representing Ekiti Central in the National Assembly, however, admitted he did not know the cake was baked with solution extracted from marijuana until he landed in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":9032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[97,683,308],"class_list":["post-16447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-buhari","tag-currency","tag-ekiti"],"yoast_head":"\n