Two weeks ago, I served the first course in Saturday Breakfast of my 11-page humble input to “My Niteshift Coliseum Odyssey”, the 328-page epic autobiography of the Guv’nor, Ken-Calebs Olumese. Last week, I served the second course. Today, I am serving the final course of the three-course meal. Thank you for reading on:
Do you recall August 2, 1997? There was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp then. There was no cell phone… no SMS. Word was however spreading fast that Nigeria’s best-known citizen: singer, songwriter, producer, performer-extraordinaire, politician, activist, ‘womaniser’, ‘trouble maker’, ‘igbo smoker’ iconoclast (you may please add your own) had finally passed on. I use the word ‘finally’ deliberately. Before the August 2, 1997 date, the death of Fela Anikulapo Kuti had been reported many times. Each time, it was a ruse. Of course, this added to the legend of the man.
With his endless wahala with the police and the army, Fela clearly lived on the edge. ‘No! Fela cannot die!’ insisted some of his die-hard fans. Their proof? How can a spirit who bears the name, Anikulapo die? Anikulapo (the one who carries death in his pouch), was the name Fela had chosen to replace Ransome, the famous family middle name which he threw away into the trash can, calling it a slave name.
And then, Olikoye, Fela’s elder brother, a medical doctor who had been a very respected health minister in Nigeria, issued a statement confirming not just that Fela had died but that his younger brother who had married 27 women in one day and smoked marijuana like it was going out of fashion, died of the dreaded disease, AIDS. Emotions went wild. Never before had Nigerian newspapers had a more salacious story and they ate it up from every angle.
Following Fela’s death, I made a public call on the Lagos State Government to acquire the venue of Fela’s African Shrine on Pepple Street in Ikeja, compensate the Binitie family who claimed ownership of the land, maintain the structures and turn the place into a centre where people from all over the world interested in the legend of Fela could come and relieve the life and times of the icon, his music, politics and philosophy. I was certain that ultimately, it would pay for itself. Apparently, mine was a voice in the wilderness. Nobody listened.
Today, the spot where Nigeria’s greatest music star of all times made history is part of the sprawling Computer Village where pirated music, software, videos and counterfeit electronic products from everywhere in the world, run amok.
Several times, I have been to the African Shrine set up by Fela’s son, Femi, in the Agindigbi area of Ikeja. The place is well run by my good friend, the beautiful Yeni, Fela’s daughter, who seems to look younger with age. The Agidingbi shrine is a testament to the commitment of Femi and Yeni to the Afrobeat legacy they inherited from their father. But… Fela never played at Agidingbi. That to me is a major difference. If we were a people with foresight, Fela’s shrine at Idioro and that at Ikeja, would have been preserved and developed for posterity.
In every new city I go to, task number one is to find a tour guide and see the historic sites. From these, I learn a lot about the people: their culture, religion, politics, economics, etc. There is no great nation on earth that does not take extra care to preserve its historic sites and show them off for the simple reason that if you do not know where you are coming from, you are unlikely to know where you are going to. Besides, these sites are the bedrock of tourism, an international multi-billion-dollar enterprise that adds meaningfully to the GDP of many nations.
Have you ever had a guest from another land visit you in Lagos? Where did you have to take him to? Bar Beach that is gone? One of our hotels? Silverbird Galleria? What special story or history does any of these, offer?
Every year, we celebrate our independence from the British. Pray, what have we done with the spot where the Union Jack was lowered and the Green-White-Green raised? With all its imperfections, I love Nigeria but where do I go to get that deep inspiration that rekindles my love for country?
I know that night clubs have very short lifespans. They are like flowers. One minute they are launched with glitz, shining lights, booming music and gaily dressed women, the next minute, they are gone. Just think of all the night clubs Lagos has had in recent years. Where are they now? Do you recall that multi-talented stand-up comedian, John Chukwu ran Klass Night club on Obafemi Awolowo Rd, Ikeja? Jerry Anazia had Ozone on Allen Avenue. Beach Comber Night Club had boomed at Shonibare Estate, Maryland. Mike Inegbese’s Peak Night Club at Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Mall in Surulere, designed by the great guitarist, Beckley Ike Jones, was at some time, the place to be. If you had not partied at Maryland’s Lords Night Club where Silver Oforgu held sway for many years, you really were not a happening guy in Lagos. There was Faze 2 at Jibowu owned by the Bensons long after Hotel Bobby’s Caban Bamboo had packed up. There was also Fantasy in Yaba piloted by the Murray Bruce brothers. The irrepressible Eric Danian known to many as Stagger Lee first experimented with Diplomat Night Club at Cornerest Hotel in the Olowu Street area of Ikeja and then proceeded to the Customs zone off Toyin Street where he set up Silver Shadows with the help of Leo Stan Eke whose computer empire was beginning to blossom. Lagos had MOD 208, Gondola, Phoenicia, Daniels, Optima, Honeyland, Subway in Lawanson and the Princewill clan practically owned night life in the island with Princes, their nightclub at Federal Palace Hotel. You can please add to this list. They are all gone.
Knowing what I know about night clubs, why should it bother me that NiteShift is closed? How do I explain to you that NiteShift was different? It was not a night club. Like Fela’s African Shrine, NiteShift was an essential part of the history of Lagos. NiteShift was a Nigerian phenomenon. There are many in our land today in different positions whose lives may have been quite different if it was not for some night at the Opebi place. There is indeed a significant amount of our politics, commerce, media, entertainment, social networking and marriage propositions that took shape in the midst of Ken-Calebs Olumese’s cognac and ‘Chicken in the basket’. Even Fela, was a niteshifter.
When I think about it, I am not sure that Olumese, the genius behind the NiteShift phenomenon, quite understood what he had created. He was so engrossed in doing what he did in his special way that he did not realise that he may have built a historic national institution which Nigeria should not fritter away. By the way, I first met Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State at NiteShift Coliseum. Every serious politician in Nigeria came to NiteShift to campaign. Jonathan did, Abiola did, Atiku did, Fashola did and of course, Sanwo-Olu did. The Governor of Lagos State is certainly in a position to make sense of what I am talking about.
Meanwhile, when does Ken-Calebs Olumese get the national honour he richly deserves?
See you next week.
