Yeni Kuti, the daughter of Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, recently spoke about her father’s parenting skills, stating that he was not a good father. In a conversation with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Yeni recalled an incident where Fela referred to her and her siblings as useless children. However, she acknowledged Fela’s iconic status and role model status, but admitted that she was never bold enough to confront him about his shortcomings as a father.
Yeni also mentioned the strained relationship between Fela and his first son, Femi, highlighting that they often had battles and Femi would openly express his disagreements with their father. In contrast, Yeni and her sister, Shola, were more timid and perhaps remained silent due to societal expectations.
She recounted a specific incident when Fela insulted them and Femi stood up to him, resulting in a confrontation between father and son. Yeni and Shola would try to mediate and calm the situation, but Femi was more assertive in expressing his thoughts.
Yeni concluded by mentioning that she never had such confrontations with her father, possibly because she was a woman and felt a certain restraint in challenging him directly.