Yeni Kuti, the daughter of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, has revealed how her father’s siblings tricked their parents into believing he gained admission to study medicine.
During an appearance in a recent episode of the TVC programme, Your View, Yeni Kuti disclosed that Fela’s academic grades didn’t measure up to those of his siblings, hence his parents wanted him to remain in Nigeria.
Knowing his affinity for music, Fela’s older siblings in London deceived their parents into believing they secured admission for him and took him to Trinity College of Music, London in 1958.
According to Yeni Kuti, Fela was almost rejected when he got to Trinity College of Music due to his poor qualifications.
The admission officer, however, pitied Fela as he had already made the long trip to pursue his dreams.
“When he was in secondary school, you know his parents were academics, so they were pressuring him to study hard. His older brother and sister had gone to university overseas.
“It was him and his younger brother who were with their parents at that time. His younger brother had excellent grades, but Fela was very average. So, his parents didn’t want him to go abroad for studies.
“But his brother wanted him to stay with him in London, so they lied to their parents that Fela was going to a medical school. That was how he got to England.
“They enrolled him in musical school because by the time Fela was playing the piano. When he got to the music school, the admission officer said, ‘It’s only because you’ve come a long distance that I’m going to allow you into this school with these results.’
“That was how Fela even got the music school out of pity. But look at it today, he is a legend,” Yeni Kuti shared.
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