Femi Kuti, an Afrobeat singer and eldest son of the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has opened up about some prophecy that was made against his family following the loss of his father.
During a recent conversation with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Femi Kuti revealed that some individuals predicted the untimely deaths of 12 members of his family.
According to him, the prophecy came at a difficult time when he had already experienced the consecutive losses of his father, his sister Shola Kuti, and a cousin.
The musician said as the first son of the family, he found himself burdened with internal family issues and shouldering the responsibilities that came with it.
During this challenging period, Femi Kuti revealed his wife, Funke, left him and many people jumped to conclusions, assuming that he would succumb to madness amidst the turmoil.
He said, “Fela had just gone [died]. My sister [Shola] had gone. My cousin had gone. Some people were predicting that 12 of us would die. And I [was] saying, is this prediction going to come true?
“We had our internal family problems. They would say, ‘You know, you are the first son; you must do it.’ And I would say, ‘Who born me inside this wahala like this?’ Then my wife go [got separated from me]. And they said, ‘Femi is going mad.’ It was terrible.”
Despite the hardships he endured, Femi Kuti expressed gratitude for the profound impact those events had on shaping his character and who he has become today.
KanyiDaily recalls that Femi Kuti had previously recounted how his late father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, condemned his first album, ‘Femi Kuti,’ saying it was useless.