Left , right, left , right left, right
One thousand soldiers dem dey come
People dey wonder , dey wonder
Stevie Wonder dey there too
Na one week after Festac
Where these one thousand soldiers them dey go
Na Fela house Kalakuta
Then surround the place
Fela dey for house
Beko dey there too
Them mama dey there too
Beautiful people dey there too
Then dey break, yes
Them dey steal, yes
Them dey loot, yes
Them dey fuck some of the women by force yes
Them dey rape , yes
Them dey burn ,yes
………………………………………
Kalakuta Republic was the name Afrobeat Legend and Political Activist Fela Kuti gave his communal compound that housed his Family , Band members, Studio, etc . Located at 14 , Agege Motor Road , Idi Oro, Mushin.
The compound was set ablaze on February 18, 1977 after an assualt by a thousand armed soldiers.
According to sources after the building was barricaded and imploring area residents to run for their lives , soldiers set fire to the generator that electrified the fence, stormed the compound and severely brutalized the occupants.
One could feel Fela’s pain in the lyrics of the song as he repeated them kill my mama. He listed his mother’s achievements. A woman in a sane society , as he envisage should be preserved as an invaluable national resource. Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti Fela’s mother was seven eight years old when she was thrown down a window.
The tales of Fela and his problematic relationship with the military government of the day is quite storied. Fela was a speaker. In spite of the several attempts for his voice to be stifled he had a clear identification of his mission.
His music was confrontational. Every time Fela mounted the stage with camaraderie as a public speaker he spoke the truth in emancipation of human right. Fela burned with fires of oppression in many of his compositions. He fought to see a Nigeria free from mass looting, corrupt government, dictatorship, militancy, mismanagement of public funds, etc
The Kalakuta attack according to sources was as a result of one of Fela’s song titled Zombie which was about the Nigerian military regime. In the song , soldiers are called Zombies for obeying orders blindly. One of the lines of the song in Pidgin says ” Zombie no go walk unless you tell am to walk. Fela’s frustration with Nigerian army that allowed corruption and intimidation of their communities by the corrupt and rich couldn’t be hidden in the song.
As this song resonates 45 years after the masses continue to wonder if the story of Nigeria will change and if their will ever be justice for the oppressed. The MAGIC continues to this day. Indefensible excuses come up everyday and there’s no face to any of these crimes against the development of Nigeria and its people.