Go Heritage 2019 - Day 3

Project Africa

Go Heritage 2019 - Day 3 (6/28/19)

"If a man wants to enslave you forever he will never tell you the truth about your forefathers" - Fela Kuti

The soft yet insistent patter of a morning rain is calming for many people. I hate the rain. I can't particularly articulate the specific reasons why, but I have never enjoyed the inconvenience, dirtiness, and general feeling of drab that a downpour brings. This day is no different.

We were a bit delayed (about 3 hours) in our schedule because the rain causes flooding and the roads and traffic are bad. Luckily, I had already put myself in a "you must be flexible" mindset before coming because it was necessary to rearrange our entire plan for the day. First we ventured out into the city to exchange money, but I could not find anyone with a reasonable rate I liked so we went to the airport instead to do it at the counters. That is definitely something to remember to do when traveling to Nigeria...unless you like the haggling process and don't mind getting much lower than the rate (TIP: come with larger bills, it is harder to exchange with small bills and you'll automatically get a lower rate.) It was very interesting to discover that the guys selling the money on the street are actually employed through the government though. It is a way to give Hausa people jobs.

 Kalakuta Museum

Fela with his 27 wives that he married all on the same day

After being out and about on the streets for a bit, we visited The Kalakuta Republic Museum, which is essentially Fela Kuti's house! He was such a revolutionary and impactful artist. On the first floor, there are covers for 8 of his records and the tour guide went through the meaning of them all with us. Every cover had such significance, whether politically, socially, culturally, or philosophically and the songs' messages are just as paramount. One that particularly struck me was "Yellow Fever".

Yellow Fever x Fela Kuti cover art

The name nods to the YF disease that must be inoculated in Nigeria but directly addresses the practice of skin bleaching by our beautiful black women (another disease, of the mind, that should be inoculated, so to speak). Hearing the guide discuss it recalled memories of my visit to Ghana seeing the huge billboards advertising for bleaching products. It was great to see a prominent artist speaking out on the subject.

Tour Guide w/Rahkua and Fela's many shoes in the background

Rahkua and prolific Nigerian photographer, Adore

Fela Kuti's family

After finally getting a bit of Naira, Nigerian currency, we headed to the mall so I could pick up a couple groceries for breakfast during my stay. For the most part things seemed pretty similar except for a bag of walnuts for $27! Haha, all in all it was a great day and I went to sleep full of promise for the days to come.

KNOW YOURSELF. HONOR YOUR PAST. FORGE YOUR FUTURE.

Amani,
Rahkua

Project Africa: Los Angeles

Educate. Empower. Enlighten

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