Oluwatosin Enesi
According to her, Fela was admitted to Trinity College of Music, London, in 1958, largely out of pity.
She said that Fela struggled academically compared to his siblings. Initially, his parents wanted him to stay in Nigeria due to his poor grades. However, his older siblings in London deceived their parents into believing they had secured admission for Fela to study medicine.
Upon arrival in London, Fela faced rejection from Trinity College of Music due to his inadequate qualifications. Fortunately, the admission officer took pity on him, given his overseas travel to study, and ultimately granted him admission.
Speaking in a recent episode of the TVC programme, Your View, Kuti said, “I want to share a story about my father [Fela].
“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 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.”
This turn of events significantly impacted Fela’s life and career trajectory.
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