Akintoye Ilo, Grade 11
UWC Maastricht
How a Nigerian Hero helped inspire the UWC community, and no I’m not talking about myself.
Everyone in school had been looking forward to it for the whole year. The Afro-Caribbean culture week was a highly acclaimed event everyone was excited for. Although our DP2s hadn’t experienced it yet (Culture weeks only run once every UWC campaign), they had been told stories of the wonderful African Caribbean culture week, which sampled some of the most delicious food from these regions as well as the craziest party UWCM had ever seen. Naturally, I too was excited about the upcoming event and was eagerly contemplating the several different activities I could organise to help the wider UWCM community take a glimpse of my culture, I mean isn’t that what UWC is all about? But to my dismay, even some of the people organising the event were unknowingly stereotyping Africa. Making comments like, “we’re going to sing and dance because that’s what we do!” I was absolutely mortified; my spirits were crushed, and I almost felt like giving up on participating in the culture week.
But I had an epiphany. If some people want to spend their time misrepresenting where they are from and continuously screaming “Africa isn’t a country!” yet advertising activities like the “African Dance?!” that was up to them. I decided that I only had control over what I could do and so I decided to run a workshop about one of my heroes. A man who was from my tribe; a man who was the spokesperson of the average Joe in a country that was notorious for its corruption; a man who was flawed and yet who overcame everything his oppressors could throw at him. Of course, I could only be talking about the man, the myth, the legend. Fela “Anikulapo” Kuti.
For the uninitiated, Fela Kuti was a Nigerian man from the Yoruba tribe and was a musician and activist from the 70s until his untimely death in the 90s. He took inspiration from funk bands and soul music that were extremely popular in the 70s and mixed it with his love for classic Yoruba songs and beats which pioneered what we call Afro beats today. My workshop mainly consisted of me talking about Fela Kuti’s musical career and some anecdotes about his upbringing and his heritage which I found particularly interesting, as well as the impact his semi-controversial lyrics had on his community. Fela was infamous for his lyrics which took shots at the corrupt government in Nigeria as well as the harsh day to day life of its citizens. I was inspired by Fela not just because of his innovative musical style but his confident and politically aware lyrics.
I recognised many faces at my workshop as they were my classmates, but there was one that stood out. A red-faced youthful-looking boy with glasses and braces; I asked him if he was an MYP student (Middle years Program) and he responded by saying he was an intern and his name was Chris, which shocked me considering he looked so young. I also asked him if he knew anything about Fela to which he responded, unlike everyone else at the workshop with a shy no. This made me even more eager to make sure that I delivered the best experience I possibly could.
After I finished speaking, I opened up the conversation to my audience. I began “So with the knowledge, you know about Fela now, do you think that modern Nigerian artists who have such big platforms have an obligation to touch on major political and philosophical issues like Fela?” I was absolutely dumbfounded by the ensuing discussion that erupted. From all points of the room, people began to eagerly respond with intuitive feedback and further leading questions that branched off into deeper and more interesting conversations. Even though I was the “leader” of this workshop, I was receiving questions about some of the current Nigerian artists I couldn’t answer, which really brought my ego down to earth a little bit and reminded me that as much as I could teach, I could probably learn double. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the pure enthusiasm all of the people had about a topic that was so close to my heart.
The next day I was going to a Nelson Mandela play with my English class and crazily enough, Chris, the intern was there. I decided to greet him, and he told me that he had added a bunch of Fela songs on his phone and had been listening to them since my workshop. He even expressed how he really enjoyed them. This made me feel responsible for introducing someone to a whole new world that could help them have a new perspective on another side of the world.
This isn’t a throwaway anecdote, but a slice of my UWC experience which has really impacted the way I share my personal story with the world. Now I know how powerful my unique experiences and identity are and how they could help educate and inspire others. However, due to the discussion we had during the workshop, I have also been enlightened by the opinions of outsiders looking into my culture, thus giving me a broader scope on the world as a whole. Isn’t this what UWC is all about? Not only the fantastic opportunity to learn from people who come from all around the world, but the even greater buzz you get when you see that glimmer of wonder in the eyes of people that learn from your own experiences.
Everyone in school had been looking forward to it for the whole year. The Afro-Caribbean culture week was a highly acclaimed event everyone was excited for. Although our DP2s hadn’t experienced it yet (Culture weeks only run once every UWC campaign), they had been told stories of the wonderful African Caribbean culture week, which sampled some of the most delicious food from these regions as well as the craziest party UWCM had ever seen. Naturally, I too was excited about the upcoming event and was eagerly contemplating the several different activities I could organise to help the wider UWCM community take a glimpse of my culture, I mean isn’t that what UWC is all about? But to my dismay, even some of the people organising the event were unknowingly stereotyping Africa. Making comments like, “we’re going to sing and dance because that’s what we do!” I was absolutely mortified; my spirits were crushed, and I almost felt like giving up on participating in the culture week.
But I had an epiphany. If some people want to spend their time misrepresenting where they are from and continuously screaming “Africa isn’t a country!” yet advertising activities like the “African Dance?!” that was up to them. I decided that I only had control over what I could do and so I decided to run a workshop about one of my heroes. A man who was from my tribe; a man who was the spokesperson of the average Joe in a country that was notorious for its corruption; a man who was flawed and yet who overcame everything his oppressors could throw at him. Of course, I could only be talking about the man, the myth, the legend. Fela “Anikulapo” Kuti.
For the uninitiated, Fela Kuti was a Nigerian man from the Yoruba tribe and was a musician and activist from the 70s until his untimely death in the 90s. He took inspiration from funk bands and soul music that were extremely popular in the 70s and mixed it with his love for classic Yoruba songs and beats which pioneered what we call Afro beats today. My workshop mainly consisted of me talking about Fela Kuti’s musical career and some anecdotes about his upbringing and his heritage which I found particularly interesting, as well as the impact his semi-controversial lyrics had on his community. Fela was infamous for his lyrics which took shots at the corrupt government in Nigeria as well as the harsh day to day life of its citizens. I was inspired by Fela not just because of his innovative musical style but his confident and politically aware lyrics.
I recognised many faces at my workshop as they were my classmates, but there was one that stood out. A red-faced youthful-looking boy with glasses and braces; I asked him if he was an MYP student (Middle years Program) and he responded by saying he was an intern and his name was Chris, which shocked me considering he looked so young. I also asked him if he knew anything about Fela to which he responded, unlike everyone else at the workshop with a shy no. This made me even more eager to make sure that I delivered the best experience I possibly could.
After I finished speaking, I opened up the conversation to my audience. I began “So with the knowledge, you know about Fela now, do you think that modern Nigerian artists who have such big platforms have an obligation to touch on major political and philosophical issues like Fela?” I was absolutely dumbfounded by the ensuing discussion that erupted. From all points of the room, people began to eagerly respond with intuitive feedback and further leading questions that branched off into deeper and more interesting conversations. Even though I was the “leader” of this workshop, I was receiving questions about some of the current Nigerian artists I couldn’t answer, which really brought my ego down to earth a little bit and reminded me that as much as I could teach, I could probably learn double. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the pure enthusiasm all of the people had about a topic that was so close to my heart.
The next day I was going to a Nelson Mandela play with my English class and crazily enough, Chris, the intern was there. I decided to greet him, and he told me that he had added a bunch of Fela songs on his phone and had been listening to them since my workshop. He even expressed how he really enjoyed them. This made me feel responsible for introducing someone to a whole new world that could help them have a new perspective on another side of the world.
This isn’t a throwaway anecdote, but a slice of my UWC experience which has really impacted the way I share my personal story with the world. Now I know how powerful my unique experiences and identity are and how they could help educate and inspire others. However, due to the discussion we had during the workshop, I have also been enlightened by the opinions of outsiders looking into my culture, thus giving me a broader scope on the world as a whole. Isn’t this what UWC is all about? Not only the fantastic opportunity to learn from people who come from all around the world, but the even greater buzz you get when you see that glimmer of wonder in the eyes of people that learn from your own experiences.
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