Notable Nigerian musician, Seun Kuti, has explained the reason why his father, Fela Kuti, married 27 women in one day.
In 1978, the renowned Nigerian artist Fela caused a frenzy when he married 27 women in a single day. The reason behind this extraordinary event had gone unexplained and unknown for years.
Seun, while being featured on the ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ podcast via Skype, disclosed that his dad’s decision to marry all 27 women was an attempt to preserve the honor of the ladies who worked with him, as they were being perceived as ‘prostitutes’ by the media and the public.
He explained that his father’s female back-up singers and dancers used to live with him in the same house, and were thought by some people to be prostitutes. To combat this negative perception, Fela decided to marry all of them in order to preserve their honor and dignity.
His words …
“My father was under immense media propaganda. He was very scrutinized. And most of it was directed at the women in his life; his female back-up singers and dancers. They all lived together with my dad, but the media started calling them prostitutes.
“So my dad, in order to preserve their honor and dignity, asked them if they would choose to be his brides so nobody would call them names anymore, and they all agreed. That was how the marriage happened.”
