Why I Was Told To Abandon D’banj – Seun Kuti

Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti who is the son of Nigeria’s music legend, Fela Kuti has revealed why he was told to abandon his colleague, D’banj.

Seun says it was due to the rape saga that has been trailing the Koko Master for a while.

In an interview with The Sun, the Egypt ‘80 bandleader and Grammy award nominee said,

“One issue that has dominated national discuss lately is rape. This rape thing eh… even me, I have been affected, because I did a song with D’banj that has not been released, and everybody is saying I have to abandon D’banj. You want my take on rape? For me, the appropriate discussion that should be had among African people all over the world cannot be rape. What we must discuss is rape culture.

The things that happen among us in our community that empower, embolden and encourage rapists. We can continue to go after individuals, but as long as the culture that encourages, emboldens and empowers rapists continues to be sustained, then rape will not stop.

What do I mean by rape culture? Young men are brought up and told that women are created for man. In fact, majority of Nigerian men are raised believing that God did not even remember to create women. Men were bored and God was like ‘oh, Adam needs Eve so he crated Eve’. Now, this is one aspect of rape culture, that mentality that diminishes women in front of men, that makes certain people believe that women are property. So, you find a higher percentage of women being abused because we have a higher percentage of religious people that believe this. That is why you hear people saying I cannot rape my wife.”

Seun Kuti