REMINISCENCES: DECADE ONE. My earliest recollection as a youth goes back to 1958 . As a five year old i stood in awe in Abeokuta as my mother confronted three complete strangers who insisted I would die unless my mother surrendered me for the "treatment". Strong hands seized me violently, hands and feet bound as I was tied to a bed blindfolded. I felt faint as a knife was plunged into every joint in my body, blood was flowing, my life was ebbing. Suddenly I felt the knife point on my throat, it was then I heard a blood curdling scream from my mother as she sank her teeth into the butcher. I spent the next three months in intensive care. I carry the scars till today. It turned out they were just ritualists predating young men for human parts. Abeokuta in the 50s was a cultural melting pot. With groundnuts in my knickers, I used to follow masquerades from Isabo to Igbein , to Itoko. Then the Gelede masks of Ago-Egun. All these became the background for my lifelong professional romance with sound and pictures. I remember as a student of Rev Kuti primary school, the day Fela arrived Nigeria from London in 1958 dressed in suit. He we learnt welcome songs for 2 weeks. How Fela cried giving vote of thanks. In my first decade , a major event was Nigerias independence of 1960. Every primary school killed a cow, we had flags T shirts and banners everywhere. Who could have imagined where nigeria was heading to?
Posted on: Sat, 01 Jun 2013 18:26:31 +0000
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