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RELIVING FELA’S YABIS NIGHT
(Yabis session of Saturday, 21 December 1991 at the Afrika Shrine,
Pepple Street, Ikeja, Lagos)
by Dulue Mbachu
Afrika Shrine - The Shrine - was the central concept around which Fela Anikulapo-Kuti organized
his show business and at the same time expressed his art and his politics. The routine consisted
essentially of three shows a week: Friday, Gbegbegbe (noise-making) night, which featured only
music and none of the political jibes and outrageous jokes he was known for; Saturday,
Comprehensive Show, which featured the famous yabis sessions when Fela called things by their
name in the tradition of African night spirits, sometimes pleasing and outraging the audience at the
same time; and Tuesday, Ladies Night, when ladies were allowed in free.
Fela would usually speak for between five and 20 minutes, depending on his mood, passing
comments on current events, trading barbs with the audience or abusing the forever inept
authorities. But on this particular night, 21 December 1991, Fela spoke for nearly one-and-a-half
hours, making it the longest yabis session I was to witness during a decade of regular attendance.
On this day there had been elections to choose state governors under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s ill-
fated transition to civil rule programme. Movement had been restricted during the day, as is often
the case during Nigerian elections, and in the evening Lagos poured out to enjoy itself. The Shrine
was packed with enthusiasts and the air was pungent with the smell of marijuana.
As was usual, Fela’s band, the Egypt 80 Band, had struck up at about 11 pm, playing the old hits
he would no longer play himself, having decided he had moved beyond them once they were
released. This went on for nearly three hours until Fela arrived to a noisy welcome. Dressed in his
trade-mark tight-fitting shirt and trousers, this time of purple colour, and decorated with abstract
motifs, he immediately went into business.
The first number was BBC, Big Blind Country, one of a dozen new compositions he refused to
record in his last eight years and were only played at his shows. It lasted 45 minutes. For most of
the audience, the show was proceeding according to a familiar routine. It was made even more
familiar by Fela’s announcement at the end of the number that the band was going on a 15-minute
break.
“If you like, you can go and smoke Igbo (marijuana) make you get sense,” Fela continued, as was
his wont.
“If you like, you can go and drink ogogoro, whiskey, beer…and you can be sure that Lagos gutters
will welcome you with open arms.
“But if you know you are tired of your life, and you now want to be useless to your family, go and
shack gbana (heroin), cocaine…”
With this he went backstage while the band members went away to get refreshments and prepare
for the Comprehensive Show. Exactly 15 minutes later, Fela reappeared on the stage, shirtless and
his face painted in chalk and camwood, another familiar item in his routine.
“We would like to worship at our Shrine. And we would like you to give us a few moments of silence.
Silence is not compulsory,” he said.
With this he went over to the Shrine, to the left side of the stage. The curtains had been drawn
aside to reveal an assortment of objects, including photographs of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-
Kuti, Kwame Nkrumah and himself. Accompanied by a few of his followers, he began his rituals.
A bottle of Schnapps was opened by one of his assistants and poured into two calabash bowls.
Fela then poured palm wine from a bottle kept at the ready and threw one kola nut into each bowl
while the supplicants made incantations, intermittently raising their hands in an arm-fisted salute.
Fela was then handed a white chicken. He twisted its neck until its blood started dripping. He
poured the blood into the bowls and mixed the concoction, whereupon he drank deeply from one of
the bowls beforepassing to his fellow worshippers. Some partook, others did not.
Worship over, Fela returned to the stage and an assistant handed him a giant, one-foot-long wrap
of marijuana already lit. It was time for yabis. He puffed with relish, looked at the audience with a
smile and said:
Fela: When fire enter for mouth nko-o!
Chorus: E go commot for nyash ni-ooooo!
Fela: Brothers and sisters. I was trying to find out the real meaning where white people got the
name, wife. Wife. Iyawo. Me I know that in any other language iyawo means problem. Iya wo!
Trouble. (Loud laughter) Because me know, those of us wey don enter spiritual life know say na
women dey control before before… That is why women are called Alhaja. The Jah. The spirit that
gave Mohammed power. Jah! Those are the spirits that the Rastas are worshipping. Jah! That’s
why women are Alhajas. That’s why…because the war of the mind showing the place where the
power of the spirit of the whole world is and knowing that shrine will be here, that is why we have
Ikeja. (Loud laughter)
Voice from audience: All that one na story!
Fela: Because this is where we in our sector have come to face Jah, this is where Jah…Ikeja ni!
The area of Jah. (Loud, prolonged laughter) What I’m saying is a very very serious thing! We now
know the reason why Babangida go find power for Abu jaa! (Laughter) But Abuja means many
things. Abuja in Yoruba means short-cut. (Laughter) So is Babangida going to short-cut to steal
more? Or short-cut to craze? Which one gaaaan? Na all! Na to craze. Abuja. The women who have
been ruling the world for 70 million years get their power from the underground spirits. Make I
smoke this Igbo? (He looks at the dying embers of his giant wrap of pot.)
Voices from the audience: Smoke am! Smoke am! Smoke am!
(He takes successive, prolonged puffs.)
Fela: Brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters. See. When the concert of Children of Africa was
going to happen. I will tell you.
Voices: No! We no want! Onwuka don finish you!
Fela: Abeg, abeg, abeg, abeg. (Makes gesture of contempt.) I’ve been talking in this place (Talking
to somebody in the audience)…And those people wey dey follow me know…We’re not preaching
about God, Jesus Christ. We are preaching about ourselves, our minds. What we’ve got to learn.
What we should look for. Where the power is. You know, I told you I did politics. I entered politics to
the full brim. From politics I catch spirit. And from spirit I see say this world no be one, na two. One
extra one wey come dey on top makes three. (Shouts of disbelief) You see my sisters. So wetin we
dey talk today na de thing we dey scatter country dey go. But we must be alive for the end will
come. The end of this confusion must come by their own hand. But by, well the way they’re doing
it…they way things dey go. See. Now. As we dey talk, this world is one and two and Babangida e
come go Abuja to worship the spirit underground. There is a mountain in Abuja, that mountain is
supposed to be the place where the most powerful spirits of the underground live. The mistake wey
dem make be say…When women dey rule the world and they were busy confusing themselves -
because women are always confusionists - they did not know that the top of Olumo Rock in
Abeokuta as you see am so. I was told by a German surveyor in prison that the government has
sent them to measure the highest point in West Africa. The highest point in West Africa is Olumo
Rock in Abeokuta. Because they do not want people to know that the secret of the power was
under that rock, they gave the name Abeokuta [Abeokuta: the town under the rock]. So that
anybody who goes there can curse under stone. But really the meaning of that area is Ori Olumo.
So Babangida go Abuja now. Go find power. Aikhomu dey for Lagos, ‘im no go any where, ‘im na
transmitter. (Laughter) Children of Africa, dem come. Onwuka Kalu is a small, you see there are so
many gods in this world. Him sef come do ‘im own. So when ‘im come my house, I see am. Before
me I see you, I see your spirit, I see everything. So I see am. I say ok oh. Onwuka Kalu. Say this
show na for wetin? If na for money o, pay me. E say no, na for children of Africa…I say ok o. How
much be gate fee. E say 10 to 15 naira, at most 20 naira. I tell am, I go do show for you. To show
you I dey support, you know, me I be gaani oh! (Laughter) I say look, I go give you one number
free, to put for record for children of Africa to make money. And my television rights, I give you free.
We sign am. You dey hear me o?
More..
(Yabis session of Saturday, 21 December 1991 at the Afrika Shrine,
Pepple Street, Ikeja, Lagos)
by Dulue Mbachu
Afrika Shrine - The Shrine - was the central concept around which Fela Anikulapo-Kuti organized
his show business and at the same time expressed his art and his politics. The routine consisted
essentially of three shows a week: Friday, Gbegbegbe (noise-making) night, which featured only
music and none of the political jibes and outrageous jokes he was known for; Saturday,
Comprehensive Show, which featured the famous yabis sessions when Fela called things by their
name in the tradition of African night spirits, sometimes pleasing and outraging the audience at the
same time; and Tuesday, Ladies Night, when ladies were allowed in free.
Fela would usually speak for between five and 20 minutes, depending on his mood, passing
comments on current events, trading barbs with the audience or abusing the forever inept
authorities. But on this particular night, 21 December 1991, Fela spoke for nearly one-and-a-half
hours, making it the longest yabis session I was to witness during a decade of regular attendance.
On this day there had been elections to choose state governors under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s ill-
fated transition to civil rule programme. Movement had been restricted during the day, as is often
the case during Nigerian elections, and in the evening Lagos poured out to enjoy itself. The Shrine
was packed with enthusiasts and the air was pungent with the smell of marijuana.
As was usual, Fela’s band, the Egypt 80 Band, had struck up at about 11 pm, playing the old hits
he would no longer play himself, having decided he had moved beyond them once they were
released. This went on for nearly three hours until Fela arrived to a noisy welcome. Dressed in his
trade-mark tight-fitting shirt and trousers, this time of purple colour, and decorated with abstract
motifs, he immediately went into business.
The first number was BBC, Big Blind Country, one of a dozen new compositions he refused to
record in his last eight years and were only played at his shows. It lasted 45 minutes. For most of
the audience, the show was proceeding according to a familiar routine. It was made even more
familiar by Fela’s announcement at the end of the number that the band was going on a 15-minute
break.
“If you like, you can go and smoke Igbo (marijuana) make you get sense,” Fela continued, as was
his wont.
“If you like, you can go and drink ogogoro, whiskey, beer…and you can be sure that Lagos gutters
will welcome you with open arms.
“But if you know you are tired of your life, and you now want to be useless to your family, go and
shack gbana (heroin), cocaine…”
With this he went backstage while the band members went away to get refreshments and prepare
for the Comprehensive Show. Exactly 15 minutes later, Fela reappeared on the stage, shirtless and
his face painted in chalk and camwood, another familiar item in his routine.
“We would like to worship at our Shrine. And we would like you to give us a few moments of silence.
Silence is not compulsory,” he said.
With this he went over to the Shrine, to the left side of the stage. The curtains had been drawn
aside to reveal an assortment of objects, including photographs of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-
Kuti, Kwame Nkrumah and himself. Accompanied by a few of his followers, he began his rituals.
A bottle of Schnapps was opened by one of his assistants and poured into two calabash bowls.
Fela then poured palm wine from a bottle kept at the ready and threw one kola nut into each bowl
while the supplicants made incantations, intermittently raising their hands in an arm-fisted salute.
Fela was then handed a white chicken. He twisted its neck until its blood started dripping. He
poured the blood into the bowls and mixed the concoction, whereupon he drank deeply from one of
the bowls beforepassing to his fellow worshippers. Some partook, others did not.
Worship over, Fela returned to the stage and an assistant handed him a giant, one-foot-long wrap
of marijuana already lit. It was time for yabis. He puffed with relish, looked at the audience with a
smile and said:
Fela: When fire enter for mouth nko-o!
Chorus: E go commot for nyash ni-ooooo!
Fela: Brothers and sisters. I was trying to find out the real meaning where white people got the
name, wife. Wife. Iyawo. Me I know that in any other language iyawo means problem. Iya wo!
Trouble. (Loud laughter) Because me know, those of us wey don enter spiritual life know say na
women dey control before before… That is why women are called Alhaja. The Jah. The spirit that
gave Mohammed power. Jah! Those are the spirits that the Rastas are worshipping. Jah! That’s
why women are Alhajas. That’s why…because the war of the mind showing the place where the
power of the spirit of the whole world is and knowing that shrine will be here, that is why we have
Ikeja. (Loud laughter)
Voice from audience: All that one na story!
Fela: Because this is where we in our sector have come to face Jah, this is where Jah…Ikeja ni!
The area of Jah. (Loud, prolonged laughter) What I’m saying is a very very serious thing! We now
know the reason why Babangida go find power for Abu jaa! (Laughter) But Abuja means many
things. Abuja in Yoruba means short-cut. (Laughter) So is Babangida going to short-cut to steal
more? Or short-cut to craze? Which one gaaaan? Na all! Na to craze. Abuja. The women who have
been ruling the world for 70 million years get their power from the underground spirits. Make I
smoke this Igbo? (He looks at the dying embers of his giant wrap of pot.)
Voices from the audience: Smoke am! Smoke am! Smoke am!
(He takes successive, prolonged puffs.)
Fela: Brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters. See. When the concert of Children of Africa was
going to happen. I will tell you.
Voices: No! We no want! Onwuka don finish you!
Fela: Abeg, abeg, abeg, abeg. (Makes gesture of contempt.) I’ve been talking in this place (Talking
to somebody in the audience)…And those people wey dey follow me know…We’re not preaching
about God, Jesus Christ. We are preaching about ourselves, our minds. What we’ve got to learn.
What we should look for. Where the power is. You know, I told you I did politics. I entered politics to
the full brim. From politics I catch spirit. And from spirit I see say this world no be one, na two. One
extra one wey come dey on top makes three. (Shouts of disbelief) You see my sisters. So wetin we
dey talk today na de thing we dey scatter country dey go. But we must be alive for the end will
come. The end of this confusion must come by their own hand. But by, well the way they’re doing
it…they way things dey go. See. Now. As we dey talk, this world is one and two and Babangida e
come go Abuja to worship the spirit underground. There is a mountain in Abuja, that mountain is
supposed to be the place where the most powerful spirits of the underground live. The mistake wey
dem make be say…When women dey rule the world and they were busy confusing themselves -
because women are always confusionists - they did not know that the top of Olumo Rock in
Abeokuta as you see am so. I was told by a German surveyor in prison that the government has
sent them to measure the highest point in West Africa. The highest point in West Africa is Olumo
Rock in Abeokuta. Because they do not want people to know that the secret of the power was
under that rock, they gave the name Abeokuta [Abeokuta: the town under the rock]. So that
anybody who goes there can curse under stone. But really the meaning of that area is Ori Olumo.
So Babangida go Abuja now. Go find power. Aikhomu dey for Lagos, ‘im no go any where, ‘im na
transmitter. (Laughter) Children of Africa, dem come. Onwuka Kalu is a small, you see there are so
many gods in this world. Him sef come do ‘im own. So when ‘im come my house, I see am. Before
me I see you, I see your spirit, I see everything. So I see am. I say ok oh. Onwuka Kalu. Say this
show na for wetin? If na for money o, pay me. E say no, na for children of Africa…I say ok o. How
much be gate fee. E say 10 to 15 naira, at most 20 naira. I tell am, I go do show for you. To show
you I dey support, you know, me I be gaani oh! (Laughter) I say look, I go give you one number
free, to put for record for children of Africa to make money. And my television rights, I give you free.
We sign am. You dey hear me o?
More..
