“Beasts of No Nation, egbe kegbe na bad society, beast of no nation oturu gbeke…..”
For some reason I had heard nothing about this Netflix event that everyone had apparently been waiting on; the film premiere of ” Beast of No Nation” directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga.
Naturally, my face flushed with expectation the minute I read the title: Beasts Of No Nation (BONN).I felt that familiar warmth which happens to my brain whenever I speak about, dance or listen to the music of the great Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Had Netflix outsmarted the competition completely and decided to launch its first movie about one of the greatest musicians of my generation? These guys got game for real!
And It all made perfect sense.The launch of Fukunaga`s Beasts Of No Nation was slated for the 16th of October. October is Felabaration month. Now in its 18th year, Felabaration is a yearly music festival at the new African Shrine in Lagos which brings Fela apostles and lovers of Afrobeat together in an intensely spiritual celebration of a musical maesro and a deeply concious human being.
If Netflix was sharp enough to ride the Fela wave, kudos to them. I was thrilled to be a witness to see how a director might tell both the human and the socio-political stories which Fela vocalised in his political lyrics. Stories of lives in a society struggling to shape its identity amid corrupt public officials, insane corruption and a global hierarchy which was only concerned with its own survival.
Alas, as I read teasers and watched the trailer for Joji Fukunaga`s Beasts of No Nation, a forced acceptance dawned on me and the applause began to dim.
BONN it is, only in title.
No Fela. No Egypt 80.
No dancers of beautiful vibrant ebony.
No Pepple street.
No lanterns on wooden tables selling many things for the head.
No Reagan.
No Thatcher.
Not even a Botha lookalike!
So second base jare.
In BONN like most of his songs, Fela was in a state of direct protest; making a mockery of failed governments and political leaders both within Nigeria and internationally who were not just corrupt but cruel and completely oblivious to the suffering of their people.
One such leader was P.W. Botha – president of South Africa who in 1986 was famously quoted as saying, “This uprising will bring out the beast in us”, in reference to the U.S introduction of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act.
Fela was fearless. As many nations across the world pretended that aparthied was acceptable, Fela wanted his voice to ring out clearly at the continued cruelty of Botha`s brutish and arrogant reaffirmation that the apartheid system would continue unchanged.
In BONN Fela says:
MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
These words continue to unpeel the layers of the “beast” , espousing the inhuman attributes of many leaders who simply are deaf to the voices of the people they govern. He develops the metaphor further suggesting that there are many leaders who look human on the outside in their suits and fancy clothes but lack the compassion which qualifies them as human. With their nations in chaos and dissary, these leaders disguised as humans are really beasts of no nation consumed with an overwhelming sense of their own importance and a distinct lack of sensitivity and disregard for anyone or anything else.
Growing up in Nigeria, listening to these songs was instrumental. Watching Fela perform live at the Kalakuta Republic at Pepple street was an experience to be repeated over and over again. It was a deep sizzle of intensly stirring rhythms, politically charged lyrics, an ambiance created by an unleashing of all inhibitions and a journey somewhere quite extraordinary. Fela inspired me to think outside the box. He inspired me to understand that the process of political agitation to challenge injustice and raise issues of social change in society is a responsibility for every citizen.
Watching his travails and his cruel mistreatment at the hands of government allowed me to understand that not all of us can be brave and openly fearless in challenging the wrongs in society. However, to those who do so at great risk, the rest of us must graciously acknowledge and give revered respect where it is due.
I remember cutting everything I could find in the newspapers when Fela passed on. And I can safely say the streets of Lagos have not seen such an outpouring of respect and grief in such numbers for any man dead or alive since then.
Warts and all, Fela was human, a poet whose lyrics even now continue that metaphoric resonance. 26 years after these words were first written, they seem almost prophetic as we watch on a grand stage the tragic consequences of having leaders who are beasts of no nation.
The beauty of Fela for me is in the freshness of his message, the genius of his music and the truth which he refused to be quiet about. As I sing along to BONN and stomp my whole body in response, I am still moved to action- no jonesing here-exactly as Fela would have wanted his audience to be.