The song starts with a mournful sequence of sounds by the Positive Force’s horns section. The first narration describes the death and burial of his father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, otherwise known as Baba 70, Abami Eda and Black President. Fela passed away on August 2, 1997 and was buried on August 12, 1997. The song describes his burial procession from Tafawa Balewa Square to his final resting place in Ikeja with over a million mourners in attendance. On August 21, 1997, the family got news of the death of their cousin Fran Kuboye. Fran Kuboye was the daughter of Fela’s sister. The grim reaper came calling a few months after when Sola, Femi’s sister, passed on due to complications from cancer. Femi described the pain she felt as the medical system failed her in her last moments. As ‘97‘ played in the background, I wondered what type of song would encapsulate all that we have witnessed in Nigeria in 2014. We have spent a little above four months in 2014 but it feels like a decade. My mind tries to encapsulate Femi’s Three Sorrows of 97 in our sorrows of 2014.
Relatives of kidnapped schoolgirls in Chibok. Photo – Reuters The first of such sorrows would be the loss of value for human life and dignity. We wake up to daily news of tragedy. Human beings are being ripped apart by violence, poverty and disease. Families remain inconsolable at the loss of their loved ones. The only crime committed by these ones was the crime of being born in Nigeria. A woman wakes up and sets out of her house because she wants to go to work. She never makes it to work because she loses her legs in an explosion. A poor woman sends her kids to school but her kids are kidnapped and taken to the forest. A man takes a boat ride in order to get to work but he ends up in the middle of the ocean because his boat capsizes. These are few out of the many tragedies that we have witnessed in 2014. The effect of the endless tragedies on the human psyche is evident. Citizens are relieved when a terrible incident claims ‘a few’ lives. We seem to have instituted an Upper Control limit below which an incident is seen as normal. The concept of ‘a few lives’ is also witnessed in the coverage of news by our local media. Incidents involving ‘a few lives’ are relegated to the inside pages of the dailies while ‘major incidents’ are given the front pages. The common thread of humanity which we share demands that we value every life around us. Life is sacred regardless of the religion, ethnic group or economic class of the owner.
President Goodluck Jonathan casting his vote at the 2011 presidential elections. The second of such sorrows is the loss of focus in governance ahead of the 2015 elections. It seems as if the uncertain future is of greater concern to our leaders than our present travails. There is no better illustration than the decision taken by the President to attend the birthday party of a traditional ruler shortly after citizens lost their lives to terror. The President had probably been informed that support from Traditional Institutions would be critical in delivering votes in that part of the country. It remains a mystery to me how a 100-year-old man can help improve anyone’s electoral fortune. The rational way to gain the support of people in that part of the country would be to deliver or help deliver sustainable development and economic growth. Unfortunately, the hopes and dreams of these citizens have been summed up in the Centennial Celebration of one of their many traditional rulers. The flip side to this predicament is the springing up of emergency projects all over the country. Roads that have otherwise been left in a dangerous state are suddenly getting attention. History has shown us that these interventions do not last beyond the next elections. Once the elections are done and dusted, these projects would grind to a halt. Thus, we are held in the vice-like grip of both inaction and emergency actions. Our desire is to have our leadership solve our current issues and allow the future to take care of itself.
CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and his wife Helen The third sorrow of our existence in 2014 is the unhealthy collaboration between the National CAN Leadership and the ruling government. The greatest evidence is the seeming irrelevance of Christian Association of Nigeria and its leadership. Historically, CAN has never had much of an impact on the lives of the members it claims to represent. It was at best an organisation that existed for the purpose of organising press conferences. It is notable that the current leadership is greatly concerned about mundane issues such as the number of Christians in committees in the ongoing National Conference. The criteria for classifying an individual as a Christian seem to be undefined. It seems as if CAN identifies you as a Christian if you have a name that sounds un-Islamic. CAN would have us believe that there are no Atheists or free thinkers in Nigeria. Another major concern of CAN is the non-sponsorship of Christian pilgrims by some Governors. In the midst of surrounding poverty and violence, the CAN Leadership wants to increase the wastage of our national resources in the pursuance of pilgrimages. CAN authorities are more interested in the distribution of travel allowances when their members junket around the world in the name of pilgrimage. I have to point out that the bible does not ask anyone in any place to go on yearly excursions to the Middle East. As CAN goes from blunder to blunder, it leaves those who are identified as Christians to carry the can for its blunders. Femi sang about three sorrows his family witnessed in 97, I wonder how the sorrows of 2014 will be remembered. The closing words of the song were ’97, I shall never forget ….’ Femi has kept true to his promise by playing this song in the honour of the departed at most of his major performances. The tragedy which Nigerians face is not that our sorrows will be known by all but that they will never be known. They may never be recounted as we stumble from one tragedy to another....
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