Ayankunle is a troubleshooter, K1 De Ultimate replies former band member
Renowned Fuji singer, Wasiu Ayinde, K1 De Ultimate, has replied his former drummer, Ayankunle Ayanlowo, who accused him of mistreating his band members.
Speaking to journalists at his Mayegun Royal Resort located in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state, K1 described his former drummer as a troubleshooter.
He dismissed claims that he does not allow band members leave when they are no longer interested in the group saying, “Our band is like an organisation that hires and fires. It’s an organisation where if you signify intention to join, you are taken onboard, and by tomorrow if you find something else, you can opt-out.
“When I see that my ways are not yours, I can easily drop you. If it aligns and you want to opt out, I’d advise you not to do so. So, that’s how I formed my band.”
Despite the shortcomings of his band members, he emphasized his commitment to seeing the band thrive, often resorting to borrowing funds to sustain them.
K1 pointed out that the band members may not fully appreciate the sacrifices made on their behalf, as they sometimes allow their egos to push them towards threatening to leave. He says this has huge implications of setting him back as their leader.
“They’ll threaten you by saying they would run away. Mine isn’t the first time. A whole band had travelled with Shina Peters, my friend, and they eloped.”
Addressing the slave-master relationship alleged by Ayanlowo that left him underpaid, K1 elucidated that he always documented payments made to all his band members. At the meeting, he provided payment records made to his band members weekly. One such payment shared revealed a sum of over N120,000, a wide disparity from the N8,043 per show Ayanlowo had claimed in a previous interview.
K1 further revealed that the sharing formula for income between him and the band was initially set at a ratio of 60:40. Over time, with the increase in band members, it was adjusted to 40:60, with both sides donating ten per cent of earnings to pay management staff.
“In my band, there is an order that those who died in active service get paid. Their families still go to collect whatever money we give to them. If we travel abroad, those who didn’t come with us get paid even if they are in Nigeria.
“Ayankunle, who is complaining that they withheld his passport, ran away from the band in England while we were on tour. He ran away with two other people in the band. He took his passport along. That was in the 90s,” said K1, describing the first instance when the ex-drummer eloped. He maintained that the said passport is still at the British High Commission.
