One of Nigeria’s most celebrated Afro-beat singer, Dede Mabiaku, who has been able to carve a niche for himself through the artistry he learnt from his boss, Late Fela.
Dede in a recent interview revealed that because he is from a well-to-do family, the idea of singing especially joining the late Fela at the Shrine was an idea that was never supported by his family and that led to serious crisis in the home.
According to him, “My father was the Iyasere of Warri, next to the king, and being the offspring of such an aristocratic home, they didn’t think it was proper for me to be seen in the midst of the so-called ‘Terrible one’.”
The singer expressed that his decision to join the Fela band led to his father disowning him and at the same time, because he had nothing, the lady that was pregnant for him after delivery was not allowed to see him with the baby.
“My parents gave me the order to leave Kalakuta and never be found there, they even planned to send me to the US for my Masters in Filming Arts in Syracuse University; that was to be a lure me away from Kalakuta. I refused, and turned everything down. I was supposed to get married at the time, but my Fiancée was five months pregnant while preparing for the wedding, and her parents refused. When she put to bed, I was prevented from seeing her and the baby. Hurtful as it was, it didn’t get that bad until my father disowned me,” he told Nation newspaper.
