Afrobeats: Seun Kuti recounts Fela’s Response to Teacher Who Flogged Him

Seun Kuti, the Afrobeats musician, recently recounted a personal experience where his father, the iconic Fela Anikulapo Kuti, ensured that his teachers refrained from using corporal punishment at school. Seun shared that his father chose to administer discipline directly instead of leaving it to the educators.

Seun reflected on how, on his first day of school, his father passed a note to the headmistress, telling her not to reprimand him. This behavior continued when he advanced to secondary school, with his father doing likewise with the principal.

He described an event when a teacher struck him, which led him to rush home to inform his father. Seun reflected that while his father's reaction toward the teacher made him uncomfortable, it also brought him joy due to his strong dislike of the teacher.

Seun pointed out that some people mistakenly view corporal punishment as an African tradition. The 41-year-old singer, who will turn 42 on January 11, 2025, clarified that it was Africans who were often subjected to beatings, asking, "Who were the ones doing the beating?"

His comments are in light of a recent incident involving a three-year-old child at Christ-Mitots School in Ikorodu, Lagos, who was repeatedly hit by his teacher, Stella Nwadigo, for improperly writing numbers. The case triggered public outrage on social media, leading to the teacher’s arrest by the Lagos State government.