Seun Kuti, the Afrobeat singer, has revealed that his legendary father Fela Kuti’s perspective on child discipline.
The 41-year-old musician took to his Instagram page on Wednesday to condemn the normalisation of flogging as a disciplinary measure in schools.
Seun recalled how Fela ensured that he was not flogged at school. He said his dad instead instructed school authorities to report any misbehaviour directly to him.
He also described the consequences a teacher faced at the hands of his father for beating him.
“As a product of the Nigerian educational system, I was beaten in school then,” he said.
“That is what I love my father for. When I was about to enter school, on every first day, my father gave me a letter directed to the headmistress for primary and the principal for secondary.
“He told the teachers or school authorities to report me to him and not touch or flog me in school if I did anything wrong. Fela would say: ‘I’d punish and deal with him myself instead’.
“One day, one of the teachers flogged me, and I didn’t like the teacher in question. The speed at which I reported the case to my father was so fast. What that teacher went through at the hands of my father… hmm.
“That’s why I don’t understand the actions of some parents today. I always say that to beat your child is unAfrican. I know many of us are used to what we watch, and we are trained to think that it’s normal to beat your child.
“It’s a lie. It stems from Africans being beaten in colonisation. Under whose authority is what we should be investigating today.”
The singer’s remarks come amid outrage over a viral video of Stella Nwadigo, a teacher, violently smacking a three-year-old boy during numeracy lesson.
The teacher has been remanded for indecent treatment and assault of the child.
