Seun Kuti, the son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti has revealed that the Nigeria Police is threatening to close the African Shrine, Ikeja, for intending to host a programme to analyse the lessons and tasks arising from the recent #EndSARS protest.
The singer had sent out flyers announcing a mass meeting tagged; #EndSARS Movement: Lessons and Tasks which was scheduled to hold today at the New Afrika Shrine.
Seun revealed that the police invited his sister and threatened to shut down the facility if the meeting holds as scheduled.
The Police in a letter to the Kuti family and manager of the African Shrine said the programme was not welcome and will be tagged a deliberate action to sabotage the restoration of peace in Lagos, thereby citing the recent violence arising from the #EndSARS protest as its reason for ordering the suspension of the programme.
The letter from the Nigeria Police Force, Alausa Division partly reads “It is on this premise that I write that such a gathering or meeting planned to be hosted at your venue is not welcome at this perilous time when the security of the nation is trying to find her feet to stabilize all threat to life and properties.
“You are hereby warned to suspend such gathering as any infraction that may emerge from this gathering will be tagged a deliberate action to sabotage the transition and restoration of the peace in Lagos State by the Lagos state Government and the Nigeria police Force.”
Meanwhile, Seun in his reaction, said he will go ahead with his programme but at a different venue.
The popular musician via his social media wrote, “So yesterday the government called my eldest sister @yeniakuti and threatened to close the shrine if I hold my event there tomorrow and also sent a letter to back it up. I respect my families’ decision not to hold the event as it is but I will still go ahead with all the other organizations to launch THE MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE tomorrow and start our political resistance to the tyranny of this oppressive regime.
“Slide left and you will see the flyer. This is a meeting, just a meeting of organizations and they are basically banning the right of association. Why are they afraid of the people organising? What is democratic about this act? The last time we tried to launch the government quickly called a curfew and this time they have used threats but you can’t stop the will of the people. #getthesax #liberationgeneration #wenodoagain #endoppression.”
