The Afrobeat artist Seun Kuti admits he was “foolish” to support Bola Tinubu for Governor of Lagos state in 1999.
In the next election this month, Tinubu will represent the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its presidential candidate.
The controversial musician recently released a video in which he said he was “young and naive” when he supported the then-governor of Lagos.
The artist, the son of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, claimed he had worked for Tinubu because of his father’s ties to the politician.
Seun said that he never used the time he spent with Tinubu in 1999 as an excuse to “behave recklessly.”
“Na me campaign for Tinubu in 1999. Why? Because I knew him with my father. I followed him. I did Yoruba politics. Yoruba would be free from this Nigeria because I was a fool. I was a fool in those days. I was young. I was naive. I believed in what I could see. But the more I understood, the more I learn,” he said in a mixture of Pidgin and English.
“I didn’t just stay in that position of privilege thinking that yes, I don arrive. I know Tinubu. I can do anything wey I like. While I was there, I continued to study, lead and develop my political consciousness.
“If what we are saying is true. If we are looking for the best way to be, then we must all continue in a certain way to work and be better. To be better knowledgeable. So, the more I continued to study, the more the evidence in front of me proved to me that these people are not what say they are.
“And I can guarantee you that Tinubu cannot say he has seen me in almost 10 years. More than 10 years if care is not taken. He cannot tell anybody that I saw Seun here or Seun called me there. And in more than 15 years he would tell you that Seun o ti se political anything pelu wa.
“As soon as I saw that what was happening there was false and selfish, I stepped away. It no longer matches my political consciousness. So, that’s growth and I accept that for everybody.”
