The President, Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has described August 2nd as a remarkable day which she would always remember as she recalled ‘heroes’ of “the Great Kuti Clan”, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Beko Ransome-Kuti.

Recalling that Fela died on his brother, Beko’s birthday on August 2, 1997, Odumakin in a statement on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, referred to the Kuti family as ‘extraordinary’ and said “my meeting with these titans happened on the same day. The day I was baptized at the shrine with fire, in bales of smoke, an unforgettable day.”

According to Okei-Odumakin, “Beko would have been 82...as Fela elected to transit on Beko's birthday. He died on August 2, 1997.

“In this extraordinary family, this joins the death anniversary of one to the posthumous birthday of the other, as if to declare the continuation of that bond beyond the borders of life.”

The human rights campaigner also recalled the bravery and sacrifice of Beko and that of Fela whom she termed ‘a philosopher and prophet,’ saying that ‘the prints of these giants from a single womb will be eternal.’

“We recall the exploits of Beko in the Civil Society; his bravery in the face of tyranny. How he made sacrifice so simple even at great risk to his health and life. They certainly don't make them like that anymore.

“And Fela, who passed on on the day was a global phenomenon. Nothing came close by miles as an authentic African export. Fela was a philosopher and prophet, among many other attributes. The prints of these giants from a single womb will be eternal.

“My meeting with these titans happened on the same day. The day I was baptized at the shrine with fire, in bales of smoke. An unforgettable day,” Odumakin stated.

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