The renowned Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti has shared his father, Fela Kuti,’s views on child discipline.
On Wednesday, the 41-year-old artist denounced the use of whipping as a form of discipline in schools on his Instagram page.
Seun remembered that in school, Fela made sure he wasn’t flogged. He claimed that instead, his father gave the school administration instructions to notify him directly of any misbehaviour.
He also talked about the repercussions a teacher experienced after being beaten by his father.
“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.”
