Wednesday: A Headache Day

Oh, Wednesday was a day.  I have not posted in a few days because I have been a bit under the weather, and it took all my energy to do what had to be done during the day.  I'd come home from work and pretty much head to bed.  I had two 8:30 bedtimes this past week, and I kind of liked it.  Now back to:  oh, Wednesday was a day...

So I get a phone call from the driver who has been held up by some local area goons because of some kind of "basket" that is meant to be in the car and a sticker.  I had no idea what he was talking about.  He had no idea what they were talking about.  However, for around 50,000 naira we were able to get the car released, plus we got a whole stack of colourful plastic stickers and the cheapest-ass, not filled out certificate that looked like someone on hallucinogenic drugs designed.  However, we were not given a "basket", and I am still not sure what that is.

At the end of the day, my driver was complaining of a headache.  He'd had a very stressful day.  My neighbour, who was key in helping to sort the mess out with the car and the good was also in the car with us when the driver mentioned the headache.  He said, "Too much Nigeria gives you headache."  After he explained it was a line he remembered from the play, Fela!; he had seen the show in London.

A few minutes after getting into my apartment, there was a knock at my door.  It was my neighbour delivering to me his CD of the soundtrack to Fela!

He thought I'd be interested in hearing it, and I was.  I wanted to know if the line "Too much Nigeria gives you headache" was on the CD.  It was not.

I finally had a chance to listen to the CD today, and it is great. (I have listened to on more than twice today.)  It added a story to Fela's music that I was not aware of, and now that I have lived in Nigeria for more than one year, the lyrics to his songs meant something more to me.  I have had the opportunity to see and/or experience and/or listen to other people's stories about some of the situations that inspired Fela's lyrics.  I got out my hard drive with Best of the Black President and listened to it again today as well.  I think the first time I heard of Fela Kuti was when he died back in 1997.  I was at university then, and I am sure I must have seen it reported on the news.  I remember seeing posters for Fela! a few years ago in London, but I was not familiar with his music at all, and I was more interested in seeing Les Mis at that time.  I purchased Best of the Black President after reading Purple Hibiscus  by Chimamanda Ngozi Ndichi.  Fela's music was very important to some of the characters in that book, and I wanted to know why.  But after listening to the downloaded album then, I still did not get why Fela's music was so important.  After listening to his music again today, I think I get it now.

No, I did not hear "Too much Nigeria gives you headache" on the Fela! CD, but too much triggered one for my driver on Wednesday.  I guess it was appropriate as Wednesday coincidentally was Fela Kuti's birthday.  If I did the maths correctly, he would have been 76 years old.