Seun Kuti opened up to Encomium Magazine on why he doesn’t believe in marriage, talks new album and more.
Read excerpts from the interview below:
On his plans to get married to the mother of his child
I don’t believe in marriage. I and my partner already share a very strong relationship. We’re raising a very beautiful daughter. Marriage is not something I indulge. The truth is, marriage institution in Nigeria has collapsed. Nobody is even getting married for long anymore. On the average, it’s within a year. Although, they still marry, they separate.
And what do you think is responsible for this?
Because people get married for wrong reasons. As a matter of fact, the institution of marriage is fading away in the traditional sense of marriage – for love; for better for worse; and all sorts. It’s fading because women are no longer submissive. For you to live together with someone for life, someone must be submissive. That is easier when women are not working, and they depend on their husband. But now, it’s becoming difficult because they are now working; making money even more than men. The situation is terrible now. Even if you, as a man, is not looking outside, your wife will look.
That shouldn’t be an excuse for you not getting married; bring your family together to have fun?
Is that the purpose of marriage? That’s a decision for me, and my partner already agreed. In fact, there was a wedding we attended in Ibadan, the couple broke-up at the reception. What about that? Because of picture, the bride’s father wanted to take first, and the groom’s father said No, and all sorts of things started. They broke-up right at the reception.
Tell us what you cherish about your partner?
We are loyal to each other in a superficial way, and that’s what I can wish for in a relationship- loyalty.
But your late father got married; as a matter of fact, he married 27. What’s your take on that?
Like I said, Nigerians are not looking at issues deeply. If you look deep into the issue you raised now, you’ll discover that in 1986, Fela divorced all his wives. People seem to forget this fact. It also goes to buttress my point that says, marriage is becoming a fading institution. I mean, Fela was the epitome of marriage. First, he married one; then he married 26 at once. He has experienced both, and later, he came out to say marriage is bad. What about that?