Lagos — I have never been a fan of letting Westerners tell Nigerian stories. This is not just a case of blind patriotism. After many years of the international media reporting on issues in the country and seeing Hollywood movies like 'Tears Of The Sun', I decided that the Nigerian story can never be told as correctly as it should be; regardless of how much money is put into it. If it is not a Nigerian telling it, its originality would always fall short.

Thus, when I heard that there was a play on New York's famous Broadway in honour of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's life, I instantly came to my own conclusions. What do Americans know about Fela? How dare them try to take one of Africa's biggest icons and try to Americanize him? I was not interested. There was no way it would be any good.

But sometime last year, the play became even more popular as two of the biggest names in American music and movies today, decided to bankroll the show. Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter, one of the richest black entertainers in the world, and Will Smith; the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, turned multi blockbuster movie star, jumped on the show as Producers and instantly, it became a must see for anyone who was going to see a play on Broadway.

I love the two of them so I of course, got a lot more interested at that point. I decided to go online and check out what the play had to offer. The website was impressive as, the sounds of Fela's famous "Kereke ji keke' welcomes you. I went on to see pictures and videos of the opening night, and virtually everyone who is anyone in Hollywood today, was there. Obviously, the two star co-producers had used their star power to full effect. I started getting excited suddenly loved the idea of going to see the play; until I stumbled on the cast of the play.

Two guys play Fela alternately because of the high tempo of the show. For a stage play that is performed everyday of the week except on Mondays, for the past 6 months, it is only expected that there be alternate cast members to give enough rest time. The two Fela's are played by Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo. Yes; none are Nigerians; one Sierra Leonean and a Congolese. I was mortified! How could they dare do that to us? The Nigerian in me kicked in with all sorts of conspiracy theories; "These Americans have never liked Nigerians. They don't like our progress. Blah blah blah " I logged off from the website and that was the end of me and Fela on Broadway. Or so I thought

When a friend of mine called me a couple of weeks ago to say that he had tickets to the show and said we should make the trip together to go see it, I changed my mind again. I figured that since it was a weekend and it would not cost an arm and a leg, I might as well go; especially since I would be making the trip with fellow Nigerians. That way, we could criticize the show together and laugh at America's failed attempt to tell us our own Fela's story.

As we walked in for the 2pm show, the 1,200 capacity Eugene O'Neill Hall was packed full already. Even more interesting was the fact that the capacity crowd probably had less than 20 Nigerians in attendance and 40 Africans in total out of the thousands. I was impressed to see the interest that the average American, whom the world loves to tag as ignorant of things outside their country, was showing in Fela.

The setting of the stage was another major turning point for me from my skepticism. They successfully recreated the stage as it was found in Fela's 'Afrika Shrine' back in the day, with cheap graffiti of strongly worded political statements and paintings of black heroes. A huge picture of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti; interestingly written as 'Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti' (just how Fela would have loved it) was obvious to the left of the stage. Colours were everywhere, from the band's attire, to the stage painting; all reflecting Fela's vibrant lifestyle back in the day. I was almost transported instantly, back to Nigeria. Everything seemed so well done at that point, and everything pointed to the fact that I would have a good time. But I still said to myself; "Na America joo. Dem sabi plan so no surprises. Make we see the main show first." I for some reason did not want to believe that they would get it right. Thankfully, I was proved wrong.

The show, which centres around Fela's life between being sent abroad by his parents to study medicine and his coming back to become an activist, social critic and one of Africa's greatest legends, dwelt a lot on the killing of his mother and how much of an influence she was in his career. From the opening scenes where he was seen to have dumped his parents' medical dreams, the attention to detail was all too evident. Fela's music icons and influences like Frank Sinatra were all briefly mentioned, followed by his return to Nigeria to start what culminated in him creating the 'Kalakuta Republic' and claims of being the 'Black President'. For every episode in his life, a Fela song was performed to fit the situation. And at the times when mere dialogue was needed, the subtle messages throwing jibes at the white man and Nigerian leaders were not lost on the audience. One of my favourite quotes from him at the show, came when he criticized

colonialism. In a hall that was almost 95% non African, Kevin Mambo who played Fela that day, talked about how the white man came to Nigeria (and indeed Africa) and stole our pride, our religion and oil; leaving us with; "Jesus Christ (as our last hope) and gonorrhea (to kill us)". That sent the entire hall rolling in laughter.

The highpoint for me was when the military attacked and murdered Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, by throwing her out the window, leaving her to fall to her death. It was such a moving scene and the message was definitely very well received. For us Nigerians who were at the play, it hit home more as we know that scenes like that are all too familiar and go beyond being just a mere stage performance.

The two and half hour show came to an end after tens of Fela's songs had been performed. He eventually reconnects with his mother and she continues to be a guiding light in his life even in death.

Of course the show did have its flaws. For the great number of attendees to the Fela show, all the actors did an amazing job no doubt. But for we Nigerians and probably a good number of Africans there, we know what a Nigerian accent sounds like, It was laughable at times hearing Kevin Mambo trying to speak Pidgin English or Yoruba with his Congolese-American accent. At those times, only we the Nigerians would laugh and wonder what he was trying to say. But the Producers probably thought they got it right, since in the eyes of the west, all Africans sound alike. My friends and I argued that they probably could not find any Nigerian who fit Fela's physical profile and was excellent at being a stage actor within the high standards and demands of Broadway. I still think they should have done a bit more with finding a Nigerian who could pull it off. Not for patriotism's sake but for authenticity.

I also felt that a scene at the end where Fela supposedly meets his mother in heaven (or wherever) and spends so many hours singing songs that were not Fela's songs, dragged on for too long. I understand the fact that the show is being held in New York, thus the need for it to have that Broadway feel with an infusion of the sort of music the mostly American crowd could relate too. But it is a Fela show and should be mostly about Fela and his music. The 'non Fela songs' part, should have been minimized.

In general though, the positives far outweigh the negatives for me. Fela has been immortalized in the greatest city in the greatest country of the world, by two of the greatest names in entertainment. It does not come bigger than Broadway and if anyone deserves it, then it is Fela.

The messages in Fela's songs like we all know still resonate today. Corruption in government, poor infrastructure, dirty politics, neglect of the average Nigerian and neo colonialism, are things he sang about that are sadly still a part of our daily lives, 13 whole years after his death.

Interestingly though, Fela's death was left out of the stage performance and for me it was a way of saying that Fela is immortal. He still lives with us today and his words will continue to be a driving force for a lot of people to get Nigeria back on track.

I applaud the producers of the show and would definitely recommend the show to anyone who can see it. For a change, the world gets to see Nigeria as much more than scam letters and corruption. Fela is a true legend and now the world knows. If only our leaders in Nigeria would take his words and see the truth in them. Long live Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and (like he said) may we one day as Nigerians stop 'Suffering and Smiling'.