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How and Why “Unknown Soldiers” Attacked Fela’s Home, Kalakuta Republic, in 1977

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Kalakuta Republic was the home of the late musician and political activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The commune, located at No. 6 Agege Motor Rd., Moshalashi, Lagos, enclosed Fela’s recording studio, nightclub and a private clinic which was operated by his younger brother, Beko Ransome-Kuti. The two‐storey yellow building also housed Fela’s family and band members.

The name ‘Kalakuta‘ was a parody of Calcutta prison in India where Fela served a sentence in 1974 for possessing marijuana which many believed was politically motivated. Fela declared Kalakuta an independent republic from Nigeria due to his hatred for the then military government which he believed ruled Nigerians with dishonesty. Having a republic inside a republic did not go down well with the military government…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Military men outside Kalakuta republic
Military men outside Kalakuta Republic

Fela’s relationship with the military government deteriorated when he released a best-selling track titled ‘Zombie’ which mocked Nigerian soldiers. The song gained nationwide attention which angered the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo. A line of the song says, “Zombie no go walk unless you tell am to walk“, i.e., a zombie (fool) won’t walk unless commanded.

Download Zombie by Fela Kuti

Their already strained relationship got severed on a fateful day when two of Fela’s boys got in a heated argument with a military police officer for driving one of Fela’s vehicle which had no plate number at the front; this was on the 18th of February, 1977. Fela’s boys, identified as Segun Adams and Segun Ademola, argued that since there was a plate number at the back, they would not let the officer impound the vehicle.

Fela’s boys drove away as the argument got intense. Some military men chased them to Kalakuta Republic but were denied entrance. This infuriated the military men and they set fire to the generator that powered Kalakuta Republic and cut its electric fence as well, then called for back up to fully invade the commune.

Fela Kuti explaining a point to Mr. Justice Anya after the Kalakuta raid
Fela Kuti explaining a point to Mr. Justice Anya after the Kalakuta raid

Shortly after, about one thousand soldiers arrived with machine guns. Stampede ensued in Kalakuta Republic as the soldiers mercilessly beat its occupants including Fela and his brother. Fela’s brother, Beko, claimed they were almost killed during the attack. Women were beaten and molested. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Fela’s mother, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was beaten and thrown from an upstairs window. She eventually died from the injuries she sustained during the attack. The soldiers set fire to the commune which razed to ashes in no time.

Fela being rushed to the hospital after he was beaten by soldiers
Fela being rushed to the hospital after he was beaten by soldiers

Properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed; most of Kalakuta’s 60 occupants were in the hospital and so were a number of innocent bystanders who ran past the flames with their arms held straight in the air, a gesture of surrender, but were clubbed anyway by drunken, red-eyed soldiers. It was indeed a horrible day for Fela and his family. People believed that Fela’s beef with the military government culminated in the attack on Kalakuta Republic.

Fela and band members during a dance rehearsal at Kalakuta Republic | TheNetNG
Fela and band members during a dance rehearsal at Kalakuta Republic

However, the Kutis did not let the military go away with their assault. They filed a N25 Million lawsuit against the Nigerian military. The Kutis’ lawyer, Mr Tunji Braithwaite, handled the case brilliantly but eventually lost to the military government on the ground that the soldiers who attacked Kalakuta Republic were unknown soldiers. Thus the case was dismissed!

Kalakuta Republic in ashes
Kalakuta Republic in ashes

An infuriated Fela who later lost his mother as a result of the attack carried a replica of her coffin to the Dodan military barracks and dropped it off. He later released a song titled ‘Coffin for Head of State’ in 1980 which narrated the attack on Kalakuta and the death of his mother.

Fela and his mother, Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Sad faces of Fela Kuti and his mother, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti, during the probe on the Kalakuta attack

The military government of Olusegun Obasanjo revoked the Kutis’ Certificate of Occupancy of the commune. The site of the demolished Kalakuta Republic is now occupied by a school, named after Fela’s original surname: Ransome-Kuti Memorial Grammar School.

 

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Man indecently abused another victim while on probation, but ‘the judge said he shouldn’t go to prison’ because of this!

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According to the court documents, the then-33-year-old defendant, Maurice, was first arrested for ra-ing a 16-year-old girl while serving as the manager of a restaurant.

He pleaded guilty to having se* with the underage girl in the kitchen of restaurant, which the victim said she did because “he told her to” and “he was her boss and she needed to keep her job.”

For the crime of statutory ra-e, the defendant was sentenced to a 120-day se* offender program before being released on probation. Although he completed the rehab program, this was only the beginning of the registered se* offender’s crime spree.

Just one month after he was released from the se* offending assessment unit, he brutally ra-ed the mother of his children. However, despite being found guilty of his second ra-e, the presiding judge believed he shouldn’t even touch the inside of a jail cell. Judge Holden sentenced the defendant to just five years probation for his second ra-e after his probation officer and se* abuse program counselor convinced him that he was “making progress in his counseling…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

“So the judge was able to hear from somebody who has expertise in this type of treatment, who has supervised and treated him for quite some time, and came to a conclusion that continuity under these circumstances was going to be warehousing him in a prison,” explained the defendant’s defense attorney Coatney. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Despite prosecutors’ request that he receive the maximum 7 years in prison, Judge Holden handed down the probation sentence because Maurice seems to be improving in counseling. However, Holden ignored the fact that the 33-year-old man ra-ed his second victim after completing a similar program intended to rehabilitate the se* offender.

That decision has sparked outrage on social media including a post by county prosecutor Patterson with a Ronald Reagan quote that “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker.

It’s time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Many experts claim that the most disturbing thing about Maurice’s case is that there are now two women who have learned that the court system doesn’t always deliver justice.

Sadly, he lives to offend another day while his victims must suffer the long-lasting effects of his crimes. Ladies and gentlemen, we are republishing this story amid recent reports that suggest many US states are recording record highs in se-ual assault incidents.

 

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Porch Thief Steals Sick Boy’s Medicine Worth $40K Off Doorstep

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Just about everyone does online shopping these days. How could we not, with just how convenient it all is?

You buy something without ever leaving the house, pay for it, and then it shows up on your doorstep a few days later!

For folks that have mobility or health issues, or aren’t able to get to the shops in time, online shopping is basically a godsend.

There is just one tiny problem – people have realized that there are more and more valuable goods simply left out on the front porch unattended, often for hours at a time.

And with this vulnerability comes the potential for theft. When you are desperate or just greedy, parcels left sitting in front of the door is just easy pickings…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

And it doesn’t help that most deliveries are conducted during office hours – the times where most people won’t be available, which is why they chose online shopping in the first place.

(This is probably why Amazon Key is now a thing – you can’t lose your purchases if they were left inside your house.)

So as convenient as it is to just have packages waiting for you once you reach back home, the risk of losing them can be grave, as this family found out the hard way.

While most people would be incredibly upset that they had their parcel stolen (and be set back a sizeable amount of money), this teenager has bigger problems to worry about.

14-year-old Gage Haynes is now in a life-or-death situation after about $40,000 worth of medication was swiped from the doorstep of his house in Summerlin, Nevada on one February day.

Diagnosed with systemic mastocytosis at only 6 months old, Gage has spent the pretty much most of his life staring at the inside of hospital walls as much as he has being outside them. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Because of the rarity of his cancer, finding the right treatment for him was a massive struggle that consumed most of Gage’s life.

Then, Gage and his mother, Shakala, found the miracle they had been searching for – a new chemotherapy medication called Rydapt.

8 pills a day eases Gage’s symptoms to the point he can attend school and worry about his grades for a change – a massive quality-of-life change.

But the new medication came at a steep cost.

Shakala had to work herself to the bone to gain both financial assistance and earn enough money to afford the monthly $40,000 cost necessary to keep her son alive.

To top things off, the medication wasn’t approved by the FDA for those under the age of 18, making it hard to get.

So when the unidentified thief made off with two packages in broad daylight, he just made it a lot harder for Gage to survive.

The teen has since put out a public plea for the thief to return the costly and life-saving medication he desperately needs.

Here’s to hoping the thief has at least a shred of humanity left in him and returns the medication once he realizes what he has done.

 

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Teenager Saves Veteran Who Collapsed From Heart Arrhythmia

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Lexi Lindsey is one high schooler you won’t soon forget about.She attends Bedford North Lawrence High School in Indiana as a senior this year.

Along with her regular high school studies, she is also enrolled at North Lawrence Career Center which helps her decide what career path will be best for her.

She has already received training in first aid, CPR, and the process for responding to a medical emergency.

This training must have been on her mind when she least expected to be using it.

While Lexi and a friend were on their way to a concert, they noticed a car that was parked to the side of the road.

They could tell that the driver was trying to be noticed…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Lexi recalls that the driver was waving his arms around and then he dropped to the ground. This is when she yelled for her friend to stop the car.

Lexi then ran over to the man who had fallen out into the road. She pulled him back to safety and called 911.

He was able to let her know that he had an internal defibrillator.

This was due to heart issues from the past and how he was currently suffering from arrhythmia.

While she was accessing him, he began to have a seizure.

Lexi was able to place him on his side and keep him safe, while waiting to perform CPR if he needed it.

She was able to keep the man awake and calm until the ambulance was on site.

The man was happy to tell the EMTs that Lexi was the reason he was still alive.

She later learned that the man she saved was Brian Putt.

He has two children and is a Navy veteran. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

After Brian recovered, he was able to obtain Lexi’s name.

He wanted to meet her and thank her for saving him.

This is when he made the decision to visit her in her classroom at NLCC.

He walked into the classroom carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the girl that gave him another chance at life.

Brian was able to talk to the class and bragged on Lexi.

He explained how he had seen grown adults in the Navy loose it under stress but that wasn’t in Lexi’s nature.

She had a true gift of how to react in the time of need.

He went on to talk of her character and how she was an astounding person for the choices that she made.

He then took out a pin that was adorned with dolphins by a submarine.

Brian explained that it took him 20 years to earn this pin. It wasn’t a small task either.

He revealed the date that he was pinned on October 19th, 1993.

Then, he placed the pin on Lexi and told her that she had earned the dolphins.

Lexi was quick to stop and help. Without her, Brian’s life may be nonexistent.

She is a true hero and will make a great addition to the medical field.

Be sure to share this story and hopefully you can inspire someone else to make the decision to help others in need.

 

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