Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my son, Clive, whose imminent immigration to live with me here in the United States was a driving force to ensure I completed this work on schedule. And to my sister, Ekeoma Ezeibe, who has always been my number one and greatest cheerleader.

It would be impossible to have successfully completed this chapter without the knowledge gathered from prior books, articles, blogs, and internet posting by various authors on Fela done before this chapter. I acknowledge that these prior works made it quite easier for me to give substance to this chapter rather than relying on my personal experiences alone. I acknowledge the insights gathered from the Trevor Schoonmaker’s edited text, Fela: From West Africa to West Broadway, 2003, Palgrave Macmillan. Quotations from it reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. I also acknowledge use of materials from Michael Veal’s Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon, 2000, published by Temple University Press. Materials from it reproduced with the permission of Michael Veal and Temple University Press.

The first book I read on Fela was the Lawrence Hill Books’ edition of Carlos Moore’s Fela: This Bitch of a Life (2009); I acknowledge the use of quotations from the text. I also acknowledge Anthony Mason and CBS News for their detailed report on Fela. I also thank and acknowledge Henry Bainbridge of Partisan Records/Knitting Factory Records.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my brother, Felix, who did the basic research on Fela for the initial abstract submission for this chapter. I am thankful to my former classmate and friend; Dr. Joyce Parks, and my colleague here at Ohio University Chillicothe; Dr. Tony Vinci. Both painstakingly read though all my drafts and made copious corrections. My friend Kimberly Dawn Spraggins thanks for caring and being there for me.