Animal Carnival And More With ADE BANTU


A Nigerian, German, Musician, Singer, A man of many musical styles/genres, Social Critic, producer, lover of arts and more, then you can fix ADE BANTU into the box. 

Ade's band is called BANTU- It is an acronym that stands for Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity. Ade recently released his new single - Animal Carnival, which comes along with a animated video. He also share his view on wide range of questions. Enjoy the Interview.


· Hi ADE, so you recently dropped your new single “Animal Carnival”very different, lovely rhythm and frank lyrics, guess it’s about the state of the nation and corruption or something else?


'Animal Carnival’ is an anti-corruption song that demands government transparency and accountability. With the song we ask how one can make sense of the outlandish and insane realities of Nigerian politics, where kleptocracy has reached staggering new heights, with missing funds being attributed to devious acts of the supernatural. We all know the stories of snakes allegedly swallowing Money. Monkey carting away funds stashed in a senator’s farm house, Gorillas swallowing zoo earning or rats chasing Buhari from his office at Aso Rock. Our country has been turned into an animal circus.

· Lovely animation, character illustration and art works in the almost 4 minutes video – tell us about it?

For the ‘Animal Carnival’ video we wanted to have something engaging and fun to watch. Since the lyrics of the song are also very important we decided to go for an animated video clip to strike the perfect balance. It was our first foray into the complex world of animation, the process is very detailed and time consuming but it was worth it. I am extremely pleased with the outcome. We worked with a young illustrator from Nigeria and an animator from Ireland.


 What do you think we are getting wrong in this country?

Nigeria is a complex country with a very traumatic history of brutal military dictatorships, a civil war that was never addressed and a succession of civilian rulers who have plundered our treasury dry. Over the years our civil societies, trade and student union shave been infiltrated or destroyed beyond recognition. There are no credible opposition groups. The few who dare to raise their voices against corruption, social injustice and the draconian rule of law in this country are being rounded up, charged for treason or labelled ‘terrorists’. The major problem is that our institutions are weak - we have no check and balances.


· You had a lovely initiative of a project called Afropolitan vibes, many people come around on a Friday to listen to live music from great artist across all genre. For some, it’s a good time to ease off from the high tension work of Monday – Friday and set the tune for the weekend, and some come around and stay to let the traffic on the bridge ease off before going home. You had a transition from Freedom Park in Lagos Island to Muri Okunola in Victoria Island and suddenly, the project went off despite the patronage. Is it funding, no sponsorship, what happened?

Afropolitan Vibes is still on. We had to take a break so we could renegotiate contracts and forge new partnerships. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic did not help matters. We hope to be back soon.
Photo Credit for BANTU photo: Abiola Balogun 
Just after the easing of the covid-19 across the world to re-start the year and economy, several issues came up, notably the #UWA #TINA #georgefloyd – what is your take on this?


Well the pandemic isn’t over yet. It’s a deadly virus that has exposed the flaws of governments across the globe especially when it comes to universal healthcare. It has also shown us that the hyper capitalist model isn’t sustainable. We need fair redistribution of wealth across the globe. We also need to address climate change and social injustices. Regarding the issue of sexual violence against women in Nigeria. I believe strongly that we men, must challenge rape supporting attitudes & behavior. We must change the culture of victim blaming in Nigeria and actively help reduce violence against women. What happened to Uwa, Tina and the thousands of other nameless rape victims is totally unacceptable; the onus is on us men to do better.



· Talking of George Floyd, You had a song quite a while now, Ilé(Ono jin o it’s a long long way from Ile).Do you think most black Africans around the world should start looking back at their root, and not fool themselves of citizenship of a white man’s country, and believe they regard them as same, even though in the eyes of GOD we are one?

African-Americans are American citizens. Yes, there is a historical and spiritual connection to Africa and if they do want to come back home they are more than welcome. There are even African States that offer them and others from the diaspora free citizenship. But what is important here is to focus on the core issues. The American state is failing its black population. There is a system that has been put in place to ensure they do not have access to good schools, well paid jobs or healthcare services that are just as good as what the average white American gets. Systemic racism and police brutality are what the demonstrators are trying to address. The brutal and senseless murder of George Floyd exposed the bias of law enforcement agencies and officers towards African-Americans. America needs to address the wrongs it has done and continues to perpetrate against blacks for over 400 years. It must stop.


The World, Africa, and indeed Nigeria just lost a great music icon – Majek Fashek, what do you have to say about him?

A few years ago, i had the distinct honour of working with Majek Fashek on our Afropolitan Vibes concert series; where we’d invited him to perform as a surprise guest with my band - BANTU - after one of our headliners pulled out last minute. I will never forget the chills that went down my spine when I announced his name and the crowd roared in excitement as they went into a wild frenzy. Once we struck the first chords to “Send Down The Rain” there was no holding back, as three thousand fans sang the words to his songs line for line for the next 20 minutes. It was there and then that I understood the magic and power of Majek Fashek and what he meant to so many people. Millions of lives and stories of Nigerians are intertwined with his songs and messages of resilience and hope. He will be missed.


· COVID-19 is gradually becoming a thing of the past, but its impact is unbelievable. While you can’t count loses it has caused, like death, loss of jobs, uncertainty here and there; some people are seeing some gains in it; and, opportunity to embrace technology. Give for instance, companies who are used to large meetings and training of staff in rented halls, they now do it virtually, which is convenient and of less cost than renting a hall. You would say loss for hall owners and thumbs up for the likes of zoom. Bantu is known for crowd in most of his videos, the Animal carnival is actually your first for animation, is that the direction now as a result of covid-19, and how would you address post covid-19 reality for entertainment industry and other industry in your own perspective?


Choosing to do an animated video for ‘Animal Carnival’ didn’t really have anything to do with Covid-19, it was just a coincidence. The animation was done in December 2019. Considering the current state of things with the pandemic, an animated video might be the only option we as musicians have for now when it comes to music videos since it would be too risky to gather a large crowd or crew for a shoot. The global pandemic has hit the music industry hard. Most artists make their living from tours and now all shows and tours have been cancelled indefinitely or some postponed to 2021. The crisis has forced us to go back to the drawing board and try to reinvent new ways to monetize our music and content. There are promising signs around the streaming live performances on Zoom, Facebook or Instagram but I am skeptical because of the internet quality in Nigeria and the fact that most of these concerts are being offered for free. Another concern of mine, is that even if there is an easing of the lockdown measures in Nigeria, we will still need to address social distancing at concerts and how to implement such considering that shows are always jam packed. Having to reduce the number of guests at a show will have an impact on the affordability of concert tickets. Not to mention the fact, that we are still not sure how many people would actually want to come out to a large gathering when there is no cure or a vaccine against the virus.


· What was your experience like during the lock-down or Stay at home period, what advantage can you say it brought to you?

The stay at home period was challenging, I had my good and my bad days. Not being able to be around my extended family and friends was (and still is) very difficult to handle. I kept myself busy by reading, studying and watching tutorials. I picked up a few new skills along the way. I also seized the opportunity to update my knowledge on the global music industry and innovative ways with which music and content is being marketed. So, I guess the lockdown did have its positive side effects.


· Well like one of your songs(KáMáaDúpẹ́), In spite of what may have happened during the covi-19, we should still be grateful to GOD that we are out alive, what do you think?

“KáMáaDúpé” was a song we wrote on our last album (“Agberos International”) to remind people that no matter how bleak things may look or feel, there is always a silver lining. Its not a religious song it is life affirming and celebration of a positive mental attitude towards life.


· The foot-ball season in Germany have restarted, and it’s shocking they did that even before the likes of England and other top countries, you have stayed in Germany for a long time and sure you have people back their too, what do you think they have put in place to make them that confident?

Germany’s approach to the pandemic was based on science. They caught the virus early and tested extensively. Germany also has a very robust healthcare system, so the country was prepared for the worst. The virus hit Germany hard with more than 180K infected cases, but the death toll of 8000, is by far lower than in neighbouring countries such as the UK, Spain or Italy.


· Are you working on any new project?

My band BANTU has just finished recording a new album titled “Everybody Get Agenda” which we’ll be releasing in September. Asides from that, I am also working on other music projects and a photo archive project of my late uncle, Tola Odukoya. He was a professional photographer who worked from the early 60s to the mid 80s. He left behind an extensive collection of amazing black and white photography.

· Thanks for your time Ade BANTU, wish you the best in the remaining part of the year.


4/6/2020 - 10:18 AM

Comments