My Parents Were the First to Spray Dollars at Parties. I Drank Garri for More Than 200 Days and I Didn’t Have Kwashiorkor — Dancer Kaffy

Award-winning Nigerian dancer and choreographer Kafayat Shafau, popularly known as Kaffy, recently shared a profoundly personal narrative about her family’s dramatic journey from wealth to hardship, shedding light on the challenges that shaped her early life.

On the Honest Bunch Podcast, Kaffy recounted her upbringing in a prosperous household that regularly hosted some of Nigeria’s most iconic music legends, such as King Sunny Ade, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, and Ebenezer Obey. She fondly remembered, “My parents were in the league of MKO Abiola. They were the first people to spray dollars at parties. You would hear Sunny Ade and Barrister sing their praises. These people came to our house every weekend.” Her parents, Alhaji Shafau and Alhaja Alake Lakonko, were once prominent figures among Lagos’ elite socialites.

 

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However, this period of affluence came to an abrupt end when the family lost its fortune. Kaffy revealed how her father made the difficult decision to start over by moving to London, where he worked as a floor cleaner. Meanwhile, her mother struggled to cope with the drastic change in their circumstances. Kaffy recounted times when the family went without food for extended periods, emphasizing the severity of their hunger. “There were many times when for months there was no food. Hunger is a mentor. If you want the body to sustain on only water because water is the only thing you see, it would. I drank garri for seven months without break, and there was no Kwashiorkor,” she disclosed, highlighting the resilience of her body despite extreme deprivation.

The dancer also shared poignant memories of her mother’s emotional struggles during these hard times. “She would have psychotic breaks and put all of us in the center of the house, saying, ‘You are the reason why… your destiny should start providing for me because you’re the reason I am not anywhere in my life,’” Kaffy recounted. These moments illustrate the immense psychological toll the family endured.

Kaffy’s story is a testament to resilience and survival. It paints a vivid picture of how hardship and perseverance paved the way for her eventual rise to fame as Nigeria’s foremost dance icon. Her journey from the heights of social prominence to the depths of poverty, and her ability to overcome these challenges, continue to inspire many.

 

💔 “She said she loved me. And for fifty-two years, I believed her.” 💔

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