Nigerian director: Tony Allen is a disappointment

Ugbomah, a pioneering filmmaker in his country, was speaking to local media when he was told Allen is touring the world after choosing to live outside Nigeria.

“To me those are failures,” Ugbomah said in a response published separately, “because Tony is Afrobeat, that thing behind Fela. Tony to me is a disappointment. They came to Britain and enjoyed white man life. Why didn’t you come back to make sure your own country can be good? You people are worthless, all of you, worthless.”

Allen released his latest album, The Source, in 2017. He is scheduled to appear at the Demon Dayz Music Festival in the US later in the year. The Lagos-born Allen has referred to himself as "a black American drummer".

Ugbomah also spoke about the renowned the jazz player and teacher Peter King who acted differently from Allen. King was originally based in the UK but, as Ugbomah says, returned to Nigeria for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, popularly referred to as FESTAC ’77.

“He…didn’t go back,” said Ugbomah. “He had nowhere to play, so I engaged him to play the soundtrack of the film [Ugbomah's 1970s feature The Mask].”

Agreeing to work on the soundtrack would lead to a bigger opportunity for King. “People heard the music during the film show and asked who did the score," Ugbomah said. "I said it was Peter King. That’s when Nigerian National Theatre made him the resident musician at National Theatre.”

King would go on to establish a school of music in Lagos. Decades later, a young woman would receive lessons at the highly respected Peter King College of Music and a few years down the line, many music lovers in Nigeria and across the world would know her by the mononym Asa. She won the first Next Rated category at the Headies Awards and has released three acclaimed studio albums.

“I was teaching her and she started seeing that music is no joke, it’s a serious thing,” King later recalled. “So if we teach her something and she plays it very well she would become so happy, like a child you’ve given a new toy.”