Fuji Icon, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as Kwam1, has reacted after some of his band members, including Ayankunle Ayanlowo, accused him of seizing their passports and mistreating them.
Recall that Kwam1’s former drummer, Kunle Ayanlowo, in a recent interview, claimed he had worked with the fuji maestro for 32 years, and there has been a pattern of alleged abuse and mistreatment.
Kunle also alleged that Kwam1 confiscated passports from band members during foreign travels, leaving them vulnerable and subject to his authority for undisclosed reasons.
The former drummer further recounted distressing incidents, including one where he was allegedly ordered to return home while en route to the hospital for urgent medical treatment.
Kunle attributed the stress and strain of such encounters to the onset of an ulcer, highlighting the lasting impact of his experiences with Kwam1.
Responding to the allegation, Kwam1, in an interview with GoldMyne TV on Sunday, said Ayankunle and the other members were just being mischievous and attempting to dent his image in their respective interviews.
According to the veteran singer, Kunle ran away from the band while they were on a tour in England, and since then, his travel documents have been confiscated by the British authorities for overstaying beyond the return date on the visa.
He said, “Ayankunle and two others ran away from the band in England with their passports. And we returned to Nigeria. That was in the 90s. After he ran away, information reaching us indicated that in the course of him overstaying, he gave his passport to someone to come and present it at the British embassy. As of that time, they were not stamping visas on passport leaflets. The person successfully had his details changed to his while he maintained Ayankunle’s passport.
“On scrutiny, the embassy detected and withheld the passport. Ayankunle’s passport is at the British High Commission. This is someone who can barely read or write, and I facilitated a passport for him. I’m not the one who collected his passport. He has run away with it. How come the same passport is with me?”
Speaking on a similar issue with another band member, identified as Ismaila Olubade, Kwam1 accused him of withholding his passport and leaving them in America to go to his ex-wife in London.
Kwam noted that the band members’ problems were becoming too much for him, and he had to disband them and regroup with new members.
He added, “Is it possible for them to return to Nigeria without their passports? Of course, they all have their passports. If I had withheld their passports, Immigration or Customs would have questioned what I was doing with such a number of passports.
“When I saw that their problems were becoming too much for me, I disbanded them and then regrouped again with new members. After them, another set of people has run away. It’s a common thing with band members.”
