At 70, Prince Adekunle opens up on US drug case

Veteran Juju musician, Prince Adekunle, who bestrode the music scene in the 1970s and 1980s like a colossus, clocked 70 years a few days ago.

As much as he openly expressed his gratitude to God for allowing him to live this long in good health and sound mind, Adekunle, who is now a pastor, tried to relive the circumstances that led him to jail in the United States in the late 1990s.

He told the guests who had come to celebrate with him how he was wrongfully sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on a trumped-up charge of drug peddling.

Absolving himself of any involvement in drug dealing, the musician recounted what actually happened. He said, “One of my friends gave me a package to deliver to someone in America. I didn’t know that the tightly sealed package contained banned substances until I was arrested and detained in America. All efforts to get the owner to come and collect the package proved abortive and I was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Later, when the owner showed up, my jail term was reduced to two years.

“It was one of the worst experiences I have had in my life. I was bitter for a long time. I kept asking God why it had to be me. But, soon I realised that it was a test of faith, like the one experienced by Job in the Bible.

“God allowed it to happen to me so that He can lead me out of the storm and tempest as a lesson to others. Put not your trust in men, so the Holy book says. Unfortunately, I learnt the hard way.”

To mark his birthday, Adekunle released a new album for the occasion