Smoking almost killed me – Yeni Kuti

First daughter of late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Yeni, has revealed why she stopped smoking.

She said she only quit smoking three years ago so as to stay alive for her only daughter, Rolari.

Speaking with the Sun, Yeni said, “Before my daughter went into the university, I used to smoke and suffer chest pains. I was like ‘if I continue smoking I may die before my daughter graduates’.

“That was the inspiration I needed to stop smoking because for years, I had been telling myself that I would stop smoking on the first day of January, but by January 4 I was still smoking.

“But this time, I didn’t wait for January 3 or 4. I simply told myself that if I continued smoking, I would die and never see my daughter graduate. And that was just too important for me, so I just stopped. I have stopped smoking for three years. The fear of not being able to educate my child gave me that inspira­tion. I was like, who will educate this girl if I die?”

Continuing, she said, “I miss my daughter but we talk regularly. I can’t call her in her husband’s house the way I used to call her before.

“I am a very happy mother because my daughter is married and settled, and they both love each other,” Yeni added.

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