Fuji artiste, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as K1, tells Punch why he keeps wild animals and other sundry issues.. Here are the high points of the interview. Excerpts:
Q – Do you still keep animals?
I do. I don’t intend to stop. I still have my snakes and crocodiles. I have two water pythons. They are very big. I love them.
Q – But those are dangerous animals…
They are not dangerous. Nothing really triggered my love for these animals. I just love them. I have eagles; I have ostriches and other animals. They are a good company especially when I want to think.
Q – Don’t they eat human beings?
No. They eat good food. They eat frogs and toads. They also eat fish.
Q – Do you still praise-sing people who are even known to be drug barons, criminals?
Did you write it on their foreheads that they are criminals and drug barons? Do these people write it on their gates that ‘We are criminals, we live here?’ Would anybody go near them if they do such? So why do we keep talking about this? There is no way such people would put a signpost to advertise they are
criminals. Everybody will appear to you as a good person. If for any reason somebody is charged with a criminal act, it has nothing to do with you or me. Criminals live amongst us daily. Come to think of it,
praise-singing has been on right from the word go. Why are you heaping it on me? A man is even presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.
Q – You don’t always want to talk about the number of wives and children you have. Don’t you think that there might be a heavy ‘war’ amongst your family members when you are gone from this world?
When King Solomon in the Bible died, there was no issue among his wives and children. If it didn’t happen in the time of Solomon, it will not happen in my time. How many kids do I even have? How many women have I known? There are so many people out there who even have more than we can ever think of. It is on record that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. If somebody like Solomon wasn’t crucified during his time, why do you have to talk about me? How many women have I ever touched? How many children do I have? Before you talk about me, let people talk about King Solomon.
Q – But that was during the Old Testament…
Well, it might be that another King Solomon has come. I might be another King Solomon in the making.