Award-winning Nigerian dancer and choreographer, Kafayat Shafau, popularly known as Kaffy, has opened up about her childhood struggles, revealing how her family fell from wealth to hardship.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast, the Guinness World Record holder recalled being born into affluence, where her parents, Alhaji Shafau and Alhaja Alake Lakonko, were prominent Lagos socialites in the league of late business mogul MKO Abiola.
According to Kaffy, their home was a hub for music legends like King Sunny Ade aka KSA, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (now late), and Ebenezer Obey, who often sang their praises at parties. She recalled:
“My parents were the first to spray dollars at parties. You would hear Sunny Ade and Barrister sing their names. Every weekend, these people were at our house.”
However, their fortunes crumbled, forcing the family into survival mode. Kaffy shared that her father relocated to London to work as a floor cleaner, while her mother struggled emotionally to adjust to their new reality.
She recounted the harsh years of hunger:
“There were times we had no food for weeks. Hunger is a mentor. If water is the only thing available, your body will learn to survive on it. I drank garri for more than seven months without break, yet I didn’t have Kwashiorkor.”
The dancer also revealed how her mother’s mental health challenges impacted the family:
“She would have psychotic breaks and gather us in the middle of the house, saying, ‘You are the reason I’m not anywhere in life. Your destiny should start providing for me.’”
Kaffy’s story highlights not only resilience in the face of hardship but also the unseen struggles behind her rise to becoming one of Africa’s most celebrated dancers.
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