Keji Hamilton is a Nigerian Afrobeat multi-instrumentalist, former member of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Egypt 80 band, drug rehabilitation advocate, pastor, and founder of the Global Centre for Drug Eradication (GCDE).
His life traces an unusually dramatic arc: a devout Muslim teenager bound for pharmacy school who instead entered the household of Nigeria’s most radical musician, descended into severe drug addiction and armed robbery, and ultimately emerged as a born-again Christian pastor and anti-drug campaigner.
He remains musically active, releasing the single “Agbaya People” in May 2026.
| Suleiman Shuaib (birth name); Morounkeji Hamilton (adopted name) | |
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Suleiman Shuaib (birth name); Morounkeji Hamilton (adopted name): History · Bio · Photo
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Full Name: | Suleiman Shuaib (birth name); Morounkeji Hamilton (adopted name) |
| Stage Name: | Keji Hamilton |
| Age: | Keji Hamilton |
| Birthplace: | Nigeria |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Occupation: | Musician, pastor, drug rehabilitation advocate, NGO founder |
| Religion: | Christianity (born-again; raised Muslim) |
| Parents: | Father was a Chief Imam |
| Spouse: | Favour Hamilton |
| Children: | Two daughters, Mrs Toju Jack and Miss Kimberly Hamilto |
Early Life
Keji Hamilton was born Suleiman Shuaib in Nigeria, the son of a Chief Imam who raised his family in devout Islamic faith. He gained admission to the University of Ibadan in 1981 to study Pharmacy, a path that reflected both his own early ambitions and his father’s hopes for him.
He left after a single session, drawn away by an encounter with Femi Kuti, son of the Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who introduced him to his father at the Kalakuta Republic, Fela’s communal Lagos compound. Fela gave him a room in the household.
In his own account, he adopted the name “Morounkeji,” later shortened to “Keji,” out of a wish to become “the second Fela,” and took the surname “Hamilton” because, in his words, he admired the American historical figure George Hamilton, whom he associated with the founding of the United States.
By the time Hamilton joined, Fela’s backing band had been renamed Egypt 80, the name it carried throughout his tenure. He has said he arrived with no formal musical background and taught himself to play largely by ear and through informal mentorship within the band.
Education
Hamilton gained admission to the University of Ibadan in 1981 to study Pharmacy but left after one session to pursue music.
He received no further formal education; his musicianship developed entirely within Fela’s household and on tour with Egypt 80.
Career
Hamilton became a member of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Egypt 80 band, performing on lead guitar, bass guitar, piano, congas and alto saxophone over more than a decade.
He toured extensively with the band, performing across the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast, elsewhere in North America, and in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
His years within Fela’s household also exposed him to the heavy drug culture that pervaded it. He has described being introduced to marijuana before progressing to cocaine and heroin, and funding his addiction in part through armed robbery, for which he was arrested and detained on multiple occasions; by his own account, the severity of his crimes at one point marked him for elimination by police.
His life changed on 7 May 1994, when he experienced what he has described as a supernatural encounter with Christ in a brothel that broke the hold of addiction over him. He has remained sober since.
He went on to found the Global Centre for Drug Eradication (GCDE), a registered Nigerian NGO, and served as Project Director of the House of Joy Rehabilitation Centre, a 45-bed in-patient facility in Lagos organized under the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He also became Senior Pastor of Tabernacle of Prayer Global Ministries.
After roughly fourteen years away from recording, Hamilton returned to music in 2008 with the self-titled album Keji, recorded at an analogue Lagos studio with his Exousia Band.
In May 2026, he released the single “Agbaya People” through HIS Media Empire, produced by GospelOnDeBeatz, a socially observant track examining everyday Nigerian attitudes and behaviour through humour and Afrobeat rhythm. It is available on major streaming platforms.
Social Media
- Instagram: @kejihamilton_
Personal Life
Hamilton is married to Favour Hamilton, and the couple have two daughters, Mrs Toju Jack and Miss Kimberly Hamilton.
His personal testimony, spanning his time in Fela’s household, his years of addiction and criminality, and his subsequent conversion and ministry, has been the subject of extended interviews in Nigerian outlets including Vanguard, ThisDay and Pulse Nigeria, and continues to feature in his public speaking at churches, conferences and rehabilitation centres.
Net Worth
Hamilton’s net worth is not publicly documented, and no credible estimate exists.
His income is understood to derive from music royalties and streaming, live performances, pastoral ministry, speaking engagements, and his work with the Global Centre for Drug Eradication.
Discography
- Keji (2008): Self-titled album with the Exousia Band, recorded at an analogue studio in Lagos
- “Agbaya People” (May 2026): Single released through HIS Media Empire, produced by GospelOnDeBeatz
- Live performance and recording work as guitarist, pianist and multi-instrumentalist with Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 band, circa 1981–early 1990s
Conclusion
Hamilton’s story runs through some of the most extreme material circumstances documented in Nigerian music history, from the radical household of Fela Kuti, through addiction and armed robbery, to a specific and repeatedly recounted conversion date that now anchors more than three decades of ministry and advocacy work.
His return to recording in 2026 is a comparatively small chapter set against that arc, but it keeps him publicly connected to the genre that shaped both the darkest and most redemptive periods of his life.
