Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti has expressed frustration over persistent claims linking him to political figures such as the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Bola Tinubu.
The musician made this known during an interview on Arise Television, where he was reacting to the posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recently bestowed on his father, legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
Femi described the award as international recognition of a man who dedicated his life to boldly challenging dictatorship, corruption, and social injustice in Nigeria and across the African continent.
According to him, the honour has generated widespread excitement, noting that its emotional and historical weight is especially profound for those who lived through the era of military rule that heavily influenced Fela’s music and activism.
“Everyone is happy and deeply excited,” Femi said. “I’m currently in Los Angeles, and it’s difficult to truly explain what my father did in the 1970s unless you lived through that period. He stood up to dictatorship in Nigeria at a time when people were genuinely terrified of the military.”
He went on to recount the repeated acts of state violence Fela endured and the devastating impact they had on his family.
“There were constant raids, over and over again. Kalakuta was burned down. My grandmother was thrown from a window, and she later died from the injuries,” he recalled.
Femi added that the experience was deeply traumatic for Fela’s children, who lived in constant fear.
“It’s hard for people today to understand how terrifying it was for us as children. We never knew when he would be arrested or when he would come back. It was a cycle of arrest after arrest.”
He emphasized that Fela’s music cannot be separated from Nigeria’s political evolution, explaining how his father gradually transformed his sound into a weapon of resistance.
“You need to understand how his music evolved over time,” he said. “From the 1960s, with songs like Lady and Shakara, to when he became openly political. He confronted one regime after another, right up to the burning of his home. Fela lived a full, consequential life.”
When asked how Fela might have responded to Nigeria’s current political climate, Femi firmly dismissed attempts to associate himself or the Kuti family with politicians his father openly opposed.
“When people say I supported Buhari, that lie really irritates me,” he said.
“Or when they claim I campaigned for Tinubu, it hurts me deeply. As Fela’s son, it is impossible for us to align with any government that is not for the people—especially those governments or individuals who beat him, arrested him, or imprisoned him.”
Femi also noted that the Grammy recognition reflects decades of dedication by the Kuti family and the global Afrobeat community to keep Fela’s legacy alive.
“My elder sister, my brother Seun, my son Made, and the entire family—we have all played our part in speaking about him,” he said.
“Musicians continue to play his music. Scholars study his work. Afrobeat artists today draw inspiration from him, and many sample his songs.”
He added that the Grammy honour is not just a family achievement but a global one.
“To crown it all with one of the world’s biggest awards—the Grammys—what more could anyone ask for? But this recognition is not for the family alone. Fela was a father to many. That’s why people say ‘our father.’ He gave a voice to the voiceless in the 1970s and 1980s.”
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