Grammy-nominated Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti has described the posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award conferred on his father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as global recognition of a life spent fearlessly confronting dictatorship, corruption and injustice in Nigeria and across Africa.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Friday, Femi said the honour carries deep emotional and historical significance, particularly for those who lived through the era of military rule that shaped Fela’s music and activism.
“Everybody is very happy. We’re excited,” Femi said. “I’m in Los Angeles right now, and it’s very hard to really explain — unless you were alive in the 1970s — what my father did, fighting dictatorship in Nigeria at that time. People were very frightened of the military.”
He recalled the repeated state violence Fela endured and the toll it took on his family.
“It was raid after raid. The burning of Kalakuta. His mother being thrown out of the window — she later died from the injuries she sustained,” he said. “It is so hard to explain to people today how frightening it was for his children at that time. We never knew when he would be arrested, or when he would be released. It was arrest after arrest.”
Femi said Fela’s music cannot be separated from Nigeria’s political history, noting how his father’s sound evolved into a tool of resistance.
“You have to understand how he developed his music over the years,” he said. “From the 1960s — I remember his first hit — then Lady, Shakara. Then he went political. He confronted regime after regime, and then the burning of the house. So yes, Fela had a life.”
Responding to questions about how Fela might have reacted to Nigeria’s present-day political reality, Femi rejected attempts to associate himself or his family with political figures his father opposed.
“When people say that somebody like me supported Buhari, that lie irritates me,” he said. “Or when people say I campaigned for Tinubu — those things hurt me as a person. As Fela’s son, it is impossible for us to be part of any government that is not for the people, especially governments he opposed — people who beat him, arrested him or jailed him.”
Femi said the Grammy recognition reflects decades of effort by the Kuti family and the global Afrobeat community to preserve Fela’s legacy.
“My elder sister, my brother Seun, my son Made, the rest of the family — we have all done our little bit to keep talking about him,” he said. “You have musicians playing his music. You have people studying his music. You have Afrobeat artists today inspired by him. People are sampling his music.”
He added, “To top it with one of the biggest awards in the world — the Grammys — what more can we want? But it’s not for the family alone. Fela was a father to many people. That’s why we say ‘our father’. He was a voice for the voiceless in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s stalled development, Femi said many of the issues his father protested decades ago remain unresolved.
“Africa — Nigeria — should be the envy of the world,” he said. “Our leaders travel abroad, they see how electricity works, how railways work. Their children attend the best universities, but they cannot bring the same template home.”
“It’s shameful that we are still struggling to build roads,” he added. “One kilometre can take years. What is so hard about making Nigeria great?”
Addressing the debate comparing Fela’s legacy with contemporary Afrobeats stars, Femi dismissed the argument as unnecessary.
“Fela is our father,” he said. “He should be placed in a sector of his own. We idolise him and respect him. Wizkid is like a son to me, Seun is my brother. That comparison should never have arisen.”
He urged Nigerians, especially young people, to refocus on nation-building rather than divisive debates.
“We should be happy that Nigeria is being recognised at the Grammys,” he said. “It’s good for Africa, good for the country. But tribalism, terrorism — those are the issues we should be focused on.”
“If young people don’t take the baton and demand good governance, we are going to be in serious trouble,” Femi warned. “Fela spoke, he’s gone. It’s 29 years now, and we’re still talking about the same problems.”
He concluded with a sobering reflection on his own career.
“I’ve been in music for over 40 years, and 90 per cent of my songs are political,” he said. “How long will we keep talking about corruption, kidnapping and poverty? When will Nigeria finally come together to build a nation?”
Boluwatife Enome
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