TINUBU HAILS FELA’S POSTHUMOUS GRAMMY HONOUR, DESCRIBES HIM AS FEARLESS VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
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By: Sefiu Ajape
President Bola Tinubu has paid tribute to Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, describing him as a fearless voice of the people and a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice and reshaped the global soundscape.
The President’s tribute came on Sunday as Fela was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy of America, becoming the first African to receive the honour.
“Fela was more than a musician. He was a fearless voice of the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice and reshaped global sound,” the President said in a statement he personally signed on Sunday.
Tinubu said Fela’s courage, creativity and conviction were defining qualities that shaped a generation and continue to inspire people across the world.
He noted that the Grammy recognition affirms Fela’s enduring global influence and his foundational role in the evolution of Africa’s impact on modern music.
“Fela Kuti has blazed the trail with the Recording Academy of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African to receive this honour, though posthumously.
“The award is an affirmation of his enduring global influence and the foundational role he has played in the evolution and impact of Africa on modern music,” the President stated.
The President further invoked Yoruba cultural and spiritual concepts to underscore Fela’s lasting legacy.
“In Yoruba mythology, he has transcended to a higher plane as an Orisa. He is now eternal,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu also emphasised Fela’s pioneering role in defining and popularising Afrobeat, a genre that has become a defining feature of contemporary African music worldwide.
“He defined Afrobeat, and you can hear and see his influence in generations of Nigerian musicians and in Afrobeats and beyond.
“Fela lives,” the President said.
On Sunday, February 1, Fela became the first African musician to receive the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was posthumously honoured at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
The Afrobeat icon, who died in 1997, revolutionised African music through his creation of Afrobeat, a fusion of traditional Yoruba rhythms, jazz, funk and highlife music.
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the Recording Academy’s most prestigious honours, is presented to artists whose legacies have fundamentally shaped the music industry and culture at large.
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