Grammy-nominated Afrobeat star Femi Kuti has described the posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed on his father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as a global recognition of a life spent challenging dictatorship, corruption, and injustice in Nigeria and across Africa.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News of Friday, Femi said the award carries deep historical and emotional significance, especially for those who lived through Nigeria’s era of military rule.
“Everybody is very happy. We’re excited. It’s very hard to explain — unless you were alive in the 1970s — what my father did, fighting dictatorship,” he said.
Femi recalled the repeated state violence his father endured, including raids on Kalakuta Republic and the fatal injuries his grandmother sustained when thrown from a window.
“It was arrest after arrest. We never knew when he would be released,” he said.
He noted that Fela’s music evolved into a tool of political resistance. “From the 1960s with hits like Lady and Shakara, he went political, confronting regime after regime,” Femi said, emphasising that his father’s legacy cannot be separated from Nigeria’s political history.
Responding to political speculation, Femi dismissed claims linking him or his family to figures his father opposed.
“When people say I supported Buhari, or campaigned for Tinubu those things hurt me,” he said, insisting that the Kuti family cannot align with governments that oppress the people.
Femi said the Grammy recognition reflected decades of effort by the Kuti family and the global Afrobeat community to preserve Fela’s legacy.
“My sister, my brother Seun, my son Made, we have all done our part.
”Musicians are playing his music, people are studying it, Afrobeat artists are inspired by him,” he said.
He added that the award is not just for the family: “Fela was a father to many. He was a voice for the voiceless in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s stalled development, Femi lamented that many of the issues his father protested decades ago remain unresolved.
“Africa, Nigeria should be the envy of the world. Roads, electricity, railways, one kilometre can take years. What is so hard about making Nigeria great?” he asked.
On debates comparing Fela to contemporary Afrobeats stars, Femi urged Nigerians to avoid divisive arguments. “Fela is our father.
”Wizkid is like a son to me, Seun is my brother. That comparison should never have arisen,” he said, urging young people to focus on nation-building instead.
Femi warned that without youth-led demands for good governance, Nigeria risks continued political and social decay.
“Fela spoke, he’s gone. It’s 29 years now, and we’re still talking about the same problems,” he said.
Femi said, “I’ve been in music for over 40 years, and 90 per cent of my songs are political.
”How long will we keep talking about corruption, kidnapping, and poverty? When will Nigeria finally come together to build a nation?”
