Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent tribute to Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, describing it as hypocritical and detached from the late musician’s lifelong resistance to political power.
Reacting to President Tinubu’s statement celebrating Fela’s posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Sowore argued that Fela, if alive today, would have been a fierce critic of the current administration and would likely have faced state repression.
“Don’t mind hypocritical Tinubu on Fela Kuti,” Sowore said.
According to him, Fela’s history of confronting authority would have inevitably placed him in direct conflict with today’s political establishment.
“If Fela Anikulapo-Kuti were still alive, he would almost certainly have clashed with today’s political power. After publicly calling Tinubu a criminal, he would likely have been arrested, with the DSS charging him with cybercrime offences,” Sowore said.
Sowore further claimed that Fela’s outspoken opposition to policies affecting the poor would not have been tolerated.
“His outspoken condemnation of the demolition of poor people’s homes would have drawn further retaliation, possibly leading the Nigeria Police Force to tear-gas his shrine, just as they once did in response to his protests,” he said.
He also alleged that political intimidation would have extended beyond state institutions.
“Meanwhile, Lagos thugs would have been unleashed to disrupt and attack his shows, punishing him for what would be labelled disrespect toward Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Sowore stated.
Recalling past state actions against the Afrobeat pioneer, Sowore added pointedly, “Did I forget that Tinubu once seized Fela’s passport?”
Sowore’s comments underscore a broader debate about the legacy of Fela Kuti — a musician renowned not only for defining Afrobeat but also for his relentless criticism of military and civilian governments, police brutality, corruption and social injustice.
Fela was repeatedly arrested, harassed and assaulted by security forces during his lifetime, and his Kalakuta Republic was famously raided by soldiers in 1977.
President Tinubu, in a State House statement, had described Fela as “a fearless voice of the people” and “a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice,” following the Recording Academy of America’s decision to honour him with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
