Music
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated Afrobeats legend, the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti on the conferment of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on him in the United States of America on Sunday.
In a personally signed statement, President Tinubu said that “the world of music has honoured a giant: Fela Anikulapo Kuti.”
The President said that Fela was more than a musician, adding that he was a fearless voice of the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice and reshaped global sound.
“His courage, creativity, and conviction defined a generation and continue to inspire the world. In Yoruba mythology, he has transcended to a higher plane as an Orisa. He is now eternal.
“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.
“He defined Afrobeat, and you can hear and see his influence in generations of Nigerian musicians and in Afrobeats and beyond. Fela lives,” Tinubu said.