By Ihechi Enyinnaya
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed the late Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, following his posthumous receipt of the Recording Academy of America’s Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, describing the honour as global recognition of an enduring cultural force.
In a State House statement on Sunday, the President said the world of music had honoured a “giant,” noting that Fela was far more than a musician. According to Tinubu, the late artiste was a fearless voice of the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary whose music confronted injustice while reshaping global sound.
The President said Fela’s courage, creativity, and conviction defined a generation and continue to inspire audiences across the world. Drawing from Yoruba mythology, Tinubu noted that Fela has “transcended to a higher plane,” adding that his legacy has rendered him eternal.
With the award, Fela Kuti becomes the first African to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, albeit posthumously. Tinubu described the recognition as an affirmation of Fela’s enduring global influence and the foundational role he played in projecting Africa’s impact on modern music.
The President further acknowledged Fela’s role in defining Afrobeat, a genre whose influence can be heard in successive generations of Nigerian musicians and across contemporary Afrobeats and global music scenes.
“Fela lives,” Tinubu declared, underscoring the continued relevance of the artiste’s message, music, and activism decades after his passing.