“With my music I create change, I am using my music as a weapon”- Fela Kuti
As the world celebrates Fela Kuti’s 20 years memorial anniversary, recalling his indelible contributions to world music, It is sad that his shoes are yet to be filled.
According to Remi Adekoya:”Fela’s lyrics were scathing denunciations of Nigeria’s socio-economic reality. He focused on corruption, abuse of power, mental emancipation from colonialism and the need for Nigerians to stand up for their rights”.
His weapon was music, speaking truth to power via his genre Afrobeat. Fela’s songs were sarcastic, dark, and straight from the heart.
In 1977, following the government’s attack on Fela’s home, Kalakuta Republic, Fela released Sorrows, Tears and Blood.
“Everybody run, run, run/everybody scatter, scatter/Some people lost some bread/Some people just die … Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood/them regular trademark” . These words affirms army’s reign of tyranny and terror. Fela’s portrays this in his music.
At this critical phase of our nationhood when the prevailing chant on the streets are hunger and anger amid profound dissatisfaction over the incompetence of the Buhari led administration, there is no better time for Nigerian musicians to speak truth to power than this moment.
Veteran reggae musician, Ras Kimono condemns contemporary Nigerian artistes over embracing profanity and not speaking against social ills via their music.
According to him: “During our time, everybody, old woman, old man, youths, listen to our music because we were not singing profanity; we were singing the ills of the society, talking about the restructure and the preferred nation. But the kids of now, they sing about bum bum and money, thing and thing which has no proper education and alleviation for the youth dem”.
Many of these new generation artistes imitate Fela’s sounds, dress sense and stage presence, but none of them is yet to fill the vacuum he left as an activist who uses music as a tool to better the society.
Segun Akinlolu a.k.a Beautiful Nubia also laments over the quality of music released these days. The Owuro Lojo sensation says:” We should try to push out music the people need, on honesty, hard work, good neighborliness’, sincerity, love and protecting one another all for the society to change. Every good music should have a message to deliver and for people to appreciate it and also dance to it. The musician has to impact on the society through what they are singing, which I believe should continue to be that way”.
Nigerian rapper, Eedris AbdulKareem who continues to be one of the top disciples of Fela released Nigeria Jaga Jaga in 2004, since then he is yet to release another socially conscious song with that level of appeal.
When D’banj initially started dressing like Fela, many thought he was going to be the real deal, until he dumped his Fela styled body hugging attires for bespoke suits, doing only music with mass appeal.
Sound Sultan started out consciously singing about social ills. His songs like Jangbajantis, Bush Meat and Craze World passes strong messages and speaks truth to power. The rhythm changed when the Naija Ninja boss later ditched such songs for more commercial songs.
Benson Idonije, who was Fela’s manager, happens to be Burna Boy’s grandfather. Though Burna Boy has been influenced by Fela’s sound, he has not been able to tread the path of Fela’s activism.As a civil rights activist, who continuously opposed the government, Fela was imprisoned several times, but once he was freed, he continued his message of condemnation against the Nigerian government.
At a period where Nigerians expected 2face to act like Fela and put his weight behind the anti-government protest, the pop -star chickened out when he ought to have risen to the occasion, being the voice of the people.
Speaking about the oppression of Nigerians under the military regime, Fela said: “My people are scared of the air around them; they always have an excuse not to fight for freedom.”
20 years after his death, his legacies live on, but Nigeria yearns for another Fela