Tinubu speaks on Fela as global icon after Grammy Lifetime Honour
By Elegbede Abiodun
He describes Fela as a towering figure whose influence cuts across music, culture, and generations, …“a giant.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has paid glowing tribute to legendary Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, following his posthumous recognition with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Recording Academy, also known as the Grammy Awards.
In a tribute he personally issued to celebrate Fela’s award on Sunday, President Tinubu described the late musician as a towering figure whose influence transcended music, culture, and generations, saying the world had honoured “a giant.”
The President said Fela was more than a musician, portraying him as 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,” Tinubu said, adding that in Yoruba mythology, Fela had transcended to a higher spiritual plane and become eternal.
President Tinubu noted that the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award marked a historic milestone, as Fela became the first African to receive the honour, albeit posthumously.
According to him, the recognition affirms Fela’s enduring global influence and the foundational role he played in shaping the evolution and global impact of African music.
The President said the late icon defined Afrobeat as a genre and that his influence remains evident across generations of Nigerian musicians, as well as in contemporary Afrobeats and global music beyond Africa.
“Fela lives,” Tinubu declared, underscoring that the musician’s ideals, sound, and cultural impact remain alive decades after his passing.
The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award is conferred on performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording, placing Fela among an elite group of global music legends.
