“Fela Fought The Rich, Not The Nigerian Government” – Seun Kuti Clarifies

Nigerian singer Seun Kuti has clarified that his late father, the Afrobeats legend Fela Kuti, did not specifically target the Nigerian government in his activism.

Fela was known for using his music to criticize societal issues and bad governance.

In a recent episode of the ‘Zero Conditions’ podcast, Seun explained that his father fought against the wealthy elite rather than the government itself.

He suggested that this is why the rich collaborated with the government to conspire against Fela.

Seun further claimed that while the government physically assaulted his father, the wealthy spread lies about him.

In his words;

“People have a lot of misconceptions about my family and what we’ve done or what we didn’t.”

“For example, I even believed for a long time that my dad bought a Benz, cut the roof off and used it to carry vegetables.”

“I believed it because I grew up hearing it everywhere. Until one day, somebody said it in front of my dad and he was shocked.”

“Then we don’t understand the larger narrative because to us in the new generation, the story sounds like, what a gangster thing to do, right?”

“But back then when colonisation just ended, doing such in the 1970s when people were suffering, he couldn’t have done that then.”

“But there were rumours that he did it because they wanted people to think that he was crazy and frivolous.”

“People say Fela fought the government, Fela did not fight the government of Nigeria, Fela fought the rich folks of Nigeria.”

“Go and listen to his songs such as ‘Lady’, ‘Swegbe and Akpako’, ‘Ikoyi Blindness’, ‘Ikoyi versus Mushin’. A plethora of songs just attacking the rich people of Nigeria”

“That was why the rich people ganged up with the government against him. As the government was physically assaulting him, the rich folks who owned the media were backing them up with lies and propaganda about him to make whatever punishment that they were giving to him seen just.”