Fela-Anikulapo Kuti: President Buhari brings life to Abami Eda's lyrics again

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti exemplifies the phrase that 'Musicians are prophets', as his lyrics in 'Beast of No Nation' are manifested yet again

With Fela, the extended opening sequence of instrumentals on his songs creates the impulse to drive you insane, the notes from the saxophone mirrors a man getting warmed up, and when his vocals begin, you get him burning from within, singing from his soul.

In 1989, Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti released the classic record 'Beast Of No Nation', an uplifting, critical and scathing song about his experience behind bars and how the Nigerian Government was running the country in a manner similar to a craze world.

After serving a two year jail term for charges relating to foreign currency violation, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti decided to sing about the things he saw in prison, the life outside prison and his perception of the attitude of Nigerian leaders.

 

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Fela called his life in prison the 'Inside World', while the life outside was the 'Outside or Craze World'.

Ironically, the lyrics to 'Beast Of No Nation' was inspired by the methods of the Nigerian government led by Buhari/Idiagbon in 1983, when the administration championed a campaign dubbed 'War Against Indiscipline'.

 

The manner in which they carried out their actions, Fela felt could only occur in a craze world and whenever they needed excuses to justify their actions, they resorted to using words publicly like, 'my people are useless, My people are senseless, my people are indisciplined. For Fela, only in a craze world can such remarks be made.

The politically charged song calls for change, touting a need for sanity to prevail in government's attitude towards it people.

Almost 29 years later, and Fela's words ring true yet again.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari said a lot of Nigerian youths have not been to school and they want everything free.

“About the economy, we have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million. This is a very conservative one,” Buhari said.

 

He added, “More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, health-care, education free.”

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This is not the first time the President has expressed negative comments about the country he leads, especially when he is on foreign soil, and many Nigerian youths have reacted angrily following his recent comments.

With the continuous feats achieved by young Nigerians in music, sports and across various feats both at home and in the diaspora, it is weird that Nigerian leaders continue to berate the young ones when they have failed with their own part.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti through his music produced socially conscious lyrics highlighting important social issues that focused on elevating consciousness among the masses, and many years after his death, Fela is proven right yet again. It's another sad case of dejavu. Fela's words are still relevant today.