Tinubu hails Fela’s Lifetime Achievement Award by Grammy: ‘He’s an Orisa, a deity’

The world of music has honoured a giant: Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Fela was more than a musician. He was 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. In Yoruba mythology, he has transcended to a higher plane as an Orisa. He is now eternal.

Fela Kuti has blazed the trail with the Recording Academy of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African to receive this honour, though posthumously. The award is an affirmation of his enduring global influence and the foundational role he has played in the evolution and impact of Africa on modern music.

He defined Afrobeat, and you can hear and see his influence in generations of Nigerian musicians and in Afrobeats and beyond.

Fela lives.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria