Nigeria: Tinubu Hails Fela's Grammy Honour, Calls Him 'Fearless Voice of the People'

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Fela Kuti
1 February 2026
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

President Bola Tinubu has celebrated Fela Anikulapo Kuti as an eternal icon after the legendary Nigerian musician received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, marking him as the first African recipient.

The President in a statement he personally signed with the title: "Fela lives," described Fela as "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."

The president emphasized Fela's lasting legacy: "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."

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Tinubu highlighted the award's significance, noting that Fela "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," the statement added, closing with a powerful declaration: "Fela lives."

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1938-1997), often called the "King of Afrobeat," pioneered the genre by fusing jazz, highlife, funk, and traditional Yoruba music with sharp political lyrics protesting corruption, colonialism, and military rule in Nigeria.

He faced brutal repression, including a 1977 raid on his Kalakuta Republic compound by soldiers, yet his influence endures in artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and global acts.

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, presented annually by the Recording Academy, recognizes contributors with "profound and lasting impact" on music; past honorees include icons like Aretha Franklin and Dolly Parton.

Fela's posthumous win underscores Africa's rising prominence in global music scenes.

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