In the wake of global recognition for Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, fresh demands are mounting for the Nigerian government to formally apologise and make amends for the brutal treatment the musician and his family endured under past military rule.
The call — articulated this week by Bayo Olupohunda in a widely shared opinion piece — highlights the stark contrast between Fela’s posthumous acclaim and the persecution he faced during his lifetime. Olupohunda argues that Nigeria’s state institutions should officially acknowledge wrongdoing, apologise to the Kuti family and consider compensation for the destruction of the legendary artist’s home and cultural hub, the Kalakuta Republic.
The debate comes on the heels of Fela’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammys, making him the first African artist to receive this prestigious recognition for lifetime contribution to music and culture. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described Fela as a “fearless voice of the people” whose work confronted injustice and reshaped global music.
Yet for many Nigerians, especially within artistic, human-rights and cultural circles, global applause has reignited controversies over how Fela was treated at home.
“The global recognition of the iconic Fela contrasted with the treatment he faced while alive,” Olupohunda wrote, noting that successive Nigerian regimes treated Fela “like an enemy of the state,” subjecting him to harassment, beatings, arrests and repression.
Fela’s commune — known as the Kalakuta Republic — was more than a home. It was a cultural centre, recording space, community hub and symbol of resistance. In 1977, soldiers launched a devastating raid following the release of Fela’s scathing protest song Zombie, destroying the compound and inflicting injuries that would later lead to the death of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
Despite the widely documented brutality, official accounts at the time blamed “unknown soldiers,” and no government has formally acknowledged responsibility or apologised for the attack to this day. Critics see this as emblematic of the broader failure to confront past state abuses.
Olupohunda argues that an official apology would be a powerful symbolic step toward reconciling Nigeria’s treatment of one of its most influential cultural figures with the immense global legacy he now enjoys.
“Now decades after the attack on his home that resulted in the death of his mother and Fela’s eventual demise, the Nigerian state must officially apologise to the Kuti family,” the essay asserts, urging reparative action for cultural destruction that also erased historical artefacts and personal possessions.
Fela’s children — including musicians Femi and Seun Kuti — have long maintained that the traumas of their father’s struggles are inseparable from Nigeria’s political history. The Grammy recognition reinvigorated conversations about how the state should honour not just his music, but also his sacrifice.
As Nigeria celebrates Afrobeat’s global influence, voices like Olupohunda’s remind citizens and leaders alike that reckoning with past injustices may be necessary to fully honour the spirit and legacy of Fela Kuti.
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