Fela Ubiquitous As He Marks 84th Posthumous Birthday

By Balarabe Oshiafi

The quintessence of a musical artiste, Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti has literally come alive today as he ‘marks’ his 84th birthday.

The fiery Afrobeat exponent was born on October 15, 1938 and had to leave on this same day in 1997 lest he continued to slug it out with the “kindred of bad leaders Nigeria has been unfortunate to have”, Ibrahim Abu, a fan said.

ExpressDay Newspaper has witnessed a buoyant display of the legendary Musician’s pictures, lyrics and video on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube by his fans all over the world.

“Fela himself will preside over his 84th birthday today at the African Shrine. You can’t do the kind of exploits Fela did and not be present forever”, Wale Seriki, a staunch follower of the late artiste said.

“Abami Eda, happy posthumous birthday”, he added.

ExpressDay tried to reach Femi Anikulakpo-Kuti, the first son of Fela for comments, but he was not available.

Abami Eda, the sobriquet of this great musician and political activist is a coinage in Yoruba language which means ‘a strange creature’ and as this Newspaper found out, it was given to Fela as a result of weird but uniquely creative ways of carrying out his showmanship and idiosyncratic thought particularly on tasking successive governments in Nigeria on doing things aright. In this regard, he fell out with the authorities on several occasions.

One of his classics, “Zombie”, a veiled reference to the straight jacketed modus operandi of the Military earned him serious confrontation and imprisonment. It was said that soldiers invaded his Mushin-Lagos residence, threw down his mother, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti from an upstairs building window – a situation which led to the woman’s eventual death.

Many believe that the wave Fela’s birthday is making today, years after he transited to the great beyond is due to the prophetic inclination of his lyrics and bias for African renaissance.

“Fela was great, and his songs make meaning even today. He lives on and it sad to note that many things Fela sang about are still rearing their heads in Nigeria”, Justin Nwokedi, a socialite and staunch fan of the Artiste said.

Nwokedi, who runs a highbrow social entertainment hangout, Avis Lounge in Abuja, disclosed that his entertainment outfit will dedicate today to the celebration of the great Nigerian musician and political activist.

“Today, we are marking Fela’s birthday in Avis Lounge”, he said

In his own remarks, MC Onebellecfr, a multi-talented entertainer said a whole generation of musicians drew inspiration from the works and style of Fela Anikulakpo-Kuti as the founder of what is today known as Afro Beat.

“Look at Burna Boy who is making waves today and doing us proud outside our shores. He understudied Fela and drew inspiration from his works. Fela lives us through his exponential exploits”, Onebellecfr enthused.

Fela’s empire, ‘Kalakuta Republic’, has continued to expand. His children, Femi, Dede, (a protege), Seun and Made (a grandson) have continued to further the philosophy of Abami Eda.

I once encountered Maxwell Dwight, an American biographer who came to Nigeria to collect materials preparatory to doing a literary work on Fela.

On this occasion of Fela’s 84th posthumous birthday, I believe that his music and general impact have reached a peak of feverish infinity!
Happy birthday Abami Eda!