Nigeria: Fela Resurrects At 70

Imagine if Fela had been alive, he would have been 70. Now this is a cause to celebrate because Fela is not just anybody; he was Nigeria's version of a human right activist and political maverick, who used his music as a political tool against successive anti-people governments. It would be recalled that his hit album Zombie was a mocking attack on Nigerian soldiers, using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. His songs infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against his Kalakuta Republic, during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. Fela was severely beaten, and his aged mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. Kalakuta Republic was razed, and Fela's studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed. Fela claimed that he would have been killed if it were not for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten. His response to the attack was to deliver his mother's coffin to the main army barrack in Lagos and write two songs, Coffin for Head of State and Unknown Soldier, referencing the official inquiry that claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier. He later formed his own political party, which he called Movement of the People. In 1979 he put himself forward for President in Nigeria's first presidential elections for more than a decade but his candidature was refused. Until his death, Fela was one Nigerian who made history by openly attacking the government for their injustice. It is for this reason and also for his unique afrobeat kind of music, that the enigma called Fela is being celebrated. The memorial event is tagged Baba @ 70, Felabration 2008 had since commenced on October 14 at the New African Shrine and is due to peak on October 19. The event is an afrobeat extravaganza, a posthumous celebration of Fela's birthday, who would have been 70 years old had he lived till now. Although many people who know Fela's recording from the 1980's and beyond, this show is about Fela at his funkiest, the 1970's. Last Tuesday, there was an exclusive exhibition showing 70, keeping with the theme, original Fela Kuti's vinyl, as well as never-before-seen photographs and some Fela-inspired arts.