A former federal lawmaker, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has delivered a stinging and reflective response to comments attributed to Nigerian music star Wizkid, in which the singer was reported to have suggested he is greater than the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
In a widely shared intervention, Ojudu said he sincerely hoped the artist was misquoted, insisting that no contemporary musician, regardless of commercial success or global reach, could be compared to Fela in substance, sacrifice, or historical significance.
“Even if he were to live ten lifetimes, his art and his life could not measure up to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti,” Ojudu said, framing the issue not as a debate about talent or popularity, but about legacy, courage, and consequence.
According to the former senator, Fela was far more than a musician. “He was a movement, a conscience, a revolution in human form,” he said, noting that Afrobeat, the genre Fela created, is now studied in universities worldwide, sampled by global superstars, and performed on the world’s biggest stages.
Ojudu recalled that Fela’s influence extended far beyond sound. He described the late icon as a fearless activist who confronted military dictatorships head-on, using music as a weapon against corruption, oppression, colonial mentality, and state violence. For that defiance, Fela endured repeated arrests, imprisonment, torture, exile, and relentless harassment by security forces.
“His mother was killed by the state. His home, the Kalakuta Republic, was burned to the ground. His property was seized. Yet after every assault, Fela returned with sharper lyrics, deeper rhythms, and more defiant truth,” Ojudu stated.
He argued that anyone seeking comparison with Fela must first endure the price Fela paid. “He must walk the corridors of Nigerian jailhouses, face police cells and military tribunals, lose everything, go into exile, and still return with his creative spirit intact,” he said.
Ojudu further highlighted Fela’s depth as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, philosopher, and cultural theorist, whose lengthy, complex compositions fused jazz, highlife, funk, Yoruba rhythms, and political poetry into a timeless body of work.
Globally, he noted, Fela is recognised as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, a cultural icon whose life has inspired Broadway productions, books, documentaries, and sustained academic study, and a lasting symbol of African resistance and intellectual freedom.
“Fela did not chase acceptance,” Ojudu concluded. “The world came to him.”
He dismissed the reported claim as unworthy of serious engagement, adding that Fela’s legacy does not need defending against momentary bravado. “Fela did not run. Fela stood. Fela fought. And Fela remains immortal.”
Anikulapo, the man who carried death in his pouch, he said, remains beyond comparison.
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