NET lists 18 things that have happened since the death of Fela
- His funeral was reportedly attended by over 1 million people who thronged his house and the streets of Lagos in mourning.
- Two years after his death, the military finally left power in 1999. This followed the demise of the former dictator, Sanni Abacha who died in 1998. Fela fought against the military all his life.
- Fela’s fellow Abeokuta man and adversary, Olusegun Obasanjo returned to power after the departure of the military. Fela and OBJ had a running enmity during the first tenure of the retired general between 1976 and 1979. Obasanjo ordered the infamous burning down of Fela’s Kalakuta republic in 1977.
- Like Obasanjo, another former military leader who jailed Fela, Muhammadu Buhari has also returned to government as a democratically elected President. Buhari threw Fela in jail in 1984 on thump up charges of currency smuggling which was condemned by Amnesty International and other global bodies.
- Fela’s birthday in October is now celebrated with a week-long event called Felabration. The event has seen several international music acts perform at the African Shrine venue.
- Asides Felabration which is held every October, another musical concert has been created to honor Fela. The Afrobeat Party is held on August 1 & 2 to celebrate Fela’s death. The 2-day event holds at the Shrine.
- His first son, Femi Kuti has continued to soar in the world of music and has been nominated 4 times in the World Music category of the Grammys.
- His Egypt 80 band is now being led by his young son, Seun Kuti who has traversed the globe with the music originally created by his late father.
- His house has been turned into a museum by the Lagos state Government. This was done in 2012 by former governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola.
- A musical play was created in his honour. Titled Fela! On the Broadway, the play has been performed in different cities of the world. The producers include Jay Z and Will Smith.
- In July 2015, Fela was celebrated by the US congress through a certificate of honor signed by Sheila Jackson Lee who represents Texas constituency. The award was presented to Seun Kuti who was in Houston on tour at the time.
- A new movie, Beasts of No Nation is set for premiere in America. The movie influenced by Fela’s 1989 anti-apartheid song of the same title stars Idris Elba and several top actors.
- In 2013, American rapper, J. Cole sampled Fela’s beat on the track ‘Let Nas Down‘ which was released on his 2nd album as a tribute to Nas.
- Nas also sampled Fela’s ‘Teacher‘ on the track ‘Warrior Song’ which featured Alicia Keys. The track was off Nas’s 2002 6th studio album, God’s Son. It was produced by Alicia Keys.
- In May 2015, Fela’s first grandchild and only daughter of Yeni got married to her Australian Beau in a ceremony held at the Shrine.
- In December 2014, Uwa Erhabor who used to work with Fela released a book on the late music icon titled ‘Kalakuta Diaries’. Uwa also called for the prosecution of former President, Olusegun Obasanjo at the International Criminal Court for his brutality of Fela and other crimes against humanity.
- American website ‘Not in Hall of Fame‘ has listed Fela as one of the most deserving recipient for the American Rock and Roll Hall of fame from Africa. The medium expresses disappointment that Fela hasn’t been honored.
- Last year, Fela’s children shunned the national award Fela was nominated for, by the Federal government. Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan had listed Fela among the 100 Nigerians deserving of honour as the country had its centenary celebration. Fela wouldn’t have been more proud!
