“Even in 10 lifetimes, you can’t be Fela,” Ojudu blasts Wizkid

Former senator Babafemi Ojudu has criticised ongoing comparisons between contemporary Nigerian musicians and the late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, describing such parallels as misguided and historically inaccurate.

Ojudu’s comments come amid the public feud involving Wizkid and Seun Kuti, Fela’s son, which has reignited debates over artistic greatness and legacy in Nigerian music.

Writing on his Facebook page, Ojudu described Fela as more than a musician, portraying him as a movement, a revolution, and a moral conscience who fearlessly confronted military dictatorships and systemic oppression in Nigeria.

According to him, Fela’s legacy cannot be measured solely by musical output, noting that the Afrobeat icon endured more than 200 arrests, imprisonment, torture, and exile in the course of his activism against injustice, corruption, and state violence.

Ojudu stressed that Fela’s music gave birth to Afrobeat, a genre now studied in universities across the world, sampled by global superstars, and performed on some of the biggest international stages.

“Is it true that a Nigerian youngster said he is greater than Fela? I sincerely hope he was misquoted,” Ojudu wrote. “Even if he were to live ten lifetimes, his art and his life could not measure up to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.”

He further highlighted Fela’s role as a fearless dissenter, recalling how the musician stood alone against military rule, using music as a weapon against oppression despite repeated arrests and violent repression.

Ojudu also referenced the destruction of Fela’s Kalakuta Republic, the killing of his mother by state forces, and the repeated assaults he suffered at the hands of security agencies, stressing that none of these experiences broke his resolve.

“For any young person—musician or not—to compare himself to Fela, he must first walk the corridors of Nigerian jailhouses, endure exile, and still return with his creative spirit intact,” he added.

The former lawmaker also praised Fela’s musical brilliance, describing him as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and cultural theorist who fused jazz, highlife, funk, Yoruba rhythms, and political poetry into a timeless and original sound.