Fela Anikulapo Kuti

By Amarachi Jim-Nwoko

LAGOS (PRECISE POST) – Before Afrobeat sold out arenas and “Afrobeats” topped global charts, Benson Idonije was already writing the soundtrack of Nigeria’s music story.

On Sunday in Lagos, family, broadcasters, and music greats gathered for a pre-90th birthday celebration that felt less like a party and more like a living archive. For nearly seven decades, Idonije has moved quietly yet decisively through Nigeria’s cultural history from jazz and highlife airwaves to the birth of Afrobeat with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, and now to his grandson Burna Boy’s Grammy-winning run.

Calm and smiling in a flowing brown agbada, walking stick in hand, the celebrant sat beside his wife as tributes mixed elegance with old-school nostalgia. The night honored a life spent on music, journalism, and preservation.

Born June 13, 1936, in Otuo, Owan East, Edo State, Idonije was writing about jazz by 1953. He joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 1957 and later helped shape Radio Nigeria to now Metro FM redefining music programming for a new nation.

His pivotal turn came in 1963 at the NBC studios, where he met a young Fela Ransome-Kuti. Seeing rare talent, Idonije became the first manager of Fela’s Koola Lobitos, steering the experiments that would harden into Afrobeat. He later captured that front-row history in Dis Fela Sef: The Legend(s) Untold, still one of the most authoritative insider accounts of Fela’s rise.

That thread runs straight to today. Idonije is father to talent manager Bose Ogulu and maternal grandfather to Burna Boy, making him a direct line from Afrobeat’s foundation to Afrobeats’ worldwide dominance.

From NBC booths to global stages, Pa Benson Idonije’s work built the bridge.

LAGOS – Renowned writer and historian, Majemite Jaboro, has released “The Ikoyi Prison Narratives”, a book offering rare insight into the life, spirituality and political philosophy of Afrobeats legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

The book documents conversations between Jaboro and Fela during their confinement at Ikoyi Prison, Lagos, between January and April 1993, while they awaited trial over a murder case.

Speaking with newsmen on Monday in Lagos, Jaboro said the work was inspired by memory, history and a sense of duty to preserve a critical chapter of Nigeria’s political and cultural evolution.

“Ikoyi Prison symbolises the state’s tradition of silencing dissent. Fela’s incarceration represented a clash between truth and power,” Jaboro said.

He explained that the book blends witness accounts, oral history, political context and cultural analysis, presenting what he described as “an archive in motion”.

“I was not interested in mythologising Fela. I wanted to show him as a human being caught inside the machinery of the state,” he added.

“The book explores themes of resistance, power, identity and citizenship, using Fela’s experiences to examine Nigeria’s history of governance, repression and public dissent.”

Jaboro also reinterprets Fela’s songs, including ‘Zombie’, ‘Alagbon Close’ and ‘Expensive Shit’, as political documents that captured the realities of military brutality and social injustice.

“These songs are sonic records of what the government tried to erase,” he said.

According to the author, Fela’s spiritual beliefs, Afrocentric philosophy and communal lifestyle shaped his activism and confrontations with authority.

“Fela was not only a musician. He was a political philosopher and mystic rooted in African spirituality and self-determination,” Jaboro noted.

He said Fela’s influence remains visible in youth movements, protest culture and contemporary African music.

“He proved that a microphone could be as powerful as a manifesto,” he said.

Jaboro emphasised the importance of presenting Fela in a balanced light, highlighting both his brilliance and imperfections.

“Heroes without flaws are propaganda. History must be honest,” he said.

The author said the book also serves as a message to political leaders on the dangers of repression and intolerance.

“Jailing critics only amplifies their voices. When governments ignore pain, culture becomes rebellion,” he stated.

He expressed hope that the book would place African narratives at the centre of global conversations on music, resistance and social change.

“Our stories belong at the heart of global political thought,” he added.

NAN reports that “The Ikoyi Prison Narratives” offers a rare first-hand account of one of Africa’s most influential cultural figures, linking music, spirituality and political philosophy in modern Nigerian history. (NAN)

By Chibuike Nwabuko

ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has described the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as a towering symbol of resistance whose greatness transcended music and entertainment.

In a tribute reflecting on Fela’s enduring legacy released on his X handle Wednesday, Sani said the iconic musician was not merely an artist but a fearless crusader against oppression and injustice in Nigeria and across Africa.

According to him, Fela’s influence was rooted in courage, sacrifice and an unwavering commitment to principle.
“The greatness of Fela is beyond music and entertainment. He was a symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice,” Sani said.

He recalled that the Afrobeat pioneer endured severe state repression in the course of his activism, including imprisonment, physical torture and repeated threats to his life. Despite these ordeals, Sani noted, Fela remained unbroken and steadfast in defending his beliefs.

“Fela survived imprisonment, torture and death in the pursuit and defence of his principles,” he stated.

Sani further argued that the freedoms and liberties enjoyed by later generations did not come cheaply, but were built on the sacrifices of figures like Fela, who dared to challenge authoritarianism when it was most dangerous to do so.

“He planted the seeds of freedom enjoyed by the generations after him,” he said.

Emphasising Fela’s uniqueness, the former lawmaker insisted that no other artist, past or present, could be placed in the same category. “He is incomparable with any artist living or dead,” Sani declared.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who died in 1997, remains one of Africa’s most influential cultural and political figures, remembered as much for his fearless activism as for his revolutionary sound.

Decades after his death, his music and message continue to inspire movements for justice, freedom and accountability across the continent and beyond.