Felabration 2017: 20 Years After Fela

Every year since the demise of the legendary icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Lagos stands still for a week to celebrate the life and times of the Afrobeat king with Felabration, a festival that brings thousands of visitors from all over the world to the New Afrika Shrine.

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Adekunle Gold

Bez

Burna Boy

Fela Kuti Headless Statue

Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti and Lagbaja

Jaywon

Omawumi

Solid Star

Wizkid

[FILE PHOTO] Wole Soyinka

Ycee

Ycee Felabration

Femi Kuti live

[FILE PHOTO] Seun Kuti

Terry G

Femi Kuti live

Fela Kuti, also known as Abami Eda, was also a human rights activist. He foretold so many truths that stare Nigerians in the face through his songs and open activism. Themed The Prophecy, this year’s edition brought back memories of the things foretold by Fela in his lyrics – “Suffering and smiling. No bread, no light, no water.”

Over 250,000 people were engaged this year’s Felabration in about 30 events in 20 countries, like the Notting Hill Carnival in London; it also had a Felabration Symposium themed “40 Years after Festac, 20 Years after Fela” and a debate for secondary schools titled “African History: Curriculum Necessity or Not”.

The festival, with performances held at the New Afrika Shrine, Lagos from the 9th to the 15th of October, saw Femi and Seun Kuti live on stage as well as so many other Nigerian musicians: Wizkid, Adekunle Gold, Omawumi, Solid Star, Bez, Jaywon, Terry G, Sound Sultan among others.

Seun Kuti during his rendition dished out a couple of his late fathers’ popular songs which left the crowd screaming and singing along with him. The celebration ended with a statue erected in Ikeja, Lagos by the Governor of Lagos state, to honour the legend.