My Father Gave Nigerians A Voice – Femi Kuti
Femi Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti who is
currently a storyteller as well, advising Academy Award-
winning director Alex Gibney on the documentary
“Finding Fela,” about the life of his father sat down with
The Associated Press to discuss his father’s legacy and the
film that’s playing in major U.S. cities.
Excerpts from the interview below:
AP: What was your father’s most valuable contribution?
Femi: I think the most prominent is obviously giving
Nigerians a voice. Now people just speak openly
criticizing the government.
AP: What made you want to work on a film about your
father’s life?
Femi: It wasn’t really my idea, but I supported it. … It was
very important for the world to hear my father’s story from
the mainstream point of view.
AP: Your father died as a victim of the disease that has
taken its toll on Africa.
Femi: At the time the whole world was shouting about
HIV or AIDS. Africa had no knowledge about it. … When
… the news start(ed) coming from Europe, (it) was that it
started in Africa and that Africa was sleeping with
monkeys. … My generation didn’t believe it. … If the
world was very serious about making Africa aware of such
a disease, I mean I think more steps should’ve been taken
at that time to convince Africans. We had no
documentaries or no footage of people dying on the news.
AP: When did you realize there was a message in your
father’s music regarding military dictatorship?
Femi: Eventually we had to realize what was going on,
what he stood for in school because then in school you
had people who loved him, because many of the children
… were … underprivileged. But then you had lots of
students from people who were singing against (it) so it
was always this big battle in school: those that were for
and those that were against. You had the teachers that were
for and teachers that were against and I was caught in the
middle of this.
AP: How does your music differ?
Femi: I am not probably as militant in my approach. … Do
I want blood in the streets? No. Do I want a revolution? Do
I think that is a solution for Africa? No. So I have to find a
very certain way to address this very delicate situation that
we’re dealing with right now in
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