The 16th annual
Felabration festival will be
happening in Lagos from October 13 to 19, and many fans are looking
forward to the occasion with plenty of excitement.
Felabration is an annual festival of music and arts in honour of
Fela Kuti, and it’s one of the most important events in
Nigerian entertainment. The festival was founded by
Yeni Kuti in
1998, a year after Fela died, and every year since then, lots of people from various parts of the world attend Felabration at the
New Afrika Shrine in Lagos to participate in the events.
Fela was born in 1938 on October 15, so Felabration is always held in the week of October 15 to coincide with his birthday.
In past editions, the festival featured school debates, photo exhibitions, street carnivals and gigs.
The gigs take place at the New Afrika Shrine, featuring great music and
live performances by Femi Kuti and other top Nigerian and foreign
artistes.
Yeni Kuti says about the festival, “The dedication of
the organising committee each year and the love that people have for
Fela are two things that have sustained Felabration’s continuous success
and popularity throughout the years. People love Fela and his music,
and they turn up every year because of that love. We’re very happy about
that.”
Fela died 17 years ago at 59, but he’s arguably the most
revered Nigerian musician ever and remains a big inspiration to many
Nigerians till date because of his evocative music and revolutionary
views.
Nneka Achi writes, “Many of his songs are
like personal accounts of the socio-political state of the Nigerian
society during [the 70s and 80s]. The song lyrics are more evocative and
relatable than what’s written in books, and from listening to the
lyrics, youths who hadn’t been born during that era can picture elements
from the era such as the oppressive governments, the timid and
complacent masses, and so on. [So] he remains truly inspiring today for
many Nigerian youths who want a change in the country and who wish to
play an active part in bringing about that change.”
In the New
Afrika Shrine, preparations are presently under way for the festival.
Right from the entrance to the farthest corners of the house, the
ambiance, decor and features of this historic place expressly reflect
Fela’s legacies. There’s the house centre where guests can sit, have a
drink and watch live music on the stage. By the right, there’s an actual
shrine with a couple of statues on the ground and a characteristic Fela
outfit, slim fit yellow shirt and trousers to match, hanging from the
top of the shrine.
There are boards on the walls of the building
bearing philosophical and political messages. An interesting one shows a
cut of the Punch’s front page story some time ago where
Ibrahim Babangida and Olusegun Obasanjo bicker at each other and call each other names.
Upstairs
at the back of the stage is the administrative part of the building.
The walls of the stair case are adorned with many pictures of the Kutis
and their friends. There’s a picture of
Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, one of
Femi Kuti and
Beninoise singer
Angelique Kidjo, one of Fela and the late
Burkinabe revolutionary Thomas Sankara, and
many more pictures like that. Taking a tour around this Shrine is like
taking a walk through Fela’s life. This place is clearly the capital of
afrobeats and every other thing in Fela’s world.
Felabration 2014 will kick off at the
Shrine on October 12
with the premiere of Finding Fela, a documentary about Fela’s life.
There will also be gigs at the Shrine every day of the week featuring
King Sunny Ade, KWAM 1, 2face, Wizkid, and over 20 other artistes. It’s the occasion that many Fela fans anticipate every year, and as the theme of this year says,
“Who no know go know.”
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