‘Suffering and smiling’: Festivalgoers decry state of affairs in Nigeria
Al JazeeraAttendees at Nigeria’s Felabration festival say criticisms levelled at the government by the late music icon Fela Kuti are still relevant 26 years after his death. “Fela’s music still resonates with us even today because a lot of the issues he sang about then are still relevant today,” she said. “We still have a lot of the leaders from the past still stuck in government.” Analysts say the issues raised in Kuti’s music still apply to today’s Nigeria because of a continued lack of accountability. “Something like Unknown Soldier and Army Arrangement for example …the same way the soldier is unknown and doesn’t have any name and someone is killed by a stray bullet, for example, is the same way people are still corrupt.” ‘Closer to the root’ Now in its 25th year, Felabration is one of the biggest music festivals on the continent and its appeal has spread to a younger crowd, including some fans who were not born when Kuti was alive.
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