Femi Kuti is a famous Afrobeat musician who has been nominated for a Grammy. He said that sometimes people from his own group, the Yoruba, have been not nice to his family.
He talked about this during the 2024 Felaberation Festival in a place called Lagos. Femi mentioned two important people: an old President named Olusegun Obasanjo and a rich businessman who has passed away, MKO Abiola. He said these people have not been friends with his family.
Femi explained that his family doesn’t pay attention to where someone comes from or their tribe. They were taught to love and work for everyone in Africa. This idea is called pan-Africanism.
He said, “Friends and family, something big is happening in our lives; problems because of where people come from, which we call tribalism. Please don’t think the Anikulapos, which is my family, are silly like that.”
Femi shared that he grew up learning from important leaders like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Patrice Lumumba, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, his dad.
These leaders taught about loving everyone and not just sticking to people from your tribe. So, Femi learned to see people as either good or bad, no matter where they are from. He has friends from Europe who are very nice and some who aren’t. He has friends from Africa who are very nice and some who aren’t.
“Even though some of the people who don’t like us are Yoruba, like Obasanjo and Abiola, my family isn’t into only being friends with people from our own group,” Femi added.
“Even though some of the people who don’t like us are Yoruba, like Obasanjo and Abiola, my family isn’t into only being friends with people from our own group.”
— Femi Kuti pic.twitter.com/nioKJ0gIXT
— @ (@OneJoblessBoy) October 21, 2024