The music, his lyrics, innovations he brought into it African music. He truly lived what he believed. Thes are  the things that stands him out for me and not  everything about  his personal life. Infact in some cases I don't want to acknowledge some of them.

Good thread , however I want to ask if you are Nigerian or Ghanaian because some idiots from that country are being funny lately trying haard to rubbish our dear country NIGERIA and what we are.

Femi Kuti on Fela:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=531GuNKihCk[/flash]

Fela sang those things, but he was not the only one fighting against corruption and government's high handedness then. Now I appreciate his creativity and I probably followed Fela more than you, but have you estimated the cost of the youths that lost direction following him?

I am not talking about being a pastor, it's a free world and if having sex as a hobby is your thing, you are certainly free to,

But if it was in more civilized societies that he plied his trade, and followed his igbo and sex-with-anything passion, sure he would have retired from some prison

I am a Nigerian, I have been physically injured and seriously just to watch Fela perform. All I am saying is he had a message that draws enough positive attention and enemies in places like Nigeria, he gave us that.
But at what cost? what did he take? This is not morality, not christianity but a price demanded by posterity that he was not willing to pay because of his 'feel-good' organs

cicero:

Fela sang those things, but he was not the only one fighting against corruption and government's high handedness then. Now I appreciate his creativity and I probably followed Fela more than you, but have you estimated the cost of the youths that lost direction following him?

I am not talking about being a pastor, it's a free world and if Being Intimate as a hobby is your thing, you are certainly free to,

But if it was in more civilized societies that he plied his trade, and followed his igbo and sex-with-anything passion, sure he would have retired from some prison

I dont know what you are getting out of posting this kind of garbage but let me ask you a question - are the nigerian pastors, politicians, so called academics and other parasites who prey on women in nigeria living exemplary lives?

Fela was an entertainer - entertainers lead eccentric lives, they can be excused for their eccentricities because of their artistic contributions to humanity, fela lived in a commune - he did not beleive in monogamy - he was very open about that, he married most of the women that he was sleeping with, can you say the same thing of 99% of nigerian politicians, pastors, academics and other charlatans who love to pretend to be moral but live a life steeped in immorality?

Why did a whole head of state sleep with his own son's wife? a head of state who claimed to be a born again christian - can you explain that for me ?

Jesus said -let he who is without sin cast the first stone - please bear that in mind while you continue to run your mouth.

b4 i ans ur question can u tell me who is a nigerian icon

We are talking about Fela and I am saying he took from Nigeria more than he gave and you call that garbage. I am not talking church neither i'm i comparing Fela to Pastors. The question was 'Is Fela Really A Nigerian Icon' and I am saying know with reasons. Even his eldest daughter faulted him for allowing her drop out of school

http://nigeriafilms.com/news/7927/27/where-fela-got-it-wrong-on-child-upbringing-yeni-k.html

. Fela was busy singing and telling us what we felt good hearing, but he never spared a thought for the future of the Nigerian youth and the future.

About who a Nigerian icon is, I don't really know, but I would think a Nigerian that you could comfortably point your children to with pride as someone you would want them to emulate. Fela is not that Nigerian.
Read the following excerpts my friend. Good night

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the international music star who married 27 women in one day and who usually appeared on stage with nothing but his sax, the skimpiest briefs, and a joint that, as one writer put it, was the size of a small African nation-Fela championed African culture over all things white and he fearlessly excoriated the military governments that were ransacking Nigeria. Foolishly, the state boosted his standing by giving him the dissident's ultimate seal of credibility: jail time. During this year's democratic elections, which brought former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo back into power, Fela's song "Soldier Go, Soldier Come" could be heard everywhere, accusing Obasanjo and the rest of the military boys of operating a revolving door to power.

But during the election, that song was never heard live, because Fela died in 1997 of a disease he claimed didn't exist, and certainly not in Africa: AIDS. No matter that Fela's older brother, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, had served as the country's health minister and launched Nigeria's much-lauded early AIDS program. About the only concession Fela made to white medicine was to let Olikoye stitch up his head after the police had gashed it. There was hardly an illness African herbs couldn't cure, Fela maintained, and he dismissed condoms as unnatural, unpleasurable, and a white plot to reduce the black birthrate. He believed, says Olikoye, that "all doctors were fabricating AIDS, including myself."

By the time Fela allowed himself to be taken to a hospital, he was so far gone he never heard the test results confirming that he was infected with HIV. A few days later, deep in a coma, he choked on his own vomit and died.

Then began the fight for Fela's death-and, in a way, for Nigeria's life. Astoundingly popular, Fela carried the potential to do for AIDS in Nigeria what Rock Hudson, Magic Johnson, and Arthur Ashe accomplished in America.

Fela's most ardent fans-such as the legions of out-of-school, unemployed "area boys" who deal, steal, and occasionally riot to get a little cash-are often the groups most vulnerable to HIV. They are also the most alienated from society and authority, including doctors. Many area boys refuse to believe Fela died of AIDS, and their response reveals the complex forms that AIDS denial takes in urban Africa.

http://www.onlinenigeria.com/adprint.asp?blurb=3

what major role did Tupac played
what major role did maradona played
if people counts you as a voice or even their own voice,thats all that matters,you dont have to be perfect or upright to be an icon,if maradona can have a church ,then fela is not just an icon.
Fela spoke abt the future with his music,he told us what to expect in the coming days
Na craze world we dey

cicero:

We are talking about Fela and I am saying he took from Nigeria more than he gave and you call that garbage. I am not talking church neither i'm i comparing Fela to Pastors. The question was 'Is Fela Really A Nigerian Icon' and I am saying know with reasons. Even his eldest daughter faulted him for allowing her drop out of school . Fela was busy singing and telling us what we felt good hearing, but he never spared a thought for the future of the Nigerian youth and the future.

About who a Nigerian icon is, I don't really know, but I would think a Nigerian that you could comfortably point your children to with pride as someone you would want them to emulate. Fela is not that Nigerian.
Read the following excerpts my friend. Good night

http://www.onlinenigeria.com/adprint.asp?blurb=3

what do you mean he took from nigeria more than he gave? can you explain that statement?

this is a man whose home was burnt by nigerian soldiers under instructions from obasanjo

this is a man whose wives were raped and had broken bottles stuffed into their private parts by nigerian soldiers

this is a man whose mother was pushed by obasanjos soldiers from a second story balcony which led to her untimeley death

this is a man who had no where to live after his home was burnt to the ground by obasanjos marauding soldiers

this is a man who was framed on trumped up charges of being involved in currency trafficking which led to him being arrested and jailed in a remote prison in bauchi state.

many of his wives deserted him and when he was eventually released he had been weakened by the beatings and bad treatment he received in prison - what did he gain from all of this?

Fela was very concerned about the youth of nigeria thats why he tried to rally them to overthrow the corrupt leaders that were destroying their future

everything that nigerians are suffering now was what Fela was warning the youth about - he explained to the nigerian youth about how religion is a con, how the leaders are western puppets and how nigerian leaders are selling nigerians into the second phase of slavery - all of these things are happening now - the IMF and shell own and run nigeria, you can continue to deceive yourself that nigeria is an independent nation - it isnt - obasanjo, okonjo iweala, goodluck jonathan have condemned nigerians into the second phase of slavery, fela tried to educate the upcoming youth but many were too stu.pid to understand what he was singing about, unfortunately time waits for no one and all the things he sang about are now happening - nigeria is now fully enslaved to the IMF and the people of nigeria are de facto slaves of the anglo american empire.

Sicherheit:

Fela was a prophet

and also a child molester.

A Fela classic - ariya:


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ynf7Jm8ChU[/flash]

aloy-emeka:

and also a child molester.

Proof please?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fl7c5HyaY

Fela is prophet africans in the bible,the quoran and all them holy book.

The source of light and the mouthpiece of the oppressed.

If you understand what your probles are,then you will know how to solve it.Fela was risking his life telling the people what the problems are and he is talkingeven in the great beyond,his disciples like his children are still talking and like always,bricks headed nigerians are not listening

At this moment,i am listening to one of his tracks,PANSA PANSA.

He was a wild card but I have a lot of respect for him(musically)

Just listen to "Beast Of No Nation" and "Original Sufferhead", I mean seriously dude was a genius.

People think MJ was an icon and he had his own issues

Quite rare for an "icon" esp one that is a musician NOT to have their own personal issues/demons. Doesnt stop them from being acknowledged for their talent

of course he is.
I see him as an icon of political and social activism.  and of course he advocated mostly through music.

even Timaya talk am say . . . . i dey aspire pple for this life Papa Fela na number 1 ooooooooo

YES,im a fan of Fela but fela is not d kinda person i wud call a National icon.y'all need to take a walk around Balogun area of ikeja to see fo urselves d fruits of a your so called "universal icon".Do u know ow many lives av been wasted/ruined in following Fela and his ways? Why is dat dude argueing about fela walking around Unclad or ar u too old to remember watching his interviews and musical videos? Atleast,im teen enuf to knw ma right frm wrong, heheheh!smoke weed everyday!!! (c) brixton

I was just going to just read through all the comments and not say anything after saeeing how people on here have reminded you and your type that when you fail to trully learn your history,you become a tool of constant misgivings
after reading the above by brixton,wow would you care to go back to how our ancestors were living before the arabs and white men came?that is what the man lived by ,africanism,before we had all the madness with the white men and arabs
also,do you know how many lives have been destroyed by different businesses and the nigerian govt due to their greedy and crrupt ways,do you know how many lives have been destroyed by so called nigerian men of God(christian and muslim)
I listen to fela everyday and have been doing so for over 30yrs,started getting aire up after i got here but i can tell you that i have a successful life and sure has never walked down the streets naked or with a stick in my mouth down the streets despite it being legal where am at.if you as a human cant go through a man's life and decide which is important to you and which is not,then you sure do need some help

cicero:

Fela sang those things, but he was not the only one fighting against corruption and government's high handedness then. Now I appreciate his creativity and I probably followed Fela more than you, but have you estimated the cost of the youths that lost direction following him?

I am not talking about being a pastor, it's a free world and if Being Intimate as a hobby is your thing, you are certainly free to,

But if it was in more civilized societies that he plied his trade, and followed his igbo and sex-with-anything passion, sure he would have retired from some prison

prison??apparently you have no idea of the kind of drugs and fetishes these people in these "civilized countries" do
in fact,weed and women to them are archaic,they are busy popping pills,shooting stuff,snorting stuff coupled with drinking stuff while sleeping with men/women/ men & women/animals etc

Esin waju:

Proof please?

You asking for proof?

He married over 20 underage women in his lifetime and you are asking me for proof. Do you know who Fela was?

aloy-emeka:

You asking for proof?

He married over 20 underage women in his lifetime and you are asking me for proof. Do you know who Fela was?

wont dispute that but same can also be said of a lot of men of that era who believed they were put on earth to puncture as many holes as possible

aloy-emeka:

You asking for proof?

He married over 20 underage women in his lifetime and you are asking me for proof. Do you know who Fela was?

Absolute fuckery! who ascertained the ages of the girls?

Was Fela an Icon?

My 5 kobo

Has the OP actually ever listened to a Fela song, has the OP ever been in a molue or been to a prosperity Church (suffering and smiling)

Was the OP even born when Kalakuta was burnt down and stolen (unknown soldier), was he alive when Fela was sent to prison for doing nothing, (beast of no Nation)

Is the OP a troll?

Was Fela an icon, is the Pope Catholic.

You guys r makin a mistake in thinkin EVERYONE desires live like 'an icon' did. You kip mentionin role models, yet forget dat i may nt want to live like okonjo-iweala, even though she's a nigerian icon of a sort. As corrupt as obasanjo is, some stil sik 2 emulate him. Where the prob comes is puttin forward that an icon is 2 b emulatd, and dat's a prob. U know whetha some desrves iconic status by listenin 2 wat othas say about them, most especially othas not his own people. Please u nid nt ask furtha questns, consult britannica, wikipedia, etc.

@tushutt like you i do not agree with most of Felas lifestyle, however when Fela said without Tony Allen there would be no Afro beat, he didn't imply that Allen created Afro beat, but as a creative collaborator Allen was influential in defining the Style, your view is also like saying Sandra Isidore is responsible for Afro beat as she drove Fela's interest in African consciousness and literature. I listened to Felas music from the Koola lobitos era to his death and like most, id say that his music suffered towards the end as he lost some of the edge in the music and attention to detail, but believe me, if Micheal Jackson is considered an Icon, then Fela deserves that acclaim for defining a unique musical style from the west African highlife, jazz and other traditional blends. His music also for most of the 80s easily paints a historical picture of Nigerias evolution. Icons are not necessarily flawless, they are human, even Mandela had/has his indiscretions. But its their defining actions that make them who they are. We need to make our choices and learn from their lives, the good, the bad and even the ugly

I think the likes of the OP and Aloy- emegor will rather count Nwayanwu, Abiola, Nzeribe, Igbinedion etc to be one those Nigerian icons what a shame and delusion.

Nigerians of your calibre loves to be slaughtered by those ruling the evil age we are. Please get grip on reality.

Fela should have been prosecuted for spreading AIDS, even his brother could not convince him of the reality of AIDS when he was deceiving people and openly saying he sleeps with all those girls without condoms. The only difference between him and boko haram is they carry bombs, he carried music. One of their significant similarities is that they both hated western culture but depend heavily on it.

Fela made his mark as a musician but that is not enough to make him a national. He was a character and I respect him for his creativity but he died not having character but I do not despise him.
He was in a position to fight the scourge of HIV in a away that no other Nigerian could but he frittered it because he found relevance in his 'prophecies'
How many doctors died unborn under his 'ministry'? how many mothers of kings lost the chance to become mothers under his libido.

One of the greatest problems of humanity is celebrating achievement over decency and character. Now it has crossed over to nollywood, character is nothing, fame is everything.

Fela gave something but he stole more than he gave.

fela was a true patriot(iconic), an activist(iconic), and a music legend. i wonder why nigeria has not named a major road/building after him or built him a monument.

his activism is unequaled even to date. d govt was oppressing him.he fought back.
d govt then wanted to use his lifestyle to discredit him but rather they showed us a man dautless by power and military actions, he was fearless. he had 27 wives openly but is it not shameful and hypocritical when people die these days and u realise they had battalion kids  from battalion women?
he was one who thought outside the box

different personalities become doctors (profession to be emulated) but not their private lives. so why do some expect everyone who likes him to behave like him else u scream hypocrites!

When Fela broadway came to Nigeria his fans smoked indian hemp openly to celebrate him, some online websites 'proudly' posted the picture of a lady doing just that. Is that the legacy of a national icon? Though we may not admit, people easily follow the lifestyle of icons, not their message.
Is he an icon because he is 'open' with his lifestyle while others like our politicians hide theirs? No, they are birds of the same feather operating in different locations and sooner or later it will catch up and they will be exposed.

Felas mastery of music and attacks on authorities were the instrument he needed to legitimize his indiscipline, now people are saying take his message, forget his lifestyle. Can you truly truly do that? Can our children study and research on Fela and his message without coming across his lifestyle? Can we for once call a spade a spade?

I am sure I celebrated and followed Fela more than most of us here and 'Palavar' is one song I reference to every now and then, but that is as far as Fela should go in our psych, with the scourge of AIDS and drugs threatening our youth, Fela should better be an example of 'how not to destroy your talents' talks in schools.

I appreciate the daughter for having the courage to say the truth about the father, she seems to understand the difference between lifestyle and talents and she is celebrating the father's talents while observing his huge mistakes. One more thing about Fela's daughter, she openly said she had regrets, most of our popular people when you ask them if they have any regrets, they will say no before you are done asking, even though it is obvious they are messed up and the only thing they have is fame. I'm sure her daughter will make her proud.
Alright folks, that's ending it on a lighter note. Keep felabrating but always remember, Fela stole from us more than he gave to us.