Accra, Aug 18, — Dozens of top Ghanaian artistes at the weekend, staged a 12-hour non-stop musical extravaganza at the Centre for National Culture in Accra to honour the memory of Nigerian Afrobeat King, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The free show, organized by the Copyright Protection Committee of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), was attended by thousands of Fela’s fans in black and red mourning attire. In all, about 30 artistes, including such top-ranked drummer Okyerema Asante, Mustapha Tetteh Addy and Alex Konadu, performed in turns, with Fela’s son Femi, displaying his versatility on his father’s most popular instrument, the tenor saxophone. As Femi went into a ‘frenzy’ bashing three of Fela’s top hits– ”Somegbe”, “Mr who are you” and “palaver” — the crowd could not rpt not help but join in spontaneously rumbling through the lyrics backed by heavy foot-stomping. The chairman of the Copyright Protection Committee, Mr Faisal Helwani, who laid wreaths at Fela’s funeral in Lagos last Tuesday, on behalf of Ghanaian musicians and producers, paid glowing tribute to the great musician. He recalled some of the ”unforgettable moments in our 30 years relationship during which I helped in the production of Fela’s film ‘The Black President’, which was burnt when his Kalakuta Republic was set ablaze by the military in Nigeria in 1978”. Nana Kofi Omane, a chief and a lawyer, another close associate of Fela, described the ‘king’ as a “prophet of awareness through his propagation of the rich African culture and pride”. The son of a baptist minister, Fela was a complete contradiction to his Christian origins, as he believed so much in traditional African religion and performed rituals at his night club– ”The shrine” — In the Nigerian commercial capital of Lagos. Held in high esteem outside his country as much as among his own countrymen, Fela dropped his middle name –Ransome– and adopted an African name, ” Anikulapo” (one who carries death in a bag). Fela clashed many times with the authorities in his country, especially the military regimes, one of which burnt his Kalakuta Republic and seven of his range rover vehicles. This was after he released a song ”Zombie” which ridiculed the military. He was detained 12 times for political dissent. His younger brother, Beko Ransome-Kuti, who took up Fela’s mantle, is currently serving a 15-year sentence for an alleged involvement in a coup plot.
