President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti posthumous Grammy award regarded the late musician as the voice of the oppressed, whose music speaks about injustice while bashing the government responsible for the pain of the people.

Anikulapo-Kuti was honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nearly three decades after his death, marking a historic milestone for African music.

The prestigious recognition was conferred on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards ceremony held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, on the eve of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

With the honour, the late musician becomes the first African artist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In Tinubu’s praise on X: “The world of music has honoured a giant: Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

“Fela was more than a musician. He was a fearless voice of the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice and reshaped global sound.

“His courage, creativity, and conviction defined a generation and continue to inspire the world. In Yoruba mythology, he has transcended to a higher plane as an Orisa. He is now eternal.

“Fela Kuti has blazed the trail with the Recording Academy of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African to receive this honour, though posthumously. 

“The award is an affirmation of his enduring global influence and the foundational role he has played in the evolution and impact of Africa on modern music.

“He defined Afrobeat, and you can hear and see his influence in generations of Nigerian musicians and in Afrobeats and beyond.

“Fela lives.” He summarised