Why I Visited Femi Kuti – Peter Obi

Femi Kuti, the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, has played host to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, days after he said nothing could make him support Obi or any of his co-aspirants in 2023.

Obi visited the 60-year-old musician at the New Afrika Shrine entertainment centre in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday.

The presidential candidate said he visited Kuti over a tweet the musician made about him which, according to him, was a misconception about his plans for Nigeria.

“I saw what he (Kuti) tweeted and I said no, that is not the future and society we want to lead. We will campaign based on issues that affect Nigeria and that’s what I encourage everybody to do,” Obi said shortly before leaving the musician’s residence.

Kuti, during a recent musical performance, was reported as saying “How can you be ‘Obidient’ in this chaos? I am not Obidient.”

‘Obidient’ is a coinage used to describe supporters and people who are compliant with Obi’s ideals.

“Tell me, at 60, why am I Obidient? You said I should be Obidient, sit down, be peaceful. Are you all okay in this country?” queried Kuti who is a grandchild of political campaigner and women’s rights activist, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.

Obi’s visit to Kuti came days after the musician raised the alarm about alleged threats by his supporters to burn down the shrine that serves as the venue of the annual Felabration music festival and is used to showcase the late Fela’s works.

The alleged threats stemmed from Kuti’s alleged reference to Obi’s supporters as zombies.

But clarifying his statement in a social media post, Kuti denied calling supporters of the presidential candidate zombies.

He said, “I don’t like the [campaign coinage] Obi-dient. I don’t support Obi, Atiku Abibakar, and Bola Tinubu. I’ve never supported any political party.

“My family is already heartbroken. If Obi wins and things change, we will all jubilate. But who are you to tell me not to have my doubts? Don’t come threatening me saying you’d burn the shrine. Stop that rubbish.

“Stop insulting my family. They said Portable is better than me. I should be happy that the young are more popular. That’s how it should be. Fela was against [MKO] Abiola and [Olusegun] Obasanjo, yet Nigerians voted for them.”