Femi Kuti speaks on his presence at the 2011 fuel subsidy protest at Ojota

 

IKEJA, Lagos – Afrobeat crooner, Femi Kuti, the son of the late afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti is angry with many Nigerians who are accusing him of hypocrisy and nepotism over his presence at the fuel subsidy protest at Ojota put together by the All Progressive Congress, APC in Lagos.

Aggrieved Nigerians have called him names over his presence at the protest and his silence now that President Tinubu, one of the major opponents against subsidy removal and his tribesman has made a thunderous u-turn to be the major proponent for removal of subsidy.

Femi made it clear that he has never participated in any political rally and that his family does not take part in political protest and that he was also not at the #endSARS protest but only came out to show solidarity both at Ojodu to caution policemen who wanted to open fire on peaceful Nigerian protesting with their national flags not to do so and again to show solidarity when the group showed up at Afrika Shrine. He said his interface near his home engendered a very peaceful protest during the #endSARS.

He said he did not organize the 2011 fuel subsidy protest but that he was only called to the venue only for him to discover that it was politically motivated. He said his microphone was taken away from him when he sang that aggrieved Nigerians should ask Tinubu, “where is our money”.

He said he left when it became clear to him that it was a political rally against another party. He asserted that politicians are the same irrespective of party affiliations, adding that since 2009 till date, politicians have always put their personal interest ahead of national interest, raising up their salaries and emoluments and did not bother about building state of the arts hospital to take care of our medical needs and build refineries but that their obsession has always been what they will benefit at the expense of the nation.

He said those who want to go to Ojota and protest again can go and that he will block anybody who comes into his timeline to abuse him.

He said he and his family have been preoccupied with living the Fela legacy and that all he does is to protest every day at Afrika Shrine but that he welcomes government officials if they want to come there and listen to music but that neither him nor his family share any affinity with them.

He said he and his family have tried as much as possible to liberate the shrine of the bad toga of Igbo smokers, adding that his family has tried all they could and have not succeeded and that the entire family condemns drug abuse in form of Igbo(marijuana) around the shrine and that the family feels bad any time Igbo or other social vices around the shrine is attributed to them.