Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has celebrated the Afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
This statement follows the posthumous recognition of the lifetime achievement award to this Afrobeat pioneer by the Recording Academy at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Tinubu while celebrating the Afrobeat legend described him as a fearless voice of the people, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary force whose music confronted injustice and reshaped global sound.
He said Fela’s courage, creativity, and conviction defined a generation and continue to inspire the world, adding that In Yoruba mythology, the Afrobeat legend has transcended to a higher plane as an ‘Orisa’ who is now eternal.
According to him, “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”, the President concluded.
Meanwhile, report has it that Ayra Starr, Davido, Omah Lay, Wizkid and Burna Boy have lost their respective categories at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
The ceremony was held on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and was hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah.
In the ‘Best African Music Performance’ category, South Africa’s Tyla won, edging out nominees such as Burna Boy ‘Love’, Wizkid & Ayra Starr ‘Gimme Dat’, Davido and Omah Lay ‘With You’, and Ugandan artiste Eddy Kenzo alongside Mehran Matin ‘Hope & Love’.
Burna Boy was also a nominee in the ‘Best Global Music Album’ category, which he did not win. His project lost to ‘Eclairer le monde: Light the World’ by Youssou N’Dour.
This is not Tyla’s first time of winning the ‘Best African Performance’ category at the Grammys. In 2024, she clinched the award for her hit single ‘Water’.
The Cablelifestyle reports that the 29-year-old edged out fellow Nigerians in a strong field of nominees — including Yemi Alade, Asake, Wizkid, Davido, Lojay, and Burna Boy — to secure the coveted award.
