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A National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, has commended the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode for the honour done to the late Fela Anikulapo kuti.
Ambode had unveiled a statue of the Afro beat musician, as part of activities to mark the week long 79th posthumous birthday and the 20th anniversary of Fela’s death.
He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to honour the music legend for what he called his “arts of patriotism and pan-Africanism,” as well as his “anti-corruption campaign and his stance for good governance through his misic”.
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Aremu described Fela as a “working man who truly lived on his sweat,” in spite of what he called repeated “official military regime terror,” adding that the late legend symbolised dignity of labour in a country in which few elite thrived on corruption and authority stealing.
Referring to one of the icon’s music albums in the 1980s, Aremu said even at death, Fela inspired hope for a strong united Nigeria and economic recovery.
He further observed that at a time “it was not fashionable to patronise Africa and even more fashionable to ape Europe and America, Fela rightly warned that prosperity would elude Africa without patronage of its products and ideas by Africans.”
He said it was time for government to walk Fela’s patriotic songs through targeted public budgetary spending to buy goods that must be produced at home in order to create sustainable jobs for millions of youths.
