Afrobeat singer Femi Kuti has said he wished the Wizkid and Seun Kuti feud had not arisen, describing renewed comparisons between his late father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, and today’s Nigerian music stars as unnecessary.

Femi made this known during an interview on Arise Television, which was shared on X on Saturday. He said he deliberately stayed away from the conversation because the country is dealing with more serious issues than celebrity rivalries.

He said, “I’m sure you have seen I’ve not said anything, Fela is our father, I think, I would say, all even the younger artists respect him and I don’t think it was an issue that should have been brought up because he is the template of many things, musically, artistically in Nigeria.”

According to him, Fela should not be compared with present-day artistes, stressing that his father occupies a unique place in Nigeria’s music history and should be respected, not debated.

Femi acknowledged the global success of Nigerian artistes, especially their growing presence at the Grammy Awards, describing it as a positive development for the country and the continent.

He said, “Nigeria has been participating in the Grammys so much these days It’s good for Africa. It’s good for the country. It’s good we’re getting the recognition we deserve. So I think we should all be happy for ourselves and we should use all this to build the country, build our music industry, build the nation, come together.”

The musician, however, expressed concern that national issues such as tribalism, terrorism and corruption were being pushed aside for less important public debates. He urged Nigerians, especially young people, to focus on governance and nation-building.

“Look, tribalism is a big issue in the country today, terrorism is a big issue, those are the things we should be, young people, myself, everybody should be focused in,” added.

Reflecting on the past, Femi recalled how Fela consistently warned about corruption and poor governance decades ago, adding that many Nigerians failed to understand his message at the time.

He said, “How is Nigeria going to be safe?, how are we going to go back? Look, there was a time when you were sick in the seventies, general hospital used to give drugs free.

Things were moving and Fela was complaining at that time and many of us could not understand what was he talking about? Now it’s so clear to us that, look, this man saw that corruption was killing Nigeria in those days. And if we keep on discussing this kind of issues that are not relevant to the general public, I think we are part of the downfall of our nation itself.”

Femi warned that the country risks deeper trouble if young people fail to demand accountability from leaders, noting that many of the issues Fela spoke against remain unresolved decades after his death.

The singer also revealed that political themes still dominate his music and that of his family, questioning how long artistes would continue singing about the same problems without real change.

“It’s sad that all my life now, 40 years in the business, 90% of my songs are political as well. So, I mean, Seun is doing his thing. Made now, my own son, he has two albums, it’s political.

“How long are we going to be political and there’s still so much poverty in the land? How long are we going to be talking about kidnapping and terrorism and you know, how long? When is the country going to come together to really build a nation as it should be?”

The controversy resurfaced after singer Wizkid was quoted as saying he was bigger than Fela.