*NAME: ODEYEMI OPEYEMI ODUNAYO*

*SCHOOL: OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY (OAU)*

*DEPARTMENT: NURSING SCIENCE*

*LEVEL: 200L*

*Cogent frameworks of Fela’s thinking/beliefs could be ascertained or considered far-fetched in our communities.*

Fela Anikulapo Kuti was more than a musician.

He was an activist, a rebel, and a fearless voice against oppression in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond. Through his Afrobeat music, outspoken interviews, and unconventional lifestyle in the Kalakuta Republic, he challenged corrupt governments, colonial influences, and social hypocrisy. The big question today is: how much of what Fela believed can actually work in our world now, and how much was simply too idealistic?

Fela believed that Africa’s independence was fake because Western powers and their local allies still controlled the continent’s politics, economy, and culture. He pushed for Pan-African unity, pride in African identity, and a return to indigenous traditions, languages, and spirituality. He fought against corruption, military dictatorship, and the exploitation of the poor. He rejected Christianity and Islam, choosing Yoruba traditional religion instead, believing that spirituality should be a tool of resistance. He also challenged conservative sexual values, openly living a polygamous life and celebrating sexuality as a way to break free from colonial morality. His Kalakuta Republic was a real-life experiment in self-reliance, providing housing, healthcare, and creative space outside government control.

Many of Fela’s ideas still ring true today. Africa is still affected by neo-colonialism, with foreign corporations controlling resources and governments still struggling with corruption, bad leadership, and police brutality. The gap between rich and poor is even wider now, and movements that promote African culture, fashion, natural hair, and indigenous languages echo Fela’s calls for cultural pride. Even his emphasis on traditional spirituality has made a comeback among those rejecting imposed religions.

However, some of his ideas are harder to apply today. His complete rejection of the state and push for revolution is risky and difficult to carry out peacefully. The Kalakuta model worked for a small community but would be impossible to run on a national scale. His approach to sexual freedom and polygamy is still rejected by most societies and often clashes with modern ideas about gender equality and consent. His call to abandon Christianity and Islam is unrealistic in countries where most people follow these faiths. His dream of a united African government faces huge challenges like language barriers, national rivalries, and economic differences. And while his rebellious lifestyle like marijuana use and constant confrontation suited his personality, it’s not necessarily the best way for most people to achieve political change.

Fela’s ideas work best as a guide, not a strict plan. His sharp understanding of Africa’s problems for example colonial exploitation, corruption, inequality, and cultural loss remains valuable today. His courage to speak truth to power and his demand for pride and self-awareness are lessons every generation can use. Some of his solutions may be unrealistic, but they push people to think bigger, refuse to settle, and imagine new possibilities.

This is where modern organizations like Aiyeku Foundation INC. quietly continue part of Fela’s vision, but through structured, peaceful, and sustainable means. While Fela fought corruption and inequality with music and protest, the Aiyeku Foundation fights them with education and healthcare. A non-religious, non-political, non-profit, and non-governmental philanthropic body, it offers scholarships to indigent students from Ondo State and Oke Ogun in Oyo State who attend government-owned universities in Nigeria. It also provides financial aid for patients in urgent need of medical treatment.

In its own way, the Foundation addresses the very issues Fela sang about: the exploitation of the poor, the neglect of basic human needs, and the widening gap between the privileged and the underprivileged. Its mission(Service to Humanity) and motto (Faith with Actions for Humanity) translate Fela’s ideals into practical steps: breaking systemic cycles of poverty, empowering communities, and ensuring that the underprivileged have the tools and support to rise above their circumstances.

In conclusion, Fela’s message is not a step-by-step plan for how to run a country. It’s a powerful reminder to fight for justice, dignity, and self-determination. His dream of a better Africa may not be fully reachable, but it challenges us to keep moving toward it. And in the classrooms of young scholarship recipients and in the hospital wards of patients saved through the Aiyeku Foundation’s work, we can see a quiet but real part of that dream taking shape like proof that the struggle continues, sometimes to the beat of Afrobeat, and sometimes through the steady, life-changing work of service.

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