Afro-pop singer, Burna Boy, has stirred the social media over Fela fanship after he called out Omoyele Sowore, saying he trusts no politician.
Burna Boy in a short tweet said that “Everybody is a Fela fan and supporter now that he is dead. Humans are so Funny, You politicians are ALL the same (especially in Nigeria) and Frankly, I don’t trust any of you.” This was in response to being asked to join a protest.
Sowore in response explained that he had been a member of the Fela family, enthusing that “I am a member of Fela’s household, ask Seun Kuti.” The former presidential candidate said: “I am not just one of the persons who you could describe as ‘Fela’s fan after he died’”.
“I am a member of Fela’s household, ask @RealSeunKuti, as a student’s leader in the 90s I met and hung out with Abami Eda at home and the African shrine! If you want to be Fela, be Fela.”
Sowore then asked Burna Boy to practice what he preaches by leading a protest himself.
From his silence and his refusal to participate, Burna Boy has essentially shown the world that he is a hypocrite. Burna Boy is not at all the revolutionary he claims to be in his music.
He loves the attention and the aesthetics of being a revolutionary but in reality, he is all talk. Burna Boy claims to be the closest thing to Fela. However, all he does is channel his anger towards subject matters he is not even passionate enough about.
Burna Boy mocks Nigerians for being oppressed. He is condescending about their fears of the consequences of an uprising; thereby blaming them for the situation they are in. The so-called African Giant clearly said on Instagram that “Nigerians deserve their leaders.”
And although one can argue that it is not an artiste’s place to participate in protests, a simple Google search will show that Fela was hunted by the Nigerian government; not only because of his words but his actions.
But when Sowore put him on the spot to be part of the change, not just a voice mocking the oppressed; it became clear that Burna Boy’s interest in liberation is solely for the sake of selling music. In fact, he is the furthest thing from Fela and should not be compared to him. He, in fact, slips in and out of that persona when it suits him.
Artistes like Beyonce have even received death threats for their blatant support of social causes. J. Cole, Megan Thee Stallion, and many other black artistes joined the Black Lives Matter protests. Afropop superstar 2Baba even tried to lead a protest but was shut down by both the government and the masses.
But what can this Grammy-chasing caricature say to this? Is it only by sitting pretty in a mansion and tweeting or going on IG Live and calling people cowards? Is Burna Boy’s activism by sampling Fela and shooting music videos with #suffering aesthetics?
It would be understandable if Burna Boy drew the line at making protest music. But when you constantly wear a true revolutionary as a costume and then ridicule people for trying to survive under a system that you are privileged to not be a victim of, then you become a nuisance and you have to shut up.
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