Retired dancer and singer, Yeni Kuti, said that her father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, would have been happy with the visit of France President, Emmanuel Macron, to the New Afrika Shrine on Tuesday.
Mr Macron was at the iconic cultural centre as part of his two-day visit to Nigeria and was treated to undiluted African hospitality.
In a chat with Punch published on Saturday, Yeni described how Fela would have felt if he was alive during the French President’s visit.
“Fela would have been very happy because while he was alive, he was happy that the government of France recognised him, his struggles and music. French people were the first Europeans to connect to Afrobeat; that is why there is a sustained relationship between the Kuti family and France.
“The President had been to the shrine when he was a very young man and he even made a comment that he never knew he would come back to the shrine as President. He really had fun when he came and enjoyed Femi’s performance.
“However, he didn’t want to disrupt the flow of the Shrine; he just wanted to enjoy his visit. But as a President, his arrival had to be guarded with strict protocols,” she said.
The 57-year-old Yeni said she saw a lot of new faces at the shrine for the first time during Macron’s visit.
“I saw a lot of people there who had never been to the shrine before; many people were there for the first time in their life. I was even shocked,” she added.
