Armed with music: Fela

Fela is a singer and musician who is highly popular in Nigeria. To the rhytm of rock or reggae, he sings committed lyrics.Fela says he is fighting three monsters: capitalism, Marxism and imported religions such as Islam, and Christianity. He wants Nigerians and all Africans in general, to rediscover their ancient virtues and their authentic roots. He advocates panafricanism. He has become a political agitator harassed by the police and the government. He frequently has spells in prison.But Fela is to be a candidate in the presidential elections in 1983 and he fully intends to get elected, which is not at all impossible in a country as unpredictable as Nigeria.Fela is a highly significant phenomenon in African political life. If he becomes President of Nigeria, next year, the “Northern hemisphere” will discover his existence as if he were a strange animal. If he is defeated, the Northern hemisphere will go on being unaware of him. This programme raises the problem of communications between the north and the south. In general, we know very little about third World countries. We only observe them when they explode, without trying to understand what is happening under the surface.One of the great merits of this programme is that it was filmed clandestinely in dangerous conditions. Fela was arrested and release whilst the film was being made: in particular, we can see him being released.