The eldest son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, recently sparked conversations online after criticizing the growing “Japa” trend, where many Nigerians leave the country for better opportunities abroad.
During one of his concerts, Femi passionately spoke against the idea of fleeing Nigeria, urging the youth to stay and fight for the country.
“Japa to where?” he asked the crowd. “Made is a British citizen. Where is he? He is in Nigeria. He cannot be anywhere else. Who born am? Na monkey born am?”
Femi questioned, referring to his son Made Kuti, who, despite his foreign citizenship, chooses to live and work in Nigeria.
Femi further explained that other countries like Europe and the U.S. faced civil wars and other challenges before becoming successful. He stressed the need for Nigerians to stay and work toward making the country better, instead of running away.
“Until we understand that we all have to stay here and fight for a better country that we love,” he added, “so you see, we did not build this [The New Afrika Shrine] in Los Angeles or London. We built it in Africa, where we have hosted the biggest festival for 27 years.”
However, Femi’s comments about staying in Nigeria rather than fleeing abroad have caused mixed reactions on social media.
Reactions from Netizens:
@teebabah commented, “Privilege makes you misbehave and say nonsense at times. He thinks what he is saying is the flex he thinks it is.”
Owo Made ti tekuda already @Olalekanakogun said, “The #Japarians too are basically looking to be like Made someday. 99.8% are ‘Passport & Citizen hunting’ too.”
Some netizens pointed out that Femi Kuti and his family are privileged, which might make it easier for them to remain in Nigeria.
@GamblingDaw tweeted, “A lot of nonsense yapping. Is he refusing to admit/acknowledge he and his family are privileged even in that Nigeria?! Smh.”
Others, like @FOgulere, defended Femi, saying, “Come on now, don’t act like you don’t understand the context and the message Femi was passing. Always looking for errors in a message you’re aware of its intention.”
@adebomiiiii added, “You lot are irredeemable, I’m still baffled as to how y’all find fault in everything he said… fight for your country, leave tribalism alone. The leaders are the enemy.”
Others questioned Femi’s own actions. @Jeddo27 asked, “Why you no born am here?”
@SportDoctor18 commented, “Takes like this amuse me. You have a British passport, which means you can move to the UK or 190 other countries without any restriction. I, on the other hand, cannot afford that luxury. This is gutter logic.”
