Government’s Threat to Close New Afrika Shrine Tyrannical, Says Seun Kuti

Nigerian musician Seun Kuti has criticised the Lagos State Government’s threat to ban his family’s entertainment centre, The New Afrika Shrine, if he held a meeting of his political movement there, calling the move “tyrannical.”

“It is important to note that this was a meeting, not a protest,” Kuti, the youngest son of Afrobeat legend and activist Fela Kuti, told Arise News. “It was a meeting to discuss End SARS: Lessons and Tasks.”

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The musician likened the ban to press censorship during the military regime.

“For the government to ban a meeting is taking this whole tyrannical structure to another level. We’re back to the Abacha days now where people cannot even associate and gather and not expect any kind of oppression from the govt,” Kuti said.

On Wednesday in a small conference at a different venue, Kuti announced the revival of his father’s political party, the Movement of the People(MOP), established in opposition to the country’s elites.

“For me, passing the message was what was paramount on the day,” Kuti said.

“So we got another space, let the press know and we were able to pass our message to the people of the country which was all these great left organizations coming together to create once again an alliance called the Movement of the People.”

Rita Osakwe

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