The vice presidential candidate of Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, thrilled party faithful in Lagos State on Saturday with a rendition of a cover of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s 1976 Afrobeat hit, “Yellow Fever”.
Baba-Ahmed, while giving his address at the party’s presidential campaign rally held at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), described Fela as the “second great wise man” whose lyrics still resonated almost 50 years after they were penned.
“I know this is the era of P-Square,” he teased his superstar supporters. “This is the era of the yuppies. Most of you here have forgotten, but that wise man used to yab. Lagos, if you have forgotten that man, I will yab you. Baba Fela!”
Breaking into song, the entrepreneur asked the crowd to sing along with him by chanting “Peter!”
“Who fix Nigeria?” he sang to the tune of “Yellow Fever” as the supporters promptly replied with “Peter”. “Our precious country (Peter). We find am for this world (Peter). For 200 million (Peter). I go die o (Peter). I go die o (Peter).“
The rendition was met with cheers from the crowd.
“Fela said they gave us democracy,” Baba-Ahmed said in Pidgin. “They taught us and they left. The fact that we have democracy does not mean we are crazy. Whoever things we are crazy is the one who is crazy.“
He added that only Obi “and my humble self” are ready to lead Nigeria to greatness.
“Nigeria is that great country on the surface of the earth that bad governance has denied progress and we have to change it,” he added.
Peter and Paul Okoye, the singing duo popularly known as PSquare, were the opening acts at the rally, performing to loud cheers from the crowd in attendance.
Mrs Margaret Obi, the wife of the Labour Party presidential candidate, could be seen singing and dancing along to some of their greatest hits.
Singer African China was also in attendance, serenading the party faithful with his politically charged hit “Mr President” and the more optimistic “No Condition Is Permanent”.
Comedian Klint da Drunk also addressed the supporters with his unique brand of humour, advising the crowd against voting for “People Deceiving People”.
“Some other people brought somebody that is ruling us and you know how our condition is,” he added. “Now, they want to bring ‘Another Problem Candidate’.”
