French President Macron to visit Kuti’s Afrika Shrine on Tuesday

French leader Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday visit a nightclub founded by Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti, becoming the first “real president” to enter a venue synonymous with marijuana smoke, sexy backup dancers and protest music.

The New Afrika Shrine located in the teeming Lagos district of Ikeja replaced Fela Kuti’s original club that burnt down in 1977, but for millions of fans it still represents the original Shrine built by the musical maverick.

Macron, who is visiting the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott to attend an African Union summit on Sunday, will go on to Nigeria’s capital Abuja for talks with his counterpart Muhammadu Buhari on security and terrorism, before coming to Lagos, a vibrant megapolis of 20 million people. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------