NEWS||FUNMILAYO RANSOME KUTI

The audacious story of Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, the woman who chased the Alake of Egbaland from the throne in 1949

  

– Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, mother of music maestro, Fela, fought against the Alake of Egbaland in present day Ogun state between 1946 and 1949 – The women were displeased with various actions of the Alake, some of which were the introduction of taxation on women’s produce and non-representation in the sole native authority – She led a massive protest against the Alake which spanned a period of almost four years culminating in the self-exile of the monarch Born on October 25, 1900 in Abeokuta in present day capital of Ogun state, South west Nigeria, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, was a women’s rights activist and a traditional aristocrat in Nigeria. She was one of the most prominent women leaders in her generation. She was the first woman in the country to drive a car. Following her doggedness, she was described as the doyen of female rights and the mother of Africa. She was a very powerful force advocating for the Nigerian woman’s right to vote and fought for women’s recognition in government. She was the mother of the activists Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a musician; Beko Ransome-Kuti, a doctor; and Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a doctor and health minister. She was also grandmother to musicians Seun Kuti and Femi Kuti. Her father, Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas, was a son of a returned slave from Sierra Leone, who traced his ancestral history back to Abeokuta. He became a member of the Anglican faith, and soon returned to the homeland of his fellow Egbas. She was raised by parents who valued education and became the first girl-student admitted to Abeokuta Grammar School, hence, her nickname-Beere which means first girl in Yoruba.

She later went to England for further studies. She soon returned to Nigeria and became a teacher. On 20 January 1925, she married the Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti. He also defended the commoners of his country, and was one of the founders of both the Nigeria Union of Teachers and of the Nigerian Union of Students.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti received the national honor of Member of the Order of the Niger in 1965. The University of Ibadan bestowed upon her the honorary doctorate of laws in 1968. She also held a seat in the Western house of chiefs of Nigeria as an Oloye of the Yoruba people. As a strong women’s rights activist, she provided strong leadership for women in the 1950s. She founded Abeokuta Women Union (AWU), an organization with more than 20,000 women membership and through which she championed her fight against discrimination against women and other anti-women programmes. Ransome-Kuti, in her vociferous nature, launched the organization into public consciousness when she rallied women against price controls that were hurting the market women. Trading was one of the major occupations of women in the Western Nigeria at the time. In 1949, she led a protest against the native authorities, especially against the Alake of Egbaland. She presented documents alleging abuse of authority by the Alake, who had been granted the right to collect the taxes by the colonial administrators. Oba Ladapo Ademola, the Alake of Egbaland with 89 crowns, became the king of the Egbas in 1920.

LOADEDKIT.com learnt that in 1918, Governor-General Lugard had introduced a system of direct taxation and created the Sole Native Authority which was a form of indirect rule whereby the traditional rulers acted as agents for the colonial government. The Sole Native Authority, equivalent to today’s local government, was headed by the Alake of Egbaland. It had far-reaching powers and all the previous checks and balances on the power of the Alake were eroded under the indirect rule system as kingmakers, chiefs and priests who could act to limit the abuse of power of the Alake were now dependent on the Sole Native Authority for their appointment to advisory councils. Information Nigeria reports that prior to the advent of the British, women had participated in politics and had their own representatives. The most important, was the Iyalode on