Good day everyone, welcome to my blog.
Though i am not from Egba land but i am a true Nigerian who believe in celebrating Our own irrespective of where they may come from. We have a lit if nationalist in Nigeria who did one ir two notable things either towards the development of the country or to aid independence. Some are in the limelight while some are not, one if such people is Cheif Mrs Olufunmilayo Anikulapo Kuti.
Born as Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas in 1900 to Chief Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas and Lucretia Phyllis Omoyeni Adeosolu of Egba land in the present day Ogun State. Like every child, of an exposed and learned person at that time, Olufunmilayo attended Primary Missionary School Abeokuta.
After her primary education, she had thought she was going to join her mother's sewing business but her father had other plans for her. She was offered admission as the first girl in Abeokuta grammar school where she met Josiah Oludotun Ransome Kuti who was the head boy of the school at that time.
After her secondary education, she went abroad to further her education between the years 1919 to 1923 and she earned degrees in domestic science, music and education. It was during her stay in the diaspora that she dropped her English name "Frances Abigail". From then, she prefers being addressed as Olufunmilayo
By 1925, she married Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, who had also gone abroad for further learning and had become an Anglican clergyman and educator. Their marriage was blessed with four children namely Olikoye, Beko, Fela, and Dolupo.
In the 1939’s, she joined hands with other learned ladies and they formed the Abeokuta Ladies Club but she changed the dimension of the club in 1946 when she noticed the heavy taxation of the colonial government on the market women through the Alake, the king of Egba land at that time.
At the beginning of the struggle, her intention was to make the colonial government see reasons not to over tax the market women but she was not given a listening ear either at the colonial government office or at the palace of the king of Egba land so she had to resort to protest. Her courage earned her the title the Lioness of Lisabi(Ekun Omo Lisabi).
At the end of the day, they were listened to. The taxation methods were reviewed giving room for more female participation In the new Egba traditional government. Oludotun her husband died of cancer in 1951 but that did not stop the resilience and activism in Olufunmilayo.She organized literacy classes for market women and encouraged them to become more involved in community life.
Funmilayo became a member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) and was active in the fight for Nigeria’s independence. She also represented Nigerian women at international conferences and was one of the first women to serve on a local council in Abeokuta.
In the 1970s, she adopted the name Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti to reflect her Yoruba heritage. So her family then stopped bearing Ransom and they bore Anikulapo instead. In 1977, she was injured during a military raid on her son Fela’s home (the Kalakuta Republic) in Ikeja Lagos and she died on April 13, 1978, from the injuries she sustained when she was thrown down from a story building of the Kalakuta republic.
Some of her notable work includes
. The mother of women’s rights activism in Nigeria.
. The first Nigerian woman to drive a car.
. A strong voice for justice, education, and equality. Her bravery and achievements continue to inspire Nigerian women and activists around the world.
