People of History

 Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nee Thomas

“Life is like a flower which blossoms in the morning and in the evening, fades away. What would you be remembered for?”

Summary of Her Achievement

Olufunmilayo Ransome-kuti was a woman of great achievement known all over Africa and beyond.

She was:

•      A Leader of Abeokuta Women's Union
•   One of the women elected to the native House of Chiefs, serving as an Oloye of the Yoruba people
•      A treasurer and President  of Western Women Association of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
•    A ranking member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
•   A Leader of Commoners Peoples’ Party
•       A Leader of Nigeria Women's Union
•   A Winner of the Lenin Peace Prize
•    The first woman to drive a car and to ride a motorcycle.
•      She received an honorary doctorate of law bestowed by the University of Ibadan in 1968 and the national honor of membership in the Order of Nigeria in 1965.

Biography

Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas (maiden name) was born into an Anglican family of Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas (son of a returned slave from Sierra Leone) and Lucretia Omoyeni Adeosolu on October 25, 1900 in Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria.

She had her secondary education at Abeokuta Grammar School and further education in London.

She later returned to Nigeria and became a teacher.

She was married to Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti on January 20, 1925 and blessed with children; Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a professor and former  minister of health in Nigeria, Beko Ransome-Kuti, a doctor and  Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a renowned activist and musician.

 In 1949, she led a protest against 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 his colonial suzerain, the Government of the United Kingdom. He subsequently relinquished his crown for a time due to the affair. She also oversaw the successful abolishing of separate tax rates for women. In 1953, she founded the Federation of Nigerian Women Societies which subsequently formed an alliance with the Women's International Democratic Federation

She, alongside Eniola Soyinka  (the mother of the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka),  founded the Egba Women Union which was said to have once had a membership of 20,000 women. Among other things, Fumilayo Ransom Kuti organised workshops for illiterate market women and continued to campaign against taxes and price controls .

She died on April 13, 1978 as a result of injuries sustained when a troop of armed military personnel stormed her son, Fela Anikulapo’ compound and threw her from the second floor window.

“Life is like a flower which blossoms in the morning and in the evening, fades away. What would you be remembered for?”