In the world of African feminism, there is one name that will never be left out of its history books, Funmilayo Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti. She was a Pan-Africanist, a revolutionary by all standards, and no doubt a global icon in the fight for equal representation of women. CEOAfrica this week takes a look at her life and major achievements.

Women are born girls, then they become ladies, and some eventually transition into motherhood. Women are no doubt valuable, but not every woman fits into the definition of a mother. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was not just a woman but a mother; not just any kind of mother, she was a global mother. She was such a strong woman that by mere looking at her life, even the most feeble women would draw strength.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a leading activist during Nigerian women’s anti-colonial struggles. She established the Abeokuta Women’s Union which has come to be regarded as one of the most impressive women’s organizations of the twentieth century. The Union has an estimated membership of up to 20,000 women. Since its inception, the union has been focused on fighting to protect and further the rights of women.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was born in Abeokuta, in present-day Ogun State, Nigeria. She was one of the first women to attend Abeokuta Grammar School in 1914, where she later on worked as a teacher. A key element in her life was represented in her belief of transfer of learned knowledge and skill. So even while she was not yet through with her studies, she became actively involved in giving back to the society by becoming a teacher in the same place she studied.

She knew she had not studied enough, so in 1919 she left Nigeria for England where she enrolled at Wincham Hall School for Girls, Cheshire, to further her studies. When she returned to Nigeria in 1922, in reaction to the racism she had encountered in England, she stopped using her Christian name, Frances Abigail.

As colonialism persisted in her day, she became one of the voices that agitated for the education of Nigeria and West Africa. She made sure that women had access to education and also made sure that they were politically represented. Truly, a look at her life convinces you beyond doubt that the very air this woman breathed was for the purpose of bettering the lives of other people, particularly women. It is not an overstatement to say that she lived for others more than she did for herself.

As one who is the very definition of greatness, it is no doubt that her womb has produced some of the most important names in Nigeria such as Fela Kuti, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. This can be seen as God’s way of rewarding her for the sacrificial life she lived.

It was not only God that rewarded her, she also received a number of awards from people and institutions around the world. She received the Lenin Peace Prize and was awarded membership in the Order of the Niger for her work.

While Funmilayo was visiting her son Fela Kuti who was a diehard activist who often spoke against the military government, about a thousand soldiers invaded the house and began assaulting people, breaking properties in the process. She was thrown off a window from the second storey. She died a year later due to complications from the fall. Thousands of people attended her burial, most of which were women. Most of the women and traders closed their shops to attend her funeral.

On 25th October 2019, Ransome-Kuti was posthumously honoured with a Google Doodle created by Nigerian-Italian illustrator Diana Ejaita.

Many wonder if Nigeria will ever see someone like Funmilayo Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti again. We can only hope that the younger generation learns from her and walks a similar path in life.