By Oluwafemi Omodara
Many people know Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti simply as the mother of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. But long before Fela became famous, she had already secured her place as one of Nigeria’s greatest nationalists, educators, and champions of women’s rights.
Born on 25 October 1900 in Abeokuta, she became the first girl to attend Abeokuta Grammar School before studying in England. On returning home, she devoted her life to education and public service.
In 1946, she founded the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU), which grew into one of the most influential women’s movements in colonial Nigeria. She led thousands of women in peaceful campaigns against unfair taxation and discrimination under British colonial rule.
Her famous demand was:
“No Taxation Without Representation.”
She believed that women should not be taxed while being denied a voice in government. Her leadership during the Egba Women’s Tax Revolt (1947–1948) became one of the most significant acts of peaceful resistance in Nigeria’s colonial history. The sustained protests eventually led to the suspension of the tax on women and marked a turning point in the struggle for justice in Egbaland.
For her courage, she earned the traditional title Beere (“First Among Equals”) and became widely known as the “Lioness of Lisabi.”
Her influence extended beyond Abeokuta. In 1947, she was the only woman in the Nigerian delegation that travelled to Britain to challenge the Richards Constitution. She later participated in discussions that led to the Macpherson Constitution of 1951 and continued campaigning for voting rights and greater political participation for Nigerian women, including those in Northern Nigeria.
Funmilayo also argued that before British colonial rule, Yoruba women enjoyed greater economic and political influence, owning property, trading independently, and participating in public affairs. She dedicated her life to protecting those rights.
Her outspoken activism attracted criticism and political opposition, but she remained committed to justice, equality, and democratic participation. Her work inspired generations of Nigerians, including her son, Fela Kuti, whose music carried the same spirit of resistance against injustice.
On 18 February 1977, during the military raid on Kalakuta Republic, she sustained serious injuries. She never fully recovered and passed away on 13 April 1978, aged 77.
Sadly, many newspapers announced her passing with the headline:
“Fela’s Mum is Dead.”
History, however, remembers her for far more than that.
Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was not just the mother of a music icon. She was one of the architects of modern women’s activism in Nigeria, a fearless nationalist, and a woman whose courage helped reshape the nation’s history.
Her legacy continues to inspire Nigerians and Africans who believe in justice, equality, and the power of peaceful civic action.
Nigeria will always remember her as the “Lioness of Lisabi.”
#NigerianHistory #FunmilayoRansomeKuti #AfricanHistory #WomenInHistory
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