Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti: The Lioness of Lisabi

Earth is going to die sooner than we all thought, and to save the world, I have to do a lot better than just recycling. Well, no, that's not what I was going to tell you, actually, so tell me tell me. Okay, okay, there goes everything you want to happen, and all the social progress you're anticipating, all the things your faiths are working for, they're not all achieved. Not everything works out like you wanted to, not by now at least. Wait what that's what you have to tell me?

That all the world's problems won't be solved during my lifetime. Oh my, what a waste of time in the past and the future book. I just wanted you to avoid the disappointment. Are you serious? I'm hanging up. That's how I turned out. This can't be real. I'm your host, Eve Jeff Cote here in the present. This is Unpopular a podcast about the people in history who did not let the threat of persecution keep them from speaking truth

to power. Y'all, I know that not every one and is going to be able to turn the world upside down in the short span of eighty or fewer years. I'm realistic about the way systems work and are challenged. Change takes time, and not every movie make is going to be the right one. There will be missteps, there will be decisions made that don't turn out quite how we want them to. At some point, we may adopt a philosophy that we later believe to be untrue or ineffective.

Mr X, I'm wondering if you still believe in a segregated black nation. No North America. I don't believe in any form of segregation or any form of racism. Is it? Am I right in saying that the Black Muslim movement which you have left diad believe in them? Well? Elijah Mohammed taught his followers that the only solution was a separate state for black people. But when I begin to doubt that he himself believed that that was feasible. Then I turned in a different direction. A perfect person is

a non existent person. A person who has all the correct answers to the world's problems from the beginning is not a human. There are plenty of people who thought they were making the best choices for their communities but ended up doing harm to the very people they were trying to protect. There also have been plenty of people who incited changes that seem to be for the greater good, but later those changes were reversed or overridden. Progress is

not a straight line. There will be bumps along the way, some aunt hills, some mountains. Sometimes we forget that we can only do the best we can do with our best intentions, turning to factual knowledge and the legacies of our forebears as guides. Yes, sometimes we get things wrong,

but we can't see into the future. Science and worldly knowledge are a faithful allies, but a degree of faith is required to believe our actions aren't for not and will be fruitful, to believe that what we're fighting for will pay off. And we have to have that kind of conviction if we're going to face the risk of persecution for the sake of progress. Every week we'll penetrate the consciousness of someone in history who went out on a limb to change the things they thought needed changing.

These are people who envisioned better futures that they believed they could help create in the present. They were dead set on unsticking people who were stuck in their ways and uprooting entrenched systems. They weren't clear buoyant, but they did have the foresight to realize the danger and harm certain structures could cause. They saw clearly the way systems were regressive, corrupt, and ineffective, and they did something about

it in whatever way they felt they could contribute. A lot of people hated them for it, put rope blocks in their path, and sought ways to tear them down. But others believed in their vision, and today, in hindsight, we can recognize them for their keen awareness and the guts they had to act on it. One such visionary was Fuomalayo Ransom Kuti, a Nigerian social and political leader who never let a fear of failure or punishment distract

her from fighting for women's rights and Nigerian independence. Foomalaya was a political leader, a nationalist, a democratic socialist, an anti colonialist, and a tireless advocate for education and women's rights. Basically, she's one of those people whose bios you really don't want to read to a crowded room because it's liable to spark an existential crisis and make you ask yourself what am I doing with my life? But just listing her titles, as many as she may have, still doesn't

do her work justice. It kind of beautifies her advocacy, wraps it in a nice little bow, and that makes sense. Obviously, we want to focus on the accomplishments of the leaders we admire in history. But part of the reason she was so successful was because she trudged through all the mud to get to greener pastures. Yes, Fu Malaya had a lot of supporters and people who looked up to her. After all, she was helping women and girls who often didn't get a chance to give voice to the issues

that affected them or were discounted when they did. But to a lot of people, including a lot of people in powerful positions, her views were way too radical and she had to stand up against a lot of those powerful people to fight for the things she cared about, which meant that the road to all those titles was a bumpy one. He might have already heard that Fumalaya was the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria.

You might even know that Fumalaya was the first female student to attend the Abbeokuta Grammar School, where she would later teach. But these small, though honorable facts of her life are just parts of her entire story. Fumalaya is remarkable for what she achieved, but she defied traditional roles and thought outside of the perimeters of contemporary practices and standards.

It took persistence, courage, and conviction for her to address the issue she did in the climate that she did, but that character was apparent early on in Fumalaya's life. Francis Abigail Olafumilao Thomas was born in nineteen hundred in Abiokuta in southern Nigeria. She was a member of the egg Bo people, a subgroup of the europe Book Sarah Taiwo, her great grandmother on her father's side, was sold into slavery but soon released of it and eventually she returned

to her home Nigeria. On her mom's side, Fumilao's oldest known relative is a man named Adi Boyer from Elie Lucretia and Daniel Thomas. Fumilao's mother and father were devout Anglicans. They were Western educated, war Western clothes, and spoke English, but they didn't shun tradition. They also spoke and taught their children their Euraba language, eight traditional food, and we're in a polygamous marriage in the Thomas household after ken

and European values collided. This mixing of cultures would be something that affected Fumi's principles and advocacy to She studied in England and believed in the right to an academic education, and she believed in women's rights to participate equally with men and nationalist political parties, but she also remained true

to her Yoroba heritage. Fum Malayah was married to Israel Olodotune Ransom Kuti, a clergyman, educator and administrator who founded the Nigeria Union of Teachers and helped improve conditions for teachers. At the time of her birth, Nigeria was under the rule of the British Crown. Southern Nigeria was a British Protectorate, which means it was a territory that was controlled by the British government but still has some local autonomy and independence.

But in nineteen fourteen, the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Britain proceeded to extend the system of indirect rule throughout Southern Nigeria, claiming the system would maintain the indigenous political and judicial

systems that were already in place. But what it actually did in Nigeria was put power in the hands of a small group of mostly men, like Adamola the Second who was elected Alaka or king in ninety and it stripped the power of many women who had previously been involved in the political process. Women had a strong history of leadership in Abiokuta, Nigeria before the advent of British rule,

but after female titles essentially became meaningless. In the nineteen forty seven article titled we had Equality Till Britain came, Fumlao wrote the following Before of the British adment in Nigeria, life there was mainly agricultural and there was a division of labor between men and women. The men cultivated the land and sewed, and it was chiefly the duty of women to reap. Women owned property, traded and exercised considerable

political and social influence on society. But after the British arrived, she went on to say women had little healthcare, poor education, and they were stripped naked by taxation policies. Fumilia was driven by her opposition to colonial rule and support of Nigerian independence, as well as her embrace of Euryba culture.

In fact, Fumilaya found a role model in my Damn Tanubu, an egg Ba woman who was a trader and anti colonialist, an Eggba nationalist, a defender of Abiokuta, and the first person to earn the title of Eld of All of the egg Box Elod, which literally means mother of the town, is a women's chieftaincy title. Fumlao looked up to Madam Tanubu as a feminist and a nationalist, and many people

saw Fumlayo as another Tanubu. I know of throwing a lot at you and trust me, There's much more to the story of Abiokuta and Britain's fraught relationship with it. But what's important to understand is that Britain's rule in Nigeria and the resulting political systems, as well as Fumalayo's love for women, Eggba people and culture and Nigeria were

some of the major catalyst for Fumalayo's activism. When we get back from the break, we'll get into Fumalayo's fierce opposition to colonial rule and her dedication to fighting for women's rights and education, which, as you could imagine, got some people to bring out their pitchforks and tiki torches. I think life is always dangerous. Some people get afraid of it. Some people don't go forward, but some people, if they want to achieve their goal, they have to go.

What is it that makes some people go forward and others prohibitively fearful or just plain indifferent. Science has tried to offer some explanations as to why some people are just so brave. How we respond to fear maybe written in our biology, depending on how our amygdala developed. It could be dependent on our environment, based on how much

violence or abuse we've been exposed to. It could have something to do with the way the stress hormone cortisol acts in different people or our choice to fight rather than fleet could really just come down to whether we think it's worth it in that specific situation. But in the end, our nature, our experiences, and our circumstances combine

to determine how we choose to face battles. Fumilao had to deal with a ton of antagonism and obstruction, and when she found herself up against these challenges, she had a choice. Does she let her doubts and fears keep her from speaking out and taking action, or does she keep fighting despite the obstacles. Fumilao always seemed to choose

the latter. Take Fumilao's advocacy for women traders. Fumalayo was well educated, but she began to believe that, in her words, we educated women were living outside of the daily life of the people. She began to listen to the women who worked in markets as traders, who generally weren't Western educated and were often poor to learn more a out

their concerns. The colonial administration had imposed price controls and food quotas to offset food shortages caused by World War two and to make sure soldiers were taken care of. So in nineteen, the government was seizing market women's rights

without compensation. The market women took this offense to the Abeokuta Ladies Club later known as the Abyakuta Women's Union, which was an organization Fumilayo founded that was initially focused on learning handicrafts and social etiquette, but eventually became more politicized. The Ladies Club protested the rice seizures by appealing to the press. Not long after, an article was published about the Abyacuta Ladies Clubs press conference, and the confiscations stopped.

As Fumilao continued to learn about the transgressions of the government's relations with market women, she became incensed. Conditional sales forced market women to buy unrelated goods with the goods they bought of their own will. This placed undo economic strain on them. Quotas on food to be sold to the government also led police, private subcontractors, and representatives of the Alaka or king of the Eggba to confiscate or

pay inadequate amounts for women traders goods. They would then resell those goods to the government at higher than market prices. So the Abyacuta Ladies Club became embroiled in a bunch of other civic and community projects. It called for sanitation improvements, financial aid to increase adult literacy, and the establishment of health clinics and playgrounds at schools. But the taxation of

women became one of the key issues. The Abyacuta Ladies Club or the a l C went up against The women of Abyokuta were some of the first in Nigeria who had a tax imposed on them by the British. This taxation replaced inclusive systems of tribute payments and conscripted labor, and it reflected British sentiments that colonies should bear the cost of their development. The taxation was unfair from the beginning.

Girls were taxed starting at age fifteen, boys at sixteen fives were taxed separately from their husbands, even if they didn't have sufficient income, and the tax was a flat rate on top of all the other fees women paid. And to make matters worse, tax collectors sometimes invaded homes, assaulted women and stripped them naked to supposedly determine their

age to see whether they were eligible for taxation. Women were even jailed for not paying taxes, and the British were paying local traditional authorities like the old bony chiefs to collect taxes. Whereas before the alaka had been subject to checks and balances, under the new soul native authority system, the alaka had a lot more power. The British were using the alaka, who had become a symbol of colonialism,

to enforce flat rate taxation. People in Abiokuta and the surrounding townships grew increasingly dissatisfied with alaka autamola the sole native authority system and the tax heights. So floom Alayo and the newly minted Abyokuta Women's Union raised the bar even more on their activism. Here's what Bole Sholanka said in his memoir Okay about the women's meetings at the

Ransom Kuti residence. Women of every occupation, the cloth dyer's weavers, basket makers and the usual petty traders of the markets. They arrived in ones, twos and groups that came from near and distant compounds, town sectors and far villages whose names I had never heard. They smelt of the sweat of the journey, of dyes, of dried fish, yam, flour of latterite, and the coconut oil of their plats. Okay, that quote was just too good not to share. I

mean coconut oil anyway, I digress. Fuma laos activism was never just about her. Sure, she was often the only woman in places and had an uncanny knack to connect with women all over the world, but her organizing shows the power of collective action. She put herself on the line and in positions of leadership not to increase her own political power, but to bring attention to and help solve women's issues. The fight against unfair taxation, the s

n A system and the corrupt alak was protracted. Women called for no taxation without representation and leaders, including Fumalayo, were imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes. Fumalayo and the movement became more radical, organizing sit ins, mass demonstrations, and market closures. Fumalayo always led the demonstrations and she even

trained women on mass resistance in her home. In November of nineteen seven, Fumalayo led a march of around ten thousand women to the Alakas Palace, protesting the authorities and their taxation without representation. They repeated the demonstration a little over a week later calling for the alla Ka to step down, and in nineteen forty nine, the tax on women was abolished, the tax on men was increased, and four women, including Ransom Kutie, were named to a new

interim Council. The alla Ka was charged with corruption and usurpation of powers that weren't his and he addicated, though he was later reinstated and eventually the Abokuto Women's Union expanded to become the Nigerian Women's Union, which would gain twenty thousand members and mobilize tens of thousands more. We're going to take a short break, so collect your feelings

about corrupt politicians and imperialism. Take a breath, and prepare yourself to dig deeper into fumilaos progressive but often controversial philosophies and actions. When we come back, we'll find out how Fumalaya's dedication to social justice was a lifelong one.

Fumilao's campaigns for women's rights weren't limited to Nigeria. She was committed to issues like universal adult suffrage and full self government it in Nigeria, but she was resolute about the ideas that women shouldn't be treated as second class citizens. That rights shouldn't be based on ethnicity or race, and that people who are impoverished are just as entitled to

the benefits of citizenship as everyone else. But no matter where in the world she was, she was resolute about the ideas that women shouldn't be treated as second class citizens, that rights shouldn't be based on ethnicity or race, and that people who are impoverished are just as entitled to the benefits of citizenship as everyone else. In nineteen forty seven, Fumlaya was the only female member of a Nigerian delegation that the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons sent

to London to protest the Richards Constitution. The Richards Constitution was drafted by the British without Nigerian's input and intensified regionalism and disunity based on ethnic divisions. While she was in England, she visited factories in daycare centers and addressed several women's organizations, including the London Women's Parliamentary Committee. She also talked about the issues of women in Nigeria and the Cameroons at a reception held by the Lord Mayor

of Manchester. Fomilia was active elsewhere on the continent of Africa to engaging with other human rights activists and organizations in pursuit of her ideals. Years later, Fomilaia was elected a vice president of the Women's International Democratic Federation, a Soviet inspired international organization that espoused communists and socialist philosophies, and though she wasn't a member of the Communist Party,

she visited communist countries and sometimes praised their efforts. In the nineteen sixty one article in the Journal of Human Relations, she said this about China's literacy campaigns. When we visited a Chinese women's adult education class, we were greatly impressed by the women's zeal. They were so absorbed in their lesson that they hardly took their eyes from their books. Every one of them was keen because they wanted to

equip themselves with the weapon of liberty. There was to be a total eradication of a literacy in their country. But then five years after their liberation, and no woman wanted to be left behind, We Nigerian women should be ready to emulate them and set to work vigorously. Fumilao didn't subscribe to nor was she against communism. During the Cold War, but Fumilao was pragmatic willing to take into consideration varying ideologies. That said, she was still punished for

her identification with international socialist organizations and radical feminism. She met contacts in the Eastern Bloc and even met with Malzadan, a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the first chairman of the People's Republic of China. These links led to the Nigeria government refusing to renew her passport until after Nigeria gained its independence in nineteen sixty. The United States had even denied Fumilayo's visa application because of her connections to

communism in nineteen fifty eight. In her later years after her husband died, Fumi Layo dedicated a lot of her time to school she'd established, but they had a lot of financial trouble and she later closed her school after governmental changes. In nineteen seventy seven, Fumi Layo was thrown out of a window when there was a raid on her outspoken son Phela's compound, the Calicutta Republic. After the raid,

the foot she'd injured never healed completely. She soon went into a coma and on April thirteenth, nineteen seventy eight, Fumilao died. We can't do everything, and we definitely can't do it all in one lifetime. But Fumilao Ransom coutis work is proof that we can absolutely leave a lasting effect on the communities we care about when we take action. She used her voice to mobilize women, so her motivation and principles could resound throughout the world and build a legacy.

Fumilia was able to stay a passionate, authentic, and politically savvy leader. Iabo mcinday said in an article on Fumilayo she was continually fighting one authority or another, and it wasn't for her own fake but for someone else's. Fumilao was willing to be the number one enemy and even take losses as long as it meant sticking to her guns. She was for the people and she was willing to put in the work to prove it. She wrote a song with her husband that went like this, it is

time to work. It is time to work. Children of Africa. Prepare yourselves. There is much to be done. A good person does not run away from work. A good person is not fearful, get down a lift the load. God is with us. There is no more fear. Let's get to work. Let's get to work. Our producer is Andrew Howard. Holly Fry and Christopher Hasiotis are our executive producers, and you can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcast.

We'll be back next week with another episode of Unpopular dot dot dot Dot p