By Yusuf Boluwatife, Moboluwade Tobiloba and Lawal Adenike
Much of Nigeria’s history is replete with the travails and triumphs of men who fought for the country’s independence on October 1, 1960. Little is said about the resilience and courage of women who have played a major role in the development of Nigeria.
In honour of Nigeria’s 61st Independence anniversary, here are seven powerful women whose contributions and extraordinary achievements have helped shaped the country’s destiny.
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
She was an activist, teacher and political campaigner. Mother to Afrobeat pioneer and political activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, she was one of the people who fought and birthed Nigeria’s independence.
She co-founded the Abeokuta Women’s Union in the 1940, which led the women’s protest against colonial taxation in 1946. She also co-founded the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) with her husband Rev. Israel Oludotun Ransome Kuti in 1931.
She established several schools in Southern Nigeria and constantly remained a fighting force for women’s rights throughout her life.
Magaret Ekpo
She was Nigeria’s first female political activist. She helped women insert themselves into the First Republic.
Ekpo organised a market women association n Aba to unionize the city. She used this association to promote women solidarity, as a platform to fight for economic right of women, economic protections and expansionary political rights of women.
Ladi Dosei Kwali
Born in 1925 in Abuja, she took the name of her community as her surname hence Ladi Kwali.
Described as the pioneer of modern pottery in Nigeria, she learnt pottery from her Aunt who used Gwarin Yamma coiling and pinching method. Ladi improved on her craft and made some pieces that attracted several people, including Michael Cardew, the founder of the first pottery training center in Abuja.
She is the first and only woman to appear on the Nigerian currency. Her portrait adorns the back of Nigeria’s 20 Naira note.
Although Ladi had no formal education, she was appointed a resource person of the Abuja Pottery Centre, Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna State. She was later honored her with a doctorate degree in 1977.
Virginia Etiaba
Born in 1942, Virginia Ngozi Etiaba was the first female governor in Nigeria’s history. Her stint as governor of Anambra State lasted for only three months from 2006 to 2007.
During her brief tenure, she was said to have flagged off several road projects and signed Anambra State’s Child Right Bill into law. Etiaba also invested heavily into the state petroleum company.
She also managed to put an end to ‘suba kwa igbo’ , which is an attempt to stop the Igbo language and culture. This single act of hers earned her the nickname ‘Mama Anambra’.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-iweala is a global finance expert, an economist, and international developed professor with over 30 years experience of working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America.
She twice served as Nigeria’s minister of finance, worked at the World Bank for more than 20 years, and served on the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Okonjo-Iweala is currently the seventh Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She became the first woman and the first African to hold the coveted office.
Aisha Yesufu
Aisha Somtochukwu Yesufu is a Nigerian activist and businesswoman.
She co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which brings attention to the abduction of over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria on 14 April 2014, by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
Notably, she is known for her prominent engagement during the #EndSARS movement against police brutality in Nigeria. An iconic photo of her was taken during the protest. In this picture, the 47-year-old stood with her legs widely opened and her fist held high in the hair — signifying “defiance” as at the time of the protest.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian writer, novelist, and feminist, Adichie wears many hats. Her first novel Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
Half Of A Yellow Sun, her second and most famous novel, about the Biafran war, has been made into a film. In 2017, she published Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions.
Her famous TED talk “We should all be feminists” which was later adapted into a book of the same title, remains a go-to material for understanding the importance of feminism in today’s world.
