In the decades leading up to Nigeria’s independence, two figures stood out for their distinct yet complementary contributions to the nation’s political awakening: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the pioneering educator and women’s rights advocate from Abeokuta, and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the northern statesman who became Nigeria’s first Prime Minister.
Their stories illuminate the interplay between grassroots activism and constitutional leadership in the country’s decolonisation, two approaches that rarely converged but ultimately shared a single goal: national self-determination.
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Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (1900–1978)
Born in Abeokuta, in present-day Ogun State, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (née Thomas) was educated at Abeokuta Grammar School and later studied in England, making her one of the first Nigerian women to pursue higher education abroad. On her return, she combined her teaching career with civic activism, promoting literacy, women’s empowerment, and political participation.
In the mid-1940s, Ransome-Kuti co-founded the Abeokuta Ladies’ Club, which initially served educated women but soon expanded to include market women and traders. This broader coalition evolved into the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU), one of the most influential women’s organisations in colonial Nigeria.
Under her leadership, the AWU organised a series of protests between 1946 and 1949 against unfair taxation and autocratic governance under the colonial administration and traditional authorities. These demonstrations, which drew thousands of women into the streets, culminated in the temporary abdication of the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Samuel Ladapo Ademola II, in 1949, a milestone victory in Nigerian women’s political history.
Beyond her activism in Abeokuta, Ransome-Kuti became an early member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), one of the foremost nationalist movements of the 1940s and 1950s. Through this platform, she championed suffrage expansion, social justice, and access to education for all Nigerians.
In 1951, she contested a seat in the Western Regional Assembly but was not elected. When the NCNC later declined to nominate her for the 1959 Federal House of Representatives elections, she ran as an independent candidate. Following that experience, she founded a small political movement known as the Commoners’ People’s Party (CPP), intended to represent the interests of ordinary citizens often excluded from elite politics. Although short-lived and with limited documentation, the CPP reflected her enduring commitment to social equality and grassroots representation.
In later years, her direct political influence waned, but her moral authority grew. She remained active in civic and women’s organisations, advocating for democracy, education, and gender equality.
Tragically, in 1977, during a military raid on her son Fela Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic in Lagos, she sustained severe injuries after being thrown from a window by soldiers. She never fully recovered and died in April 1978. Her death became symbolic of the state’s repression of dissent and the resilience of Nigeria’s women activists.
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)
Born in Bauchi, Northern Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was educated at Katsina College and later at the Institute of Education, University of London, in the early 1940s. He began his career as a teacher and school administrator before entering politics through the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), the dominant political organisation in the North.
By the early 1950s, Balewa had emerged as one of Nigeria’s most respected political figures. He served in the federal legislative council and later as Minister of Works and Minister of Transport in the colonial administration. Known for his eloquence, modesty, and diplomatic approach, he gained the trust of both his regional peers and British officials guiding Nigeria’s constitutional reforms.
In 1957, Balewa became Nigeria’s first federal Prime Minister under the colonial constitution, leading the government during the final transition to independence. Following the 1959 general election, the NPC won the largest number of parliamentary seats but fell short of an outright majority. Balewa negotiated a coalition with the NCNC, led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, ensuring regional representation and political stability during the crucial pre-independence period.
On 1 October 1960, Nigeria gained independence, and Balewa continued as the nation’s first Prime Minister. His administration was marked by moderation, a cautious approach to governance, and efforts to balance Nigeria’s complex regional interests. Internationally, he represented Nigeria with distinction, promoting African unity, non-alignment, and support for anti-colonial movements across the continent.
However, his premiership ended abruptly during the January 1966 military coup, when he was abducted and later found dead. His death marked the end of Nigeria’s First Republic and ushered in years of political turbulence.
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Political and Social Context
By the 1950s, Nigeria was a federation divided into three major regions, Northern, Western, and Eastern, each with distinct social and economic identities. British indirect rule had reinforced these divisions, with the North operating largely under traditional Islamic governance and the South more exposed to Western education and urbanisation.
Regional economies also varied: groundnuts dominated the North, cocoa the West, and palm oil the East. Simultaneously, an emerging class of educated Nigerians, teachers, clerks, intellectuals, and activists, began challenging colonial authority and demanding self-rule. Among them were pioneering women like Ransome-Kuti, who mobilised communities long excluded from formal politics.
The 1959 general election, held under British supervision, revealed deep regional political alignments. The NPC’s victory, though not absolute, enabled Balewa to lead a coalition government that would oversee the transition to independence the following year.
Intersecting Visions: Activism and Statesmanship
While there is no verified record of a direct meeting between Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, their parallel struggles represent the two essential forces that shaped Nigeria’s independence: grassroots activism and constitutional statesmanship.
Ransome-Kuti mobilised ordinary Nigerians, particularly women, to challenge injustice, demand political representation, and expand civic participation. Balewa, by contrast, worked within formal political institutions to negotiate constitutional progress and maintain fragile regional unity.
Together, they reflect how activism and governance, though distinct in method, converged in purpose, advancing Nigeria toward freedom, equality, and national identity.
The intertwined legacies of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa capture the dual essence of Nigeria’s independence movement, one born from the streets through activism and the other shaped in the chambers of political negotiation.
Author’s Note
While Ransome-Kuti’s defiance and community mobilisation gave ordinary Nigerians, especially women, a voice in public affairs, Balewa’s diplomacy and constitutional leadership provided the structure through which independence became a political reality. Their differing methods, protest and policy, were not opposites but parallel forces propelling Nigeria toward freedom. In the broader narrative of African decolonisation, their lives remind us that liberation is never the product of a single struggle but a convergence of visions: the courage to resist and the wisdom to govern. Together, Ransome-Kuti and Balewa stand as enduring symbols of conviction, balance, and service in Nigeria’s journey to nationhood.
References:
“The Lioness of Lisabi.” Al Jazeera Features
Sheroes Nigeria (Women in History Series)
Oriire.com (Profiles in Nigerian Political History)
kawa.ac.ug (Historical Overview of Nigerian Independence)
