free October!

October has proven to be quite a significant month, great people were born in this month. My mentor and confidante was born in October. A thoroughbred intellectual, a stalwart in African development, an entrepreneur, an absolute Pan-African original. May the creator preserve such beings.

This post is dedicated to two women who also share a common thread.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Born 25 Oct. 1900 | Died 13 April 1978) was a Nigerian feminist who fought for suffrage and equal rights for her countrywomen long before the second wave of the women's movement in the United States. She also joined the struggle for Nigerian independence as an activist in the anti-colonial movement. Described by many as the mother of women's rights in Nigeria, she was regarded in her time as "The Mother of Africa."

An educationist and an activist, she founded a secondary school in Abeokuta to educate and train Nigerian men and women as future leaders.

She led a successful movement that helped abolish separate tax rates for women. In 1953, she founded the Federation of Nigerian Women Societies which formed an alliance with the Women's International Democratic Federation.

Nontsikelelo Thethiwe-Sisulu

Albertina Sisulu (Born 21 Oct. 1918 | Died 02 June 2011) was born as Nontsikelelo Thethiwe and given the European name of Albertina when she started at the local mission school. In 1939 she was accepted as a trainee nurse at Johannesburg General, a 'non-European' hospital, and began work there in January 1940.

Albertina Sisulu was affectionately known as "The mother of the nation". She was an activist who dedicated her whole life to the struggle of human rights and dignity.

In 1948 the ANC Women's League was formed and Albertina Sisulu joined immediately.

In 1989 Albertina was asked as "the patroness of the principal black opposition group" in South Africa (the wording of the official invitation) to meet with US president George W Bush, former president Jimmy Carter, and UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Both countries had resisted economic action against South Africa. She was given a special dispensation to leave the country and provided with a passport. Albertina gave many interviews whilst overseas, detailing the severe conditions for Blacks within South Africa and commenting on what she saw as the West's responsibilities in maintaining sanctions against the Apartheid regime.

Funmilayo & Nontsikelelo

The personas of their off-springs have been a collage of insightful, controversial and peculiar outcomes.

Fela Kuti (born in October) is the son of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, he is a perfect example of the latter.

I read a Chimurenga Chronic edition called 'The last words of Fela Anikulapo Kuti'. Please click here and read it. The digital interactive elements will give you a visual journey that's worth your while.


Taken from the article (the interview):

"Femi: Okay. I found that—not only me, many many young people, Nigerians lets say—many of the social and political issues that you were talking about since the early 1970’s proved themselves true. The present political crisis in Nigeria and the revealed long term collusion between our military dictators and western powers came true. What next?

Fela: What next? [Long pause.] You see Femi [laughs to himself], for me to talk about “what next” can take days . . . but then I have to answer the question as soon as possible. I will first of all ask people what has the human being gained from all these years of so-called government, so called development of civilization. There has not been little gain anywhere. The black people in England are still having the same experiences, same in America, Africa is worse. The experiences are worse in Africa because of the conspiracy of the white people against the Africans, you see? The American government will shout to us from America that “democracy is the right thing to do!” but they in themselves are not democratic—at all! The UN is not democratic. You have five countries with vetoes there, China, Britain, France, America, Russia. They can just veto anything the passes through there! How can America, Britain or basically “white people” tell us that in Africa about democracy? Without the army behind their governments there cannot be any democracy [laughs], you see? That is why Bill Clinton himself is the commander of the armed forces—so can we say it is a military government? Well, if the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces as it is in the U.S., then it is a military government! It’s just that they are covering up with poli-tricks. I call it DEMOCRAZY. Now this democrazy that people are talking about in America and England, in order to participate in it, the population of the country has to be literate to fully understand what they’re voting for. If you come to Nigeria man, only 20% of people are educated—all the people who are supposedly going to vote can’t even write! They don’t even know what they’re reading—so this voting democrazy cannot be the system to develop the human race. Something is wrong somewhere but the whole system keeps going round and round and round. And with all the going round it knocks some people down. Gbam! Like it knocked Africa down you see . . .? There was a war in the gulf and oil prices were going down when they should be going up! Damn! Do you know an American can just walk into Lagos and watch my show for a dollar and fucking fifty cents, man?"

Bless. November you are welcomed. 




Sources: www.reunionblackfamily.com; www.wikipedia.org; www.sahistory.org.za; http://www.chimurengachronic.co.za

Image sources: www.re-thinkingafrica.blogspot.com; www.cnn.com; www.reunionblackfamily.com