Kudirat Abiola came on stage as one of these female leaders at a critical time in Nigeria’s history and continued the tradition which many women before her had established. Nigerian oral tradition, eye witness accounts and recent writings are replete with accounts of the contributions of these women leaders at different periods in Nigerian history. These women fall into different categories: some were women of letters, like Nana Asmau, the scholar daughter of Uthman dan Fodio; and more recently, writers like Flora Nwapa and Zulu Sofola; there were business women of note such as Iyalode Tinubu of Lagos and Abeokuta, Iyabode Efunsetan of Ibadan, in the 19th century, and Madam Pelewura of Lagos, Madam Nzimiro of Port Harcourt, Alhaja Humuani Alaga of Ibadan in the 20th century; some found their metier in politics, but the nature of their political participation was not the same.
Queen Kambasa of Bonny and Queen Amina of Zaria wielded supreme in their kingdoms; they initiated policies and executed them as the final authority in the land. Other women emerged as political leaders competing for power and authority with their male colleagues. Of note here were the two successful business women mentioned above: Iyalode Tinubu and Iyalode Efunsetan. As Iyalode (s), they were the most senior female chiefs involved in the governance of their towns, and by the virtue of their position, they were the leaders of women and became their spokespersons, particularly in times of crisis. These two Iyalode(s) were forces to be reckoned with in the politics of Lagos and Ibadan; they led the opposition to what they considered unjust activities and paid the price for being outspoken. Tinubu, who spoke against the British gradual domination of Lagos under a weak ruler, was exiled from Lagos. Efunsetan who opposed Ibadan’s continuous wars of aggression against its neighbours paid the supreme sacrifice through the machinations of male warrior chiefs, the beneficiaries of these wars, who contrived her death.
In a different category are the women politicians of modern Nigeria. Of note here were Funmilayo Ransome Kuti of Abeokuta who fought against the unjust taxation of the British colonial government and the imposition of sole rule by the Egba traditional ruler, contrary to the traditional practice of the people; Margaret Ekpo who led the protest against the Enugu coal-miners’ massacre in 1949 and was also put in detention during the Nigerian Civil War for 30 months because of her support for a united Nigeria; Sawaba Gambo who also fought against the British colonial rule and even more against the disenfranchisement of women in Northern Nigeria, until 1999; she was imprisoned 16 times for her political activities. A politician of a different hue in the colonial period was Adunni Oluwole, who founded her own political party— the Nigerian Commoners Liberal Party — in 1954; she led that party and she achieved the rare feat of winning seat in Osun North during the elections.
1993, the election which her husband won. In addition, she protested against the violation of human rights and unjust incarceration of her husband, MKO Abiola. She worked with all groups that wanted the end of military rule. Her beliefs and actions were in line with those of her predecessors, and like them she paid the supreme price when she was felled by an assassin’s bullet, as she was preparing for another onslaught on Abacha’s military regime in 1994. But to fully grasp Kudirat’s contribution and to appreciate her role in the history of the Nigerian nation, her story must be told. So many questions are still waiting answers for a fair assessment of her role, not only in Nigerian history, but in the women’s movement in Nigeria. Indeed, such questions will not only give us an insight into the make up of this courageous woman, but also throw some light on the factors that surrounded the events which led to the annulment of the elections on June 12th , 1993. They might even explain the tremendous filip which the civil rights movement experienced during this period, the success in mobilizing the general populace — workers, market women, students— to rise up in defence of democracy and justice. What were her antecedents and what factors led to her transformation from a housewife- cum-business woman to a major focal point in the struggle for democracy and earned her the assassin’s bullet in 1994? Would she have come to the political limelight if her husband’s election had not been annulled and he had become the president? What was the significance of the oppressive military regime of that period which annulled the June 12th 1993 elections in mobilizing the population behind her and making them accept her as one of the arrowheads of the opposition to that regime? Was there any linkage between her and the party machinery, which under normal circumstances, would not have allowed a woman to occupy such a leadership position? What were her international connections and how did she manage them?
Available records seem to suggest that her life was in some significant respects different from those of her predecessors, like Iyalode Tinubu and Iyalode Efunsetan, as well as the others already mentioned above. She was certainly wealthy, like the two Iyalode(s) and she had the resources to sustain her efforts, but unlike them, there is as yet little evidence available on her early political activism. A cursory examination of her life, however, suggests a few significant points of note. Like her predecessors she stood up for what she considered just and fair and got tremendous support for her stand. She moved many steps ahead of them in certain respects. A product of her own times (her constituency was a much wider one), embracing virtually the whole of Nigeria, where she had a following in many different parts; her leadership was therefore not a localized one. In all these places it embraced women in large numbers, but also included an impressive number of men. She could not be called a the leader of women, per se, like her earlier counterparts; she did not appear to have been part of their efforts to ensure gender equity and fair play, yet she added tremendous momentum to the women’s movement and encouraged women to speak up for their rights. An in dept study of the life of this courageous woman has become imperative to set the record straight and to position her properly in the history of the Nigerian nation.
Culled from Kudirat: Steps in Time, a publication of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, KIND. Copies can be bought at KIND, www.kind.org