Afrigather As a lover of historic motion pictures, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was one film I extremely anticipated and actually broke the financial institution to observe. Finest consider, it’s every thing a historic film is fabricated from.
A narrative of “A fearless feminine chief [who] sparks a revolution towards colonialism and patriarchy in Nigeria, eternally remodeling the future of her nation.” – Synopsis from IMDB
A story that demonstrates the facility of a girl fueled by ardour to battle for a trigger pricey to her coronary heart, backed by the love of her man (Israel Ransome-Kuti) and the help of her household.
The film traverses the lifetime of Funmilayo as an adolescent (performed by Iyimide Ayo-Olumoko), an grownup (performed by Kehinde Bankole), and an older woman (performed by Joke Silva), who narrates her story for all to see.
Produced and directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters, and written by Tunde Babalola, the very first thing that caught my consideration was the casting and the set.
From Kehinde Bankole to Ibrahim Suleiman, the legendary Joke Silva, Omowunmi Dada, and Adunni Ade, to veteran actors, Keppy Ekpenyong-Bassey, Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami, and Dele Odule, the casting was a ten/10 and simply the fitting set of actors was assigned to every function. Let’s not overlook the Kutis’, Yeni Kuti (enjoying the function of her aunt Dolupo), Dotun Ransome-Kuti (performed as his father Olikoye Ransome-Kuti), and Kunle Ransome-Kuti (additionally performed as his father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti).
Whereas the casting was nice, a deeper dive into the historical past of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, as not only a girls’s rights activist who spearheaded the Abeokuta Girls’s Revolt (additionally known as the Egba Girls’s Tax Riot) which shook the foundations of the colonial authorities in Nigeria and led to the non permanent abdication of the Alake (Oba Oladapo Samuel Ademola), and tax reforms for the ladies, but additionally as a political chief would have been an incredible angle to discover.
Historical past has not been honest to the good “Lioness of Lisabi,” who oftentimes is barely acknowledged in our textbooks because the mom of Afrobeat legend, Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì and the primary lady to drive a automotive in Nigeria. And as time progressed, her story started to fade, till the discharge of this film, which I consider reveals the energy of a girl dwelling in a patriarchal society that views them as merely a commodity for the pleasure of males.
We see this mentality enjoying out with the way in which the grownup Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was disregarded and ill-treated when she peacefully tabled the extreme taxation on the Egba Market Girls and the bullying of the Parakoyi to The Alake and his chiefs.
It was essential to share the story of the Egba Girls and their fearless chief through the colonial interval from the angle of unbiased storytelling and whereas this film was in a position to obtain this to an incredible extent, it will be superb to increase the story to cowl Funmilayo’s nationalism and political exploits as she grew to become one of many founding members of Nigeria’s first political occasion, the Nationwide Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC).
You’ll be able to’t evaluate this film with out speaking about tradition. From the set that took us again a number of many years to previous Abeokuta city, to the colourful colours of the Adire supplies and Oleku type rocked by the ladies, which was not solely a bodily illustration of their unity as members of the then newly-formed Abeokuta Girls’s Union but additionally a resplendent show of the trending trend of the day.
The spotlight of the film for me and the show of tradition was when the Oro (which no lady is supposed to see) was launched by the Alake to scare away the Abeokuta Girls, who had gathered at his palace to request the abolition of extra taxes.
“The place there’s a will, there’s a means” – Chief Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas (Funmilayo’s Father)
This saying may be very prevalent right here as the ladies sought out the aged amongst them, who bared their chests to nullify the impact of the Oro. This scene alone received me on the sting of my seat, screaming “Woman Energy!” “You Go Ladies!!” And I’m not ashamed of this.
Because the film got here to an finish, the saying between Funmilayo and her loving husband, Israel, “No arms” and its which means that “even an elephant can not cease a decided lioness” remained with me as I reminisce about how the film performed out and the lifetime of the good lady Olufumilayo Ransome-Kuti…
From turning into the primary feminine pupil in her secondary faculty – Abeokuta Grammar Faculty, to assembly her would-be husband, Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (then head boy of her faculty), the alternate of correspondence (or letters) within the absence of WhatsApp or Instagram to the blooming of friendship and escalation of affection that grew a household that’s nonetheless famend to this point.
“Beating the colonialist is by understanding what they know” – Chief Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas (Funmilayo’s Father)
In relation to the above quote, training, an encounter and willpower can change the course of historical past. One in all such encounters was Funmilayo’s go to to the market and her expertise with the Parakoyi, which introduced her face-to-face with the plight of the Egba Market girls and gave her a harsh firsthand understanding of what the ladies had been going by means of by the hands of the Alake and colonial officers.
Their plight, coupled with the “Simply A Lady” considering of the Alake would show to be his downfall.
Change, they are saying, is the one fixed, and this was proved because the burden on the Egba girls elevated. With the refusal of the Alake to put in a brand new Iya Loja and the tax enhance, the Abeokuta Girls’s Membership (made up of the elite girls of the society on the summon of Mrs. Ransome-Kuti) and later, the Abeokuta Girls Union (that included girls from all walks of life) was birthed and facilitated a revolution that modified the course of Egbaland historical past to this point.
I’ll go away you with this to take house, “By no means underestimate a girl!”
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