Yemisi Ransome-Kuti
Nigerian activist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yemisi Ransome-Kuti (ⓘ) is the only child of Azariah Olusegun Ransome-Kuti. She is also the grand-daughter of Josiah Ransome-Kuti.[1] Her aunt Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a foremost feminist in Nigeria who was also part of the delegation that went to negotiate the terms of independence for their country from the British.
Yemisi Ransome-Kuti | |
|---|---|
Yemisi Ransome-Kuti portrait | |
| Born | Nigeria |
| Citizenship | Nigerian |
| Occupations | Educator, Activist |
| Known for | Contributions to education and social development |
Ransome-Kuti is the cousin of Fela Kuti, Olikoye Kuti, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Africa's first Nobel Prize for Literature-winner Wole Soyinka, whose mother was a Ransome-Kuti.[1] She has four children: Segun Bucknor by her first husband, the late Naval Captain Frederick Oluwole Bucknor, and three by her second husband, Dr Kunle Soyemi — Bola Soyemi, Seun Soyemi and Eniola Soyemi. With Fela Kuti, Beko Kuti and Koye Kuti all dead, Yemisi is the current head of the Ransome-Kuti family.
She recently[when?] retired as chairperson of the organization she founded, The Nigerian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NNNGO).[2] The first organization of its kind in Nigeria to bring together civil society organizations, it has worked since its formation in 1992 to effect a harmonized agenda for third-sector development and its influence in the national framework.
In the early 1990s, she established "Girl Watch"; an organization aimed at educating young Nigerian girls from poor backgrounds. In 2006, she was appointed a Civil Society advisor to the World Bank. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti was one of those leading the charge in working for Nigeria to meet its Millennium Development Goals and eradicate poverty.[3]
Recognition
On May 28, 2022, Ransome-Kuti was nominated for the WIV impact award.[4]
