“Unknown Soldier”: Women’s Radicalism and Activism and State Violence In 20th Century Nigeria
“Unknown Soldier”: Women’s Radicalism and Activism and State Violence In 20th Century Nigeria Paper presented at the Conference on Black Woman and the Radical Tradition, organized by the Graduate Center for Worker Education, Brooklyn College, CUNY March 28, 2009. Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science Brooklyn College, CUNY 3413 James Hall Phone: (718) 951-5000, ext. 1742 fax: (718) 951-4833 email: mokome@brooklyn.cuny.edu mojubaolu@gmail.com Abstract In “unknown soldier”, Fela Anikulapo Kuti in 1979 eulogized his mother, Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti through his protest music. Most Fela fans first met his mother through this eulogy. Fela like his mother, remained unbowed by the crushing repression of the Nigerian military regime under General Olusegun Obasanjo, which deployed armed forces to Kalakuta Republic, Fela’s multi-story residence where he lived with his mother and entourage in Yaba, Lagos. In the melee, mayhem and arson that en