Grace Eniola Soyinka (née Jenkins-Harrison) (1908–1983) was a Nigerian shopkeeper, activist and member of the aristocratic

Ransome-Kuti family The Ransome-Kuti family is a Nigerian Yoruba political family noted for its simultaneous contributions to art, religion, education and medicine. It belongs to the Nigerian bourgeoisie, and also has historic links to the Nigerian chieftaincy sy ...

. She co-founded the Abeokuta Women’s Union with

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, MON ( /ˌfʊnmiˈlaɪjoʊ ˈrænsəm ˈkuːti/; born Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas; 25 October 190013 April 1978), also known as Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti, was a Nigerian educator, political campaigner, suf ...

, her aunt-in-law. They protested against taxes introduced by the Alake of

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

, the ruler backed by the colonial authorities. They withheld the taxes, and eventually the Alake abdicated. The union, which had a membership of 20,000 women, eventually evolved into the national organisation the Nigerian Women's Union. She grew up in the household of her grandfather, the clergyman and composer

Josiah Ransome-Kuti Josiah Jesse "J.J." Ransome-Kuti (1 June 1855 – 4 September 1930) was a Nigerian clergyman and music composer. He was known for setting Christian hymns to indigenous music, and for writing Christian hymns in Yoruba. Early life and career Jos ...

. Her mother, Rev. Ransome-Kuti's first daughter, Anne Lape Iyabode Ransome-Kuti, married Mr. Jenkins-Harrison. In childhood Grace Eniola had been sent to live with her grandparents, uncles and aunts, all of whom she was very close to. She is often erroneously referred to as Rev. Ransome-Kuti's daughter. She married Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

minister. The second of their seven children was

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

, writer and 1986 winner of the

Nobel Prize in literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

. Wole Soyinka gives an account of his parents' home life and his mother’s activism in his 1981 memoir '' Ake: the years of childhood''. He called Grace "Wild Christian" in reference to her devout Anglicanism. She died in 1983, at the age of 75, but was described as very energetic into her seventies, entertaining her relatives with singing and dancing.

References

Nigerian Anglicans People from colonial Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian women Ransome-Kuti family 1908 births 1983 deaths Nigerian women activists Yoruba women activists People from Abeokuta {{DEFAULTSORT:Soyinka, Grace

Further reading

References