Olikoye Ransome-Kuti (30 December 1927 – 1 June 2003) was a

paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and health minister of Nigeria.

Early life and education

Olikoye Ransome-Kuti was born in

Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road north-east of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and p ...

on 30 December 1927, in present-day

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, Nigeria. His mother, Chief

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 ...

, was a prominent political campaigner and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist, and his father, Reverend

Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti (30 April 1891 – 6 April 1955) was a Nigerian clergyman and educationist. Life Israel was born on 30 April 1891 in Abeokuta, Ogun State to Josiah Ransome-Kuti and Bertha Anny Olubi. He completed his primary an ...

, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the

Nigeria Union of Teachers {{short description, Trade union in Nigeria Nigeria Union of Teachers is a major trade union in Nigeria. It was formed to create a united front for practitioners of the teaching profession in the country. Major objectives of the union covers the imp ...

. His brother Fela would grow up to be a popular musician and a founder of

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

, while another brother,

Beko Beko ( ; stylized as beko) is a Turkish major appliance and consumer electronics brand of Arçelik A.Ş. controlled by Koç Holding. History Beko Elektronik A.Ş. was founded by Vehbi Koç, the founder of Koç Holding (who also founded Arç ...

, would become an internationally known physician and political activist. Ransome-Kuti attended

Abeokuta Grammar School Abeokuta Grammar School is a secondary school in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. It is currently located at Idi-Aba area, of Abeokuta. Often called the first grammar school in Nigeria, it is attended by students from all parts of Nige ...

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(1948–54).

Career

Ransome-Kuti was a house physician at

General Hospital, Lagos General Hospital, Lagos, is the oldest hospital in Nigeria. History General Hospital, Lagos Odan is situated in Odan, Lagos Island, between Broad Street and Marina in the central business district. The hospital is one of the several general hos ...

. He was senior lecturer at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

from 1967 to 1970 and appointed Director of child health at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and became Head of Department of

Paediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

from 1968 to 1976. He was professor of paediatrics at the

College of Medicine, University of Lagos College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) also known as Medilag is the medical school affiliated with the University of Lagos. It is located in Idi-Araba, Lagos beside its sister institution, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. The colle ...

until his retirement in 1988. He worked as senior house officer at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

, London, and as a

locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...

in the 1960s. In the 1980s, he joined the government of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

as the health minister. In 1983 along with two other Nigerians, he founded one of Nigeria's largest health focused NGOs –

Society for Family Health Nigeria The Society for Family Health (SFH) is a pan-African non governmental organisation (NGO), founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985. The organisation was founded by three Nigerians, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Mallam Dahiru Wali, and Hon. Justi ...

primarily concerned with family planning and child health services at the time. In 1986, he conveyed word of Nigeria's first

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

case, a 14-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

. He was minister until 1992, when he joined the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

as its Deputy Director-General. He held various teaching positions, including a visiting professorship at Baltimore's

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

's school of hygiene and public health. He wrote extensively for medical journals and publications. He won both the Leon Bernard Foundation Prize and the

Maurice Pate Maurice Pate (October 14, 1894 – January 19, 1965) was an American humanitarian and businessman. Pate served as the first executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) from 1947 until his death in 1965, after being proposed by ...

Award, in 1986 and in 1990 respectively.

Death

Ransome-Kuti died on 1 June 2003. He was survived by his wife of 50 years Sonia and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ransome-Kuti, Olikoye Nigerian activists Nigerian pediatricians 1927 births 2003 deaths Yoruba physicians Health ministers of Nigeria World Health Organization officials Ransome-Kuti family University of Ibadan alumni Yoruba activists People from Ijebu Ode Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom University of Lagos faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors Yoruba academics Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Yoruba politicians Physicians from Lagos Educators from Lagos Nigerian officials of the United Nations Léon Bernard Foundation Prize laureates