Reflections on the Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti Biopic
We all have such moments when life presents us with opportunities—perhaps disguised as challenges sometimes. How we respond can determine the trajectory of the rest of our lives.
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This month’s writing is inspired by the Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti biopic I recently watched—a fantastic production from Bolanle Austen Peters Productions. Social media has been abuzz with positive commendations on the movie—the cast, the story, its impact on Nigerian history, and so much more. Honestly, I have rewatched the film about three times—yes, I found it that delightful and inspiring, lol.
What I particularly liked about the movie is how it did an excellent job revealing the humanness of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. No superhero-type story with invincible characters. Funmilayo, in the film, had so much relatability to our humanity. This is something we generally need to do better at when we tell the stories of our leaders and heroes past. We also do not see much of it from our entrepreneurs, leaders, and icons in Nigeria and, by extension, Africa today—vulnerability. We are often left to imagine that our icons are perfect, without weakness or vulnerable moments—hence the birth of the Origins Africa Podcast. But I digress.
Let’s get back to the Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti biopic.
In what ways did the film reflect her humanness, which is something we can all relate to? I’ll share four insights that stuck with me:
1. The Foundation
From the film, we see that Funmilayo’s dad was the driving force of her life. He taught her how to push boundaries—she was the first female student at Abeokuta Grammar School. He taught her not to be afraid to fall or stumble. He taught her how to fly and chase her dreams. It was upon this foundation that the rest of Funmilayo’s life was anchored.
This begs the question for us as parents and even managers of team members today:
What foundation are you laying? How are you raising your kids and team members? Are you teaching them to shrink themselves and conform or releasing them to fly? Are you creating a safe place for them to stumble and fall, make mistakes and learn from them, and fail forward as they journey to self-actualisation, or are you promoting a fearful environment?
Without the solid foundation laid by Funmilayo’s dad, she might not have developed the mindset and toolkit needed to achieve all she later accomplished.
2. The Serendipitous Nature of Life
What if Funmilayo had not gone to the market on the day the Parakoyi (tax collectors) came? Would her story have been one of a school proprietor and teacher mostly?
Meeting the Parakoyi at the market on that day changed the trajectory of the rest of her life—serendipity.
Life is full of serendipitous moments.
Some of us assume an illusion of control, like we planned this and that. But through all our plans, we must recognise and acknowledge that there are things that happened that were beyond us, that we can’t explain, and that ushered us to where we are today. Serendipity—the God factor, if you are religious.
For instance, if not for a serendipitous conversation about AIESEC with an old friend of mine, Tolu Adetunji, at the University of Ibadan in 2011, my life might have taken a different course. That conversation led me to join AIESEC (the world’s largest student-run organisation) in 2012, which led me to Venture Garden Group after school—the formative period of my career—which then led to where I am today. Of course, I worked hard through all these experiences, as Funmilayo did through hers, but I must acknowledge the serendipity in my journey. This keeps me humble and grounded, causing me to recognise my control limits as well as the other factors at play in my life.
What are the serendipitous moments in your life that have led you to where you are today? Can you recognise and acknowledge them?
But even more importantly, what if Funmilayo hadn’t responded the way she did to the Parakoyi at the market on that day? What if she hadn’t taken the matter forward on her head thereafter? Funmilayo witnessed an injustice, thought it wasn’t right, and decided to fight against it.
We all have such moments when life presents us with opportunities—perhaps disguised as challenges sometimes. How we respond can determine the trajectory of the rest of our lives.
May we not miss our serendipitous moments. May we experience them, recognise them, and respond effectively.
3. The Self-Doubt Moments
“Maybe I should just stop”—Funmilayo, played by Kehinde Bankole, uttered this after she and some of the women were arrested during the protest. She wondered if she was on the right path and wasn’t making a mistake.
Everyone has that moment of vulnerability, where you’d be at your lowest and doubt and question yourself. You’d wonder if you were on the right path. Even Jesus Christ had it—just before his crucifixion.
You may be reading this and are already contemplating if you should stop, if you should give up. Maybe you are a CEO/entrepreneur, and you sometimes wonder if you aren’t leading your people astray—after all, you are leading your people to a promised land that you haven’t seen or experienced.
Could I encourage you as we start the second half of the year?
The most challenging moments often lead to the most significant moments of one’s life, as it did for Funmilayo and many other icons and leaders who have gone before us. You’ve come too far to give up now. You are at your night before the new dawn. Hang in there.
And perhaps you have yet to experience this. Let this prepare you because that moment will come. When it does, I hope you remember this very moment as you read this newsletter. I hope you do not give up or give in. I hope you stand. I am rooting for you.
What will be particularly helpful in these tough moments will be your relationships—people who will reaffirm you and remind you of your battles won in the past.
Funmilayo found that in a few friends, her sister-in-law, and especially, her husband. He was the giant on whose shoulders she stood tall.
We all need to have people like that in our corner. I hope you do; people you can be vulnerable with. If not, explore building that now. Deep, authentic, and vulnerable relationships. It might require patience to nurture. It’s okay if it’s just one person you find it in, too. Or you might have different people you can be vulnerable with for different issues like I do. But just make sure you’ve got someone in your corner. We are not meant to go through life alone.
Towards the end of the film, Joke Silva, playing the older Funmilayo, said—“There was nothing I accomplished without the strength and the support of the man I loved.”
We all deserve to have someone or people like that in our lives.
4. Our Shared Humanity
“We won, but I lost”—one of the closing statements uttered by Joke Silva in the final scene of the film. Albeit they won the protest and succeeded, she lost her husband to cancer.
“I wish we could have had one more day to walk the fields,” she said.
This was perhaps one of the deepest parts of the movie for me—the sense of her loss years after was still so palpable. Love is one of the most powerful of human emotions.
The scene reminded me that we are all still human beings at the end of the day, regardless of the feats we accomplish. We all experience the same emotions and feelings—love, heartbreak, sadness, fear, doubt, joy, pain, etc. Yes, even that manager, that colleague, that parent, that leader, that entrepreneur you feel is toxic or all high and mighty. They are all still human beings, and we all want the same things—to feel safe, love, and be loved. We do not know what internal battles or feelings they are dealing with.
Let’s extend grace to everyone and practice empathy, without losing our self-respect and dignity. Let's embrace kindness.
I recently found a new definition of kindness that blew my mind and expanded my understanding of what kindness means:
“Kindness is loaning someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness” – Andy Stanley.
We need more of this in the world today.
Wishing you courage and clarity on your path, and a better H2 2024,
O’Seye
P.S. 1: You can watch the Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti biopic on Amazon Prime Video.
P.S. 2: Book a free 30-minute discovery call here, and let's explore how we can work together to help you unlock and maximise your strengths for personal and organisational excellence.