Ladi Kwali: The talented potter who made it to the back of ₦20 note

Although General Murtala Muhammed is the main figure on the 20 Naira note, there’s a woman at the flipside of the bill who is set in her craft, rolling the potter’s wheel. Her name is Ladi Kwali. A talented potter from the village of Kwali in the Gwari area of what is now called the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. She was born in 1925 and though she never had a formal education, she was one of the most influential women of art.

Ladi Kwali came from a family of artists where pottery was a female tradition. Normally, these women would practice their vocation in obscurity, but Kwali was like the proverbial golden fish. She had a unique talent that could not be hidden.

She had a ravenous mind as a child and this prompted her aunt to start teaching her pottery at an early age. She learned how to use a traditional method of throwing clay with hands and pinching it into shape.

She excelled in the crafts and her wares were often sold even before they were taken to the markets.

She later set out on her own and moved to Suleja. It was from there she made figurative patterned pots that were used as water jars, cooking pots, bowls, and flasks from coils of clay. Her pots were noted for their beauty of form and decoration.

It wasn’t long before her work was used as decorative pieces in homes of prominent Nigerians including the Emir of Abuja.

In 1954, she joined the Abuja Pottery as its first female potter. This was where she developed her skills in the modern European method of pottery under Michael Cardew. Cardew was a studio potter who was appointed as the Pottery Officer by the colonial government in 1951. He established the Abuja Pottery Training Centre. She returned the favour by teaching Cardew the traditional pottery skills.

Over time, her ceramics became incredible pieces of art that gained prominence in Europe and America. Her works were shown in Berkely Galleries in London. And during Nigeria’s independence celebration in 1960, her potteries were displayed as a tribute to Nigeria’s artistic talent and craftsmanship.

This shot her to global limelight. She was invited to give lectures and demonstrations across Britain, France, and Germany. In 1962, she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). About a decade later in 1972, she toured America with Cardew.

By the time the 20 naira note was being introduced in January 1973, Ladi Kwali was featured on the money as a display of Nigeria’s rich artistry which she embodied. This made her the first and only woman to feature in the Nigerian currency.

Her influence kept growing and in 1977 Ladi Kwali was offered an honorary doctoral degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. She then joined the university as a part-time lecturer despite not knowing how to read or write. She was later invested with the insignia of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM), the highest national honour for academic achievement by the federal government in 1980.

A year later, she also received the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

She died three years after, in 1984 at the age of 59. Her achievements were immortalized by renaming the Abuja Pottery to Ladi Kwali Pottery. A major street in Abuja, Ladi Kwali Road was also named after her.

Not much is known about her family life, but it is believed that though she was married, she had no children. She left behind a rich legacy of pottery which is still celebrated today.