Meet the legendary Fela Kuti Grandfather who was the first gospel artiste in Nigeria

Meet the legendary Fela Kuti grandfather who was the first gospel artiste in Nigeria

Josiah Jesse, often known as “J.J.” Ransome-Kuti, was a pastor and musician in Nigeria. He was born on June 1, 1855, and died on September 4, 1930. He wrote Christian hymns in the Yoruba language. He was known for adapting Christian hymns to the music of his own people.

Origins in life and work

On June 1st, 1855, in the town of Igbein, Ogun State, Nigeria, Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti entered the world. His parents, Likoye Kuti (c. 1820–1863) and Anne Ekidan Efupeyin, were both natives of Abeokuta and belonged to the Egba ethnic group. Jamo and Orukoluku, Josiah’s paternal grandparents, were two of the earliest residents of Abeokuta in 1830 despite having come from the town of Orile Igbein in the Egba Forest. It was 1859 when Josiah Ransome-Kuti entered the church. His mother, Anne, was a devout Christian, while his father, Likoye, was a devotee of the ancient Yoruba faith and opposed the arrival of Western ideas in Abeokuta. He didn’t approve of his wife’s newfound faith and often fought against her efforts to instill it in their child. Likoye passed away in 1863, leaving Anne to bring their son up in the Christian faith. First, he went to school at the Church Missionary Society Training Institution in Abeokuta. The next year (1871), he moved on to the institution in Lagos.
Just after graduating from the Church Missionary Society Training Institute in Lagos, Ransome-Kuti met his future wife, Bertha Anny Erinade Olubi, while teaching music at the CMS Girls School in Lagos. He had previously taught at St. Peter’s School in Ake, Abeokuta.

He was named catechist at the Gbagura Church Parsonage in 1891, before founding Gbagura Church, a small church in Abeokuta where he persuaded people to the Christian faith through his dexterity in converting English gospel hymns into indigenous gospel music.
In 1895, Ransome-Kuti was ordained as a deacon, and in 1897, he was consecrated as a priest. From 1902 to 1906, he served as a district judge. In 1911, he became the pastor of St. Peter’s Cathedral Church in Ake. Before that, he was in charge of the Abeokuta Church Mission.
In 1922, he was made a canon at the Cathedral Church of Christ in Lagos. By 1925, he was the first Nigerian to make a record album. He did this by recording many hymns in the Yoruba language on phonograph for Zonophone Records.

Intimate sphere

It was in 1882 that he wed Bertha Erina Olubi. Grace Eniola, Azariah Olusegun, and Israel Oludotun were their children. He also has six children from previous marriages. The Ransome-Kuti family may trace their ancestry back to him.