Ladi Kwali

Ladi Kwali you know her check the back of your 20naira notes to see the only female on Nigeria currency. She was born in the small village of Kwali, present Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, in 1925 (Other historians indicate her date of birth is actually 1920).

She grew up in a family that kept up with the folkloric female tradition of pottery making.

Mallam Mekaniki Kyebese, Ladi Kwali's younger brother, stated:
“even in the early years of pottery making, Ladi Kwali excelled in the crafts and her wares were often sold even before they were taken to the markets”.

During her first professional years, the traditional cultural environment moved her to produced pottery pieces that were influenced by the Gbagyi tradition and accentuated with personal idioms.

Her approach to clay was echoed by mathematical undertones, made visible by the continuous display of symmetry.

Kwali was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire ) in 1962 .

In 1977, she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

In 1980, the Nigerian Government (from the Cabinet Office of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ) invested on her with the insignia of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award
(NNOM), the highest national honour for academic achievement.

She also received the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 1981.

Her picture appears at the back of the Nigerian 20 Naira bill.
A major street in Abuja is called Ladi Kwali Road.

The Sheraton Hotel houses the Ladi Kwali Convention Center, one of the largest conference facilities in Abuja with 10 meeting rooms and four ballrooms.

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