Ladi Kwali, the woman with the magic fingers

Talents are special gift deposited in every human being. While some are born with it, others believe practice makes perfect. For Ladi Kwali, one can hardly tell she wasn’t born with hers,

because she started out at an early in life. She learnt what her hands have mastered to do so perfectly at a young age.

Pottery making being the main occupation of the women during her time, Kwali did not only learn the art but became a connoisseur in it. She is one woman who has positively inspired not just the women of her days but today women as well with her hard work and dedication. She is the brain behind pottery making, the mother of pots as you may wish to call her. With the impeccable way in which she handles the clay, she produces pots with so much beauty of form and decoration. It was this beauty that attracted the Emir of Abuja who acquired several of her works and kept in his home before they were also seen and admired by Michael Cardew in 1950. 

She was seconded by none in traditional pot making before the advent of Michael Cardew, an English potter, who was sent to Abuja by the then colonial government, apparently to ‘improve’ the quality of the local pottery making. He ended up throughout his 15 years in a cordial working relationship with local potters, especially Kwali who did not only learn from him but taught him in turn. In 1954, she joined the Abuja Pottery Training Centre which was established in 1950 by Cardew. Preferring the spiralled coil traditional method and reluctant at first to adapt using the wheel, she became an authority in throwing pots on the wheel, producing dishes, bowls and beakers with graffito decoration. Being a woman good at what she does, she combined the Western and traditional methods of making pots and ended up representing a fascinating mixture of both traditional African and Western studio pottery. Cardew on the other hand learnt about traditional firing methods and ornamentation from Kwali who was glad to teach the teacher.

Today, while some of her pots decorated with incised geometric and stylised figurative patterns are used for utilitarian purposes such as cooking and water storage, some tribes and cultures use her pots as religious symbols. Over time, Kwali’s skill became more sophisticated, hence giving her the opportunity to exhibit her work in Europe, Britain and America in 1958, 1959 and 1962 respectively. In 1960, her pottery was displayed during Nigeria’s independence celebrations. Later that same year, her work was showcased in London at the Berkeley Galleries.

Without a formal education and her inability to speak English, Kwali was liked by foreigners and was able to effectively deliver lectures through interpreters at home and in many European and American universities and institutes as guest lecturer, on how she improved her traditional pot making skills to world standard.

For the lovers of success, I enjoin you to pick a leaf from the personality of this great achiever whose character is worth emulating. Dr. Ladi Kwali “was a replica who epitomized what womanhood is all about”. She was creative resourceful, innovative and sociable. Her doggedness, frankness and commitment are the catalysts of a life of distinction. She was a pragmatic woman who stood for the truth, not minding whose ox was gored. A detribalized, down-to-earth and very hard working woman.  Above all, she was one woman who never allowed her inability to acquire a formal education deter her from attaining great heights.

Ladi’s Achievements:

She was a pioneer of modern pottery.

Nigeria's best-known potter.

One of the conference halls in Sheraton was named after her.  

First woman to be acknowledged on Nigeria currency. Her portrait is on the Twenty Naira note.

She received merit awards of the OBE and an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Letters from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

She given a National Award by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 as prestigious OON (Order of the Niger) and many others.

Early Life

Dr. Hajiya Hadiza Ladi Kwali was born in the year 1925 in the village of Kwali in the Gwari region of Northern Nigeria. She spent her early years learning Gwari pottery making while apprenticing with her stern aunt who taught her Gwari techniques of coil and pinch methods of pottery on open firing. As she grew older, she developed a mature sense of form and an intimate knowledge of clay which all good potters should know. With the Gwari methods, they were able to produce three major shapes; the randa (a large water storage pot), kasko (household storage pot) and tulu (an ornamented storage pot). Earlier on before she ventured into pottery, she was a trader and a shop keeper in Minna, Niger, State.

Till her demise, Ladi Kwali remained with the Abuja pottery, giving lectures and demonstrations at home and abroad on craft, leaving a rich legacy of her work and a school of ‘students’ who picked up from where she left at the Abuja Pottery Training Centre. She died in 1984, at the age of 56.