Ladi Kwali, the first and only woman to appear on Nigerian currency: twenty-naira note

Ladi Dosei Kwali (1924 - 1984) is the first and only woman to appear on Nigerian currency: her portrait is on the back of the twenty-naira note.

Ladi was the pioneer of modern pottery in Nigeria. Her first name means "born on Sunday" while her second name is the name of her hometown. She born to Gbagyi parents in the village of Kwali, located in the Gwari region of present-day Abuja, where pottery used to be a common occupation among women. 

Kwali grew up in a family in which the womenfolk made pots for a living. She first came to learn Gwari pottery-making as an apprentice to her aunt, who taught her the Gwarin Yamma techniques of coil and pinch methods of pottery. 

With help from the famed English studio potter, Michael Cardew (Baban Shaku) who had helped launched the Abuja Pottery Training Centre along with Kwali in 1952 and spent the following fifteen years teaching, Kwali came to international prominence for her talents in the 1950s. Prior to the Centre's launch, Kwali had worked as a professional potter, as well as trading and running a shop in Minna, Niger State.

The Emir of Abuja at the time, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, was so enchanted by the exquisite charm and beauty of her work that he bought many of her pieces for his collection. It was during a visit to his palace that Cardew first noticed her works and encouraged her to join the centre.

 When she joined the pottery centre in 1954 as its first woman potter, Kwali was trained in new methods taught there. She became famous for her experimental and innovative works merging the Gwari style she was proficient at with the modern techniques, creating glazed dishes, bowls and beakers, with stylised animal sgraffito. These are the works for which she is best known and they were a great asset to the growth in the popularity of Abuja pottery outside Africa.

Through Kwali's contact with Cardew, she and her work became known in Europe and America and she became a very popular member of the Centre's touring lecture team of the Centre. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, her work was shown to great acclaim in London at the Berkeley Galleries. Kwali remained associated with the Abuja Pottery Training Centre works until her death. She gave lectures and demonstrations at home and abroad on her craft for the duration of her career. 

The Abuja Training Pottery Centre was renamed the Ladi Kwali Pottery Centre, and major roads in Abuja and Niger State are named after her.

She received a number of other honours in her lifetime. She was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1963 and was awarded an honorary degree byAhmadu Bello University in 1977. Her pottery was also displayed during Nigeria's independence celebrations in 1960. In 1980, the Nigerian Government invested her with the insignia of the Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA), the highest national honour for academic achievement.  

Following the death of Cardew in 1983, Kwali died on August 12, 1984 at the age of 59 in Minna, leaving a great legacy in her work.