Obafemi Awolowo

Chief
Obafemi Awolowo
GCFR
Taken in 1959
Premier of Western Nigeria
In office
1 October 1954 – 1 October 1960
Succeeded bySamuel Akintola
Federal Commissioner for Finance
In office
1967–1971
Preceded byFestus Okotie-Eboh
Succeeded byShehu Shagari
Personal details
Born
Jeremiah Obafemi Oyeniyi Awolowo

(1909-03-06)6 March 1909
Ikenne, Southern Nigeria Protectorate
(now in Ogun State, Nigeria)
Died9 May 1987(1987-05-09) (aged 78)
Ikenne, Ogun State, Nigeria
Political partyUnity Party of Nigeria (1978–1983)
Action Group (1950–1966)
Spouse
​
(m. 1937)​
RelationsYemi Osinbajo (grandson-in-law)
Oludolapo Osinbajo (granddaughter)
Segun Awolowo Jr. (grandson)
Children5
Alma materUniversity of London
ProfessionJournalist, lawyer

Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo (// ⓘ Yoruba: Ọbáfẹ́mi Oyèéníyì Awólọ́wọ̀; 6 May 1909 – 9 May 1987) was a Nigerian nationalist and politician who played a key role in Nigeria's independence movement (1957–1960).[1][2][3] Awolowo founded the Yoruba nationalist group Egbe Omo Oduduwa,[4] and was the first Leader of Government Business and Minister of Local Government and Finance, and first Premier of the Western Region under Nigeria's parliamentary system, from 1952 to 1959.[5] He was the official opposition leader in the federal parliament to the Balewa government from 1959–1963.

As a young man he was an active journalist, editing publications such as the Nigerian Worker, on top of others as well. He later became founder & publisher of Nigerian Tribune of African Newspapers of Nigeria Ltd.[6] After receiving his bachelors of commerce degree in Nigeria, he traveled to London to pursue his degree in law.[7] Obafemi Awolowo was the first premier of the Western Region and later federal commissioner for finance, and vice chairman of the Federal Executive Council[8] during the Nigerian Civil War.[9] He was thrice a major contender for the country's highest office.[10]

A native of Ikenne in Ogun State of south-western Nigeria,[11] Awolowo started his career, like some of his well-known contemporaries, as a nationalist in the Nigerian Youth Movement in which he rose to become Western Provincial Secretary.[6] Awolowo was responsible for much of the progressive social legislation that has made Nigeria a modern nation.[12] In 1963, he was tried and jailed for 10 years on charges of sedition.[13] He was pardoned by the government until 1966, after which he appointed the Minister of Finance.[14][15] In recognition of all of this, Awolowo was the first individual in the modern era to be named as the leader of the Yorubas (Yoruba: Asíwájú Àwọn Yorùbá or Asíwájú Ọmọ Oòduà).[16][17]

  1. ^ "Obafemi Awolowo". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Obafemi Awolowo: Awo of The West". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ "National Hero: Chief Obafemi Awolowo Full Biography, Life And Heroic Works+Quotes". TIN Magazine. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Chief Obafemi Awolowo". biography.yourdictionary.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Obafemi Awolowo: Awo of The West". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b "AWOLOWO, Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi". Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ Olalekan, falaye (18 May 2020). "See The PAPA AWOLOWO'S CAR That Toured The Whole 19 States During The 1979 And 1983 Presidential Campaign. |Nig24news". Nig24News. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Federal Executive Council - Nigeria Embassy Turkey". embassynigeriaturkey.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Obafemi Awolowo: Awo of The West". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ^ James Booth. Writers and politics in Nigeria. Africana Pub. Co., 1981, p. 52.
  11. ^ "Awolowo: the Lost President and a Nation In Grief, By Toyin Falola". 14 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  12. ^ Historical Dictionary of the British Empire, Volume 1
  13. ^ "Nigeria Imprisons Opposition Head for 10 Years; Chief Awolowo Found Guilty After Long Treason Trial 17 Other Prominent Figures Are Also Sentenced Police Guard City 'Tools in a Grand Design'". The New York Times. 12 September 1963. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  14. ^ "The Generalissimo of western region's politics". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.[failed verification]
  15. ^ Mailafia, Obadiah (25 May 2020). "Looming fiscal crisis and wisdom of Awolowo". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  16. ^ "PNF-Behandlungsverfahren", PNF in der Praxis, Springer-Verlag, pp. 5–22, 2005, doi:10.1007/3-540-27846-x_2, ISBN 3-540-23545-0
  17. ^ "Obafemi Awolowo | Nigerian statesman | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.