He Died 29years Ago Today (Saturday, March 6, 1909 – Saturday, May 9, 1987)
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Today, the 9th of May 2016, is a remarkable day in Yoruba history as we celebrate the life and times of Chief Obafemi Awolowo Awolowo (A Nationalist, A Statesman and Former Premier of Western Nigeria).

On this day, 29 years ago, Nigeria’s political landscape shook to its roots, when the unexpected happened. The earth-shaking occurrence was the transition to glory of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

With such a massive blow, Nigeria lost her most priced and valued possession, the man whom Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu called, “The Best President Nigeria Never Had”.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo was born in Ikenne, Remo Division of Ogun State in Southwest Nigeria on March 6, 1909. He was actively involved in politics from 1947 – 1987 (40yrs).

Obafemi Awolowo was born to Chief David Sopolu Awolowo and his wife Mary Efunyela Awolowo in Ikenne, Remo, (now Ogun State of Nigeria. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the banned Action Group and leader of the Yorubas of western Nigeria, was a son of a farmer and was a self-made man. He was the leader of the Yorubas of Western Nigeria.

Chief Awolowo was educated at Anglican and Methodist schools in Ikenne, his home town, and at Baptist Boys’ High School in Abeokuta, Western Nigeria. His had hiccups with his education due to lack of money.

As a result of this, Chief Awolowo worked as a pupil teacher at the age of 17 (in 1926) and then went to Wesley College in Ibadan, the then capital city of Western Nigeria, to attend a course in teacher training. Leaving Wesley College, he studied shorthand and typing, and after working for a while in Lagos, returned to Wesley College in 1932 as a clerk.

Two years later, he became a trader and a newspaper reporter. He organized in the late ’30s the Nigerian Produce Traders Association and became secretary of the Nigerian Motor Transport Union.

Awo was not satisfied with his level of education so he decided to take up part-time studies and, after matriculation in 1939, went on to obtain a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1944; in that year he was also editing the now defunct Nigerian Worker.

In June 1940, he became secretary of the Ibadan branch of the Nigerian Youth Movement ( NYM )and, in this position , led the agitation for the reform of the Ibadan Native Authority Advisory Board in 1942.

He was co-founder of the Trade Union Congress Of Nigeria in 1943. The following year, he went to London to study law and founded the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a Yoruba tribal society.

After qualifying in 1947, he returned to Nigeria to set up legal practice and continued to work for the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, becoming general secretary in 1948. Two years later he became the moving spirit in organizing with other Yoruba leaders the Action Group, which won the then Western Region elections in 1951.

Chief Awolowo was a leader of Government Business and Minister of Local Government from 1951-1954 when, with the introduction of the new constitution; he became the first Premier of Western Nigeria.

Chief Awolowo, who was highly competent, full of initiative, original in thought, practical and very often single-minded when he was convinced about something, built the Action Group into what was then described as ‘the best political party south of the Sahara’.

Chief Awolowo led an able and efficient team, both in Government and in making the Western Region the admiration of the rest of the Federation of Nigeria. He resigned the premiership of Western Nigeria in 1959 to contest the Federal elections but, failing to win, became the leader of the opposition in the Federal House Of Representatives.

Chief Awolowo led his party’s delegation to the London Constitutional conferences in 1953 and 1954, and to a later conference in Lagos in 1958.

So excellent was the administration of the Western Nigeria during Chief Awolowo’s tenure in Office as Premier that when in 1953 the British Government announced its intention to grant self-governmentin 1956 to any Region desiring it, the Action Group Leader asked for and secured it in the same year.

He was chosen by the Yoruba elite as their political leader or, formally, Leader of the 10,500,000 Yorubas, during the peak goodwill period following his release from imprisonment for about three years (he was released on August 3, 1966 with a state pardon) on the charge of plotting to overthrow the national government, and was later appointed Federal Commissioner for Finance and Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council in Yakubu Gowon’s Federal Military Government during the Civil War.

He was also leader of the Western delegation to the All Nigerian Conference on the future association of Nigeria. In those capacities, he played a major role in preserving the Nigerian federation.

As chairman and Presidential candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria, which contested the elections of 1979 and 1983 on a social welfarist platform, Awolowo polled the second highest number of votes. He retired from politics on the termination of the Second Republic in 1983.
Chief Awolowo was an unyielding advocate of a federal constitution for Nigeria. He is also a strong antagonist of any form of feudalism or feudal system and its spread to other parts of Nigeria; an advocate of the creation of more states in Nigeria.

Awo brought the first television network to Africa in 1959 before quitting office voluntarily. In all his forty years in Nigerian politics, Awo remained the same – a man magnificently gifted, charismatic, competent and a “visioner par excellence”.

He was indeed a statesman.

Courtesy: Dipo Famakinwa

https://m.facebook.com/TheYorubaPeople/photos/a.263800997059229.49447.262884720484190/853010684804921/?type=3&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.853010684804921%3Atl_objid.853010684804921%3Athid.262884720484190%3A306061129499414%3A69%3A0%3A1464764399%3A-3268753589882338752

Cc: lalasticlala
odumchi, Fulaman198, bigfrancis21)

Kato rerin o di'gbo,
kato refon o d'odan,
Kato reyebi okin o -
Awolowo!
iyen di gbere.