Difference between revisions of "Obafemi Awolowo" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
===Early Life=== | ===Early Life=== | ||
| − | He was born in Ikenne, Western Nigeria and educated at Church schools. His father was a farmer. | + | He was born in Ikenne, Western Nigeria and educated at Church schools. His father was a farmer descended from Oduduwa, who founded the Yoruba tribe. Oduduwa later inherited the titles of Ashiwaju of Ijebu Remo, Losi of Ikenne, Lisa of Ijeun and Apesin of Oshogboed,<ref name=Leader>[http://www.nathanielturner.com/africanliberatorsofnigeria.htm African Liberators of Nigeria.] ChickenBones: A Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2008.</ref> |
| − | In 1944, he left Nigeria for London to study [[law]]. Qualifying as a barrister in 1947, he returned to Nigeria and established a successful legal practice. | + | He worked as an assistant teacher before attending Wesley College, Ibadan to undergo training as as educator, graduating in 1927. In 1932, he took up a clerical post at the College. In 1934 he started a trading business working for the Motor Transporter and Produce Trader, and began to write newspaper articles. He founded the Nigerian Produce Traders Association and edited the Nigerian Worker. He also became secretary of the Nigerian Motor Transport Union. By the early 1940s he was active in the NYM (Nigerian Youth Movement). In 1943, he co-founded the Trades Union Congress. Part time study led to a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1944 as an external student of [[London University]]. While in London, he established the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yoruba-speaking peoples). This organization is devoted to the study and preservation of Yoruba culture. |
| + | |||
| + | In 1944, he left Nigeria for London to study [[law]]. Qualifying as a barrister at Inner Temple in 1947, he returned to Nigeria and established a successful legal practice. From 1947 until 1951 he was a solicitor and advocate of the Superior Court of Nigeria.<ref name=Leader/> | ||
===Politics=== | ===Politics=== | ||
| − | In 1950, he co-founded the Action Group as | + | In 1950, he co-founded the Action Group as the political wing of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, based mainly in the Yoruba dominated Western region. Elected to the assembly, he was minister of local government from 1951 until 1954. In 1952-53 he traveled extensiveky, visiting [[Egypt]], [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]]. [[Pakistan]] and [[India]] discussing self-determination. An admirer of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], he later serialized his autobiography in ''The Tribune'', the Action Group's newspaper. |
| + | |||
| + | Following Constitutional changes in 1954, he became the first Premier of the Eastern region. The same year he was created an honorary Chief by the Yoruba. In 1953, and 1958 he took part in Constitutional talks in London and Ghana. During this period he also visted the [[United States]], [[Germany]], [[Italy]] and [[Japan]] to encourage trade relations.<ref name=Leader/> In 1959, on the eve of independence, he resigned from the Premiership so that he could run for the federal assembly. Samuel Akintola succeed to the Premiership. The Northern politican, Balewa of the Northern, [[Hausa]]-[[Fulani]] Peoples Congress won the election, in partnership with the Eastern, Igbo-dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. Balewa became Prime Minister. Awolowo became leader of the official opposition. | ||
===Policies=== | ===Policies=== | ||
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He went on to resign his position a year after the end of war in preparation for elective office. In 1979, Chief Awolowo founded the Unity Party of Nigeria as a successor to the Action Group, and contested the presidential election that year. He lost to Alhaji [[Shehu Shagari]] in a heavily rigged election by about 400 000 votes. In 1983, he again contested the presidential election, this time losing to Shagari by over four million votes, in an election that Awolowo regarded as fraudulent. | He went on to resign his position a year after the end of war in preparation for elective office. In 1979, Chief Awolowo founded the Unity Party of Nigeria as a successor to the Action Group, and contested the presidential election that year. He lost to Alhaji [[Shehu Shagari]] in a heavily rigged election by about 400 000 votes. In 1983, he again contested the presidential election, this time losing to Shagari by over four million votes, in an election that Awolowo regarded as fraudulent. | ||
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===Writing=== | ===Writing=== | ||
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==Family== | ==Family== | ||
| − | He married Hannah Idowu Dideolu in 1937. They had | + | He married Hannah Idowu Dideolu in 1937. They had two sons and three daughters. He was a practicing Wesleyan [[Methodist]]. |
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===Death=== | ===Death=== | ||
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The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation honors his legacy. Njoku describes him as "one of the most cherished philosophers and political thinkers that Africa has ever produced."<ref>Njoku, Benjamin. 2007. [http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/movies/movie_details.asp?id=VFZSWk0wNW5QVDA9 NANTAP Packages Epic Film on Obafemi Awolowo.] ''Ghana News.'' October 08. Retrieved September 16, 2008.</ref> A memorial website descibes him as a "sage and philosopher king."<ref>[http://www.obafemiawolowo.info/ A memorial website on the late sage, politician and philosopher king.] living Projects Media Network. Retrieved September 16, 2008.</ref> | The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation honors his legacy. Njoku describes him as "one of the most cherished philosophers and political thinkers that Africa has ever produced."<ref>Njoku, Benjamin. 2007. [http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/movies/movie_details.asp?id=VFZSWk0wNW5QVDA9 NANTAP Packages Epic Film on Obafemi Awolowo.] ''Ghana News.'' October 08. Retrieved September 16, 2008.</ref> A memorial website descibes him as a "sage and philosopher king."<ref>[http://www.obafemiawolowo.info/ A memorial website on the late sage, politician and philosopher king.] living Projects Media Network. Retrieved September 16, 2008.</ref> | ||
| + | Chief Awolowo is remembered for building the first stadium in West Africa, the first [[television]] station in Africa, running the best civil service in Africa at the time (in the Western Region), introducing free [[health]] care till the age of 18 in the Western Region, introduction of free and mandatory primary education in Western Nigeria, and coining the name Naira for Nigeria's currency (formerly known as the Nigerian Pound) as the Federal Commissioner of Finance under the Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Chief Awolowo was respected by [[Kwame Nkrumah]] of [[Ghana]], and some politicians in the West continue to invoke his name, his policies, and the popular slogan of his Action Group party—"Life More Abundant"—during campaigns. During the 1970s he was critical of Nigeria's military expenditure, saying that more should be spent on development. He once stated that the British administration had been "carried out by incompetent, inferior officials, and that the British" never had "the true interests of the country at heart." In 1955, referring to the government of the Western region, he stated, "In fourteen months under the present government, we have done more for Nigeria than the British did in 120 years."<ref name=Leader> | ||
| + | Well aware that Nigeria's biggest challenge was dealing with regional differences and rivalry, he also stated that "West and East Nigeria are as different as [[Ireland]] from Germany" and that "The North is as different from either as [[China]]."<ref name=Leader/> | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Revision as of 06:40, 16 September 2008
Obafemi Awolowo (March 6, 1909—May 9, 1987) was a Nigerian politician and leader, a Yoruba Chuief and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, who started as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries. In addition to being considered a founding father of Nigeria, he also founded many organizations, including Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Trade Unions Congress of Nigeria and the Action Group political party. He was an active journalist and trade unionist as a young man, editing The Nigerian Worker amongst other publications while also organizing the Nigerian Produce Traders Association and serving as secretary of the Nigerian Motor Transport Union. After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Nigeria, he traveled to London to earn a law degree. He was also a member of the Nigerian delegation to the Constitutional talks there in 1957-58. He was the first Premier of the Western Region under Nigeria's parliamentary system from 1954 to 1960, and was the official Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament to the Balewa government from 1960 to 1963. Imprisoned in 1963 on a charge of sedition, he was pardoned and freed by the military government in 1967. He was an unsuccesful presidential candidate in 1979 and 1983. It was not until 1993 that democracy was restored in Nigria, following the 1966 coup.
Biography
Early Life
He was born in Ikenne, Western Nigeria and educated at Church schools. His father was a farmer descended from Oduduwa, who founded the Yoruba tribe. Oduduwa later inherited the titles of Ashiwaju of Ijebu Remo, Losi of Ikenne, Lisa of Ijeun and Apesin of Oshogboed,[1]
He worked as an assistant teacher before attending Wesley College, Ibadan to undergo training as as educator, graduating in 1927. In 1932, he took up a clerical post at the College. In 1934 he started a trading business working for the Motor Transporter and Produce Trader, and began to write newspaper articles. He founded the Nigerian Produce Traders Association and edited the Nigerian Worker. He also became secretary of the Nigerian Motor Transport Union. By the early 1940s he was active in the NYM (Nigerian Youth Movement). In 1943, he co-founded the Trades Union Congress. Part time study led to a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1944 as an external student of London University. While in London, he established the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yoruba-speaking peoples). This organization is devoted to the study and preservation of Yoruba culture.
In 1944, he left Nigeria for London to study law. Qualifying as a barrister at Inner Temple in 1947, he returned to Nigeria and established a successful legal practice. From 1947 until 1951 he was a solicitor and advocate of the Superior Court of Nigeria.[1]
Politics
In 1950, he co-founded the Action Group as the political wing of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, based mainly in the Yoruba dominated Western region. Elected to the assembly, he was minister of local government from 1951 until 1954. In 1952-53 he traveled extensiveky, visiting Egypt, Ceylon. Pakistan and India discussing self-determination. An admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru, he later serialized his autobiography in The Tribune, the Action Group's newspaper.
Following Constitutional changes in 1954, he became the first Premier of the Eastern region. The same year he was created an honorary Chief by the Yoruba. In 1953, and 1958 he took part in Constitutional talks in London and Ghana. During this period he also visted the United States, Germany, Italy and Japan to encourage trade relations.[1] In 1959, on the eve of independence, he resigned from the Premiership so that he could run for the federal assembly. Samuel Akintola succeed to the Premiership. The Northern politican, Balewa of the Northern, Hausa-Fulani Peoples Congress won the election, in partnership with the Eastern, Igbo-dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. Balewa became Prime Minister. Awolowo became leader of the official opposition.
Policies
Chief Awolowo was a leader who believed that the state should channel Nigeria's resources into education and state-led infrastructure development. Controversially, and at considerable expense, he introduced free primary education for all in the Western Region, established the first television service in Africa in 1959, and expanded electrification projects in the region using proceeds from the highly lucrative cocoa export industry. Although very popular among the Yoruba in western Nigeria, his left-leaning but superior politics made him unpopular with the nation's (supposedly) largest political bloc - the northern, Muslim, Northern People's Congress (NPC), which many Nigerians believed were being directed by the British government.
Crisis in Western Nigeria
Serious disagreement between the Awolowo and Akintola on how to run the western region led the latter to an alliance with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa led NPC federal government. A contrived constitutional crisis resulted in a declaration of a state of emergency in the Western Region, after an election which Awolowo claimed Akintola and his new coalition had lost.
Excluded from National government, the position of Awolowo and his party became increasingly precarious. Some politicians, mostly of Akintola's group, angered at their exclusion from power, formed a break-away party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), under Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. Constitutional crisis in the region led the federal parliament to declare a state of emergency in the west, the elected Western Regional Assembly was thus suspended, only to be reconstituted after new elections that brought the NNDP into control. On November 2, 1962, Awolowo and several others were charged and after an eleven month trial jailed for conspiring with some Ghanaian authorities under Kwame Nkrumah to overthrow the federal government. He was sentenced to a ten year term. [2]
The remnants of the Action Group fought the National election of 1965 in alliance with the largely Igbo, and south-eastern National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Amid accusation of fraud by the opposition, the NPC-NNDP won the election and Belewa continued as Prime Minister. There were violent riots in some parts of the Western region. The three main party were dominated by different ethnic groups and were effectively region parties fighting a national election. Seats in the national assembly were proportionate to the population of the three regions. The North had the largest population, so was guaranteed to win more seats. The Western and the Eastern regions were both suspicious that the NCP unfairly advantaged the North, which was also where oil revenue was produced.
1966 military coup
In the aftermath of the election there was an Igbo-led military coup on January 15, 1966, during which the Prime Minister, Belewa was killed, as was the Premier of the Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello. This coup was followed on the 16th with a counter coup, which established a National military government. This government was itself overthrown by a third coup on 29th July, 1966 six months later. Chief Awolowo was pardoned and freed from prison by the July 1966 coupists, who were led by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon and Lt.Col. Murtala Mohammed. When the civil war broke out over the secession of the Eastern Region, Awolowo visited the Biafran headquarters and attempted to broker a peace agreement between Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and his Nigerian counterparts. When the negotiation failed, Chief Awolowo was invited to join the Nigerian government as the finance minister.
He went on to resign his position a year after the end of war in preparation for elective office. In 1979, Chief Awolowo founded the Unity Party of Nigeria as a successor to the Action Group, and contested the presidential election that year. He lost to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in a heavily rigged election by about 400 000 votes. In 1983, he again contested the presidential election, this time losing to Shagari by over four million votes, in an election that Awolowo regarded as fraudulent.
Writing
He was also the author of several publications on the political structure and future prospects of Nigeria. These works include:
- 1947. Path to Nigerian Freedom. London: Faber & Faber.
- 1966. Thoughts on the Nigerian Constitution. Lagos: International Press
- 1968. The People's Republic. Ibadan: Oxford University Press.*
- 1970. The strategy and tactics of the people's republic of Nigeria. London: Macmillan. ISBN 9780333112434
Family
He married Hannah Idowu Dideolu in 1937. They had two sons and three daughters. He was a practicing Wesleyan Methodist.
Death
Awolowo died in his home town, Ikenné on May 9, 1987.
Legacy
The University of Ife, located in Ife, Nigeria, was re-christened Obafemi Awolowo University as a posthumous honor. His portrait adorns Nigeria's one hundred naira currency note.
The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation honors his legacy. Njoku describes him as "one of the most cherished philosophers and political thinkers that Africa has ever produced."[3] A memorial website descibes him as a "sage and philosopher king."[4]
Chief Awolowo is remembered for building the first stadium in West Africa, the first television station in Africa, running the best civil service in Africa at the time (in the Western Region), introducing free health care till the age of 18 in the Western Region, introduction of free and mandatory primary education in Western Nigeria, and coining the name Naira for Nigeria's currency (formerly known as the Nigerian Pound) as the Federal Commissioner of Finance under the Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon.
Chief Awolowo was respected by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and some politicians in the West continue to invoke his name, his policies, and the popular slogan of his Action Group party—"Life More Abundant"—during campaigns. During the 1970s he was critical of Nigeria's military expenditure, saying that more should be spent on development. He once stated that the British administration had been "carried out by incompetent, inferior officials, and that the British" never had "the true interests of the country at heart." In 1955, referring to the government of the Western region, he stated, "In fourteen months under the present government, we have done more for Nigeria than the British did in 120 years."<ref name=Leader>
Well aware that Nigeria's biggest challenge was dealing with regional differences and rivalry, he also stated that "West and East Nigeria are as different as Ireland from Germany" and that "The North is as different from either as China."[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 African Liberators of Nigeria. ChickenBones: A Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ↑ Awolowo, Obafemi. 1963. Obafemi Awolowo's Allocutus: Statement By Chief Awolowo while before The High Court before sentencing for Treasonable Felony. September 11, 1963. Dowodu. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ↑ Njoku, Benjamin. 2007. NANTAP Packages Epic Film on Obafemi Awolowo. Ghana News. October 08. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ↑ A memorial website on the late sage, politician and philosopher king. living Projects Media Network. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Adegbola, Gbenro, and Bankole Olayebi. 1997. His truth is marching on: a pictorial biography of chief Obafemi Awolowo. Lagos: Obafemi Awolowo Foundation.
- Awolowo, Obafemi, and 'Biodun Onibonoje. 1987. Awo: the Nigerian colossus. Ibadan, Nigeria: A. Onibonoje Agencies.
- Makinde, M. Akin, and Obafemi Awolowo. 2002. Awo as a philosopher. Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo University Press.
- Sklar, Richard L. 2004. Nigerian political parties: power in an emergent African nation. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. ISBN 9781592212095
External Links
Memorial Website. Obafemi Awolowo University
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