Ikenne
AWOLOWO
Obafemi
- Married
Tola Oyediran, Ayodele Soyode, Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, Oluwole Awolowo, Segun Awolowo
Asiwaju Awon Yoruba or Asiwaju Omo Oodua
91 Park Lane, P.O. Box 632, Apapa
started life as a teacher, 1928-29, stenographer 1930-34, his ambition of becoming a journalist, lawyer and politician began to materialise when in 1934 he joined the Staff of the Daily Times as a reporter-in-training; on leaving the Daily times, he became a freelance journalist, engaged in motor transport and produce buying, 1936-44; it was during this period that he passed the Bachelor of Commerce degree of London Univer sity B. Com (Hons) (Lond.) as an external candidate; passed the LL.B. degree and the Bar examinations in 1946, was called to the Barthe same vear; returned to Nigeria in 1946 and became a legal practitioner 1946- 51; co-founder and first General Secretary of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a Yoruba cultural movement in 1949, started the Nigerian Tribune, a daily newspaper which later became the organ of his party, the Action Group of Nigeria which was inaugurated as a political party on April 28,1951; was elected the party’s first president — the same year was elected into the then Western House of Assembly; in 1952, became Leader of Govern ment Business and Minister of Local Government and Finance, two years later, (October 1954), assumed office as the first premier of the Western Region; was re-appointed Premier. 1956 but in 1959 resigned this post to become Leader, of the Oppositiofl in the Federal Parliament; during the political crisis in the Western Region, 1962, was placed under house arrest and was later charged along with others for plotting to overthrow the Federal Government, Nov. 1982, at the subsequent trial, was found guilty and sentenced to a ten-year term of imprisonment, wasreleased from prf son and granted full pardon inAugust 1966 when Yakubu Gowon (then Lt.-Col.) took over as Head of the Federal Military Government’ in May 1967, was appointed first ChancoRor of Ife University; appointed FederaJ Commissioner for Finance and Vie* President of the Federal Executive Council June 1967 a post he held un til his resignation at the end of June 1971; led the’Western delegation tothe Lagos Ad-Hoc Constitutional Confer ence and served on that Ad-Hoc Commitee charged with finding a workable constitution for the nation; awarded Hon. LL.D. (Nsukka), Hon. D.9e. Econ. (Ife), Hon. D.Litt;, (Lagos), Hon. LL.D (Ibadan); holds chlefn taincy titles: Ashiwaju of Ijebu* Remo, Losi of Ikenne, Lisa of Ijeun, Apasin of Oshogbo, Odole of Ife, Ajagunla of Ado Ekiti, Odofln of Owo and Ohong Ikpa Isong of Ibibioland; has published many works including “Path to Nigerian Freedom”
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