Olaniwun ajayi biography of martin

Finishing the course changed his financial lot significantly, as he became supervisor of schools for the entire Remo and Ijebu province.

Olaniwun ajayi biography of martin

But teaching was, for Ajayi, only a means to his ultimate dream. He later travelled to the United Kingdom in Expectedly, he had to work his way through school. Back in Nigeria, he worked in the legal department of UAC Group, and rose to the position of assistant group legal adviser. Resigning from UAC group threw Ajayi into a different terrain altogether.

The then Governor of the Western State, Brig. Christopher Rotimi appointed Olaniwun as commissioner for education for two years and as commissioner for health for another three years. After this brief stint in public service, Sir Ajayi set up his private practice as a lawyer. From the onset; it was designed to be an international legal practice since Ajayi himself had been called to the English Bar.

Ajayi had insisted that Awolowo did a lot to prevent the war by leading a delegation from the south-west to prevail on Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, but the late warlord, he said, eventually reneged on his promise to Awolowo to avert the war. According to Ajayi, when the Igbo fled the south-west during the war and abandoned their property, Awolowo contracted estate managers to manage the properties left behind.

He noted that the owners of the abandoned properties were paid rent when they returned while the properties were returned to them after the war. Ajayi authored two important books that generated widespread discourse; one was about the shortcomings of the Nigerian state many years after gaining independence while the other highlighted the imbalance of power and the dominance of the north.

The firm has grown from a sole practitionership to one of the largest and open partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the five decades of its existence, Olaniwun Ajayi Law Practice has held briefs for corporate organisations, commercial establishments, and has done litigation in banking, finance and capital markets sectors. The firm has done litigation in sectors such as aviation, education, insurance, maritime, oil and gas, telecommunications, healthcare, amongst others.

In the turmoil that convulsed Nigeria following the annulment of the presidential election, Ajayi stood immovably with NADECO, the progressive alliance which insisted that government must be based on the consent of the people, undeterred by the barbarities the Abacha regime unleashed on its opponents, real or perceived. To the very end, Ajayi worked tirelessly to bring together his notoriously fractious Yoruba kinsfolk.

He would have been exceedingly gladdened that governors of the Yoruba-speaking states resolved last week to set political differences aside and work together for the progress and development of their polity. In a country where the next major scandal is just one news cycle away it is truly remarkable that a public life spanning some six decades has stood untainted by scandal.

That is the essence of the life and times of Olaniwun Ajayi, who has justly been hailed as a moral beacon. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Toggle navigation. When their mother died, they took over immediately. The children gave her a befitting burial. I eat twice a day. In the morning, it is yam, beans or a slice of seeded bread.

Occasionally, I take ikokore. I relax by writing. In actual fact, writing relaxes me. I have written five books. There is also the one edited by me titled Adunola: In Retrospect. It is a compilation of tributes and speeches for my late wife. I am writing my sixth book at the moment. In the case of my first book, I wrote it based on the attitudes of young people which are not good enough especially in Yoruba land.

People are no longer responsible and only exhibit corrupt tendencies. It examines how we came to be where we are today. In the first place, there are no olaniwun ajayi biography of martin parties in this country. The existing ones are not the way political parties ought to be. We also do not have true politicians. We only have self-serving people.

Everybody wants to win the next elections and nobody is bothered about whether the primary schools in their areas are conducive to learning or not. They are not also bothered about whether the hospitals in their localities are working as they should be or not. I can only implore them not to invite disaster in Your email address will not be published.

Skip to content Toggle navigation. Lagos State Governor, Mr. How did you know your date of birth since your parents were not literate? What were you doing in Lagos since you were not schooling? What class did you teach? When you left Wesley College, what did you do? Where did you work when you returned to the country? What did you do after your resignation?

What was your experience of the civil war? How did you meet your wife? Why did you choose her? She was very beautiful, fair-skinned and neat. My wife, Adunola, was a special gift from God. How many children did the union produce? Where is your wife? She is in heaven. She died on December 6, She was not ill before her death. How have you been coping without her?

Would it be right to say her special nature made you not to remarry?