Chief Hezekiah Oladipo Davies,

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

(5 April 1905 – 22 November 1989) was a leading

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

nationalist, founding father, lawyer, journalist, trade unionist, thought leader and politician during the nation's movement towards independence in 1960 and immediately afterwards.

Family history and early days

Chief Davies was born in the southern city of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Nigeria. His mother was from Agbaje family of Ibadan and his maternal great-grandfather was the Oba of Effon-Alaiye. His maternal great-grandmother was the Owa (Queen regnant) of

Ilesha Ilesa () is an ancient town located in the Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom (also known as Ijesha) centred on that village. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ij ...

. His grandmother was Princess Haastrup, the daughter of the Ijesha monarch, and his paternal grandfather, Prince Ogunmade-Davies of the Ogunmade Ruling House of Lagos, was the son of King Docemo. His father, known as "Spiritual Moses", was one of the founders of the

Cherubim and Seraphim ''Inspector Morse'' is a British television crime drama, starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama '' Auf Wi ...

Church of Nigeria. Between 1911 and 1917, Davies attended the Wesley School, Olowogbowo, Lagos. He then went on to

Methodist Boys High School Methodist Boys High School, Lagos (MBHS Lagos) is a secondary school for boys located in Victoria Island, Lagos. Nigeria. Founded in 1878, it was the second secondary school established in Nigeria. History The leaders of the Methodist community, ...

, Lagos, which he attended from 1917 to 1920. In 1921, he began attending the

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male student ...

, and did so until 1923. In the following year, he became Assistant Master at King's College, Lagos Notable amongst his childhood friends were Nigeria's first president, Dr

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the ...

, who attended Methodist Boys High School, Lagos with him, and Nigeria's first indigenous Chief Justice of the Federation, Sir

Adetokunbo Ademola Omoba Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola GCON KBE PC SAN (1 February 1906 – 29 January 1993) was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief Justice on 1 April 1958, replacing Sir Staff ...

, and first indigenous surgeon, Dr

Oni Akerele John Oni Akerele (died 1983) was a Nigerian doctor, Nigeria's first indigenous surgeon. While living in London, in 1941 he married Dorothy Jackson, who was of African, European and Native American descent, and they set up home in Kilburn, in th ...

, both from King's College.

Higher education

H.O. Davies, or H.O.D., as he was called, was one of the earliest Nigerians to use the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

program, he making friends by way of it with the likes of

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 wh ...

. He passed the London Matriculation Examination in 1925 in the company of

Eyo Ita Eyo Ita (1903 – 1972) was a Nigerian educationist and politician from Creek Town, in present-day Cross River State, who was the leader of the Eastern Government of Nigeria in 1951 and the first Professor Nigeria ever had. He was one of the ...

. He also attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

in 1935, where he was a pupil of

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

, graduating with a BComm (Hons). In the same year, he was elected President of the Cosmopolitan Club of the School. While in the United Kingdom, he was President of the West African Student Union and was also a representative of the University of London on the Executive Committee on British Universities. He later returned to London in 1944, where he studied Law and was called to the English Bar at the Middle Temple Inns of Court, London in 1946. In 1959, Davies spent a year as a Fellow of the Center for International Affairs at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Political career

Davies was a founding member of the Lagos Youth Movement in 1934 along with

James Churchill Vaughan James Churchill Omosanya Vaughan Jr., M.D. (30 May 1893 – 1937) was a Nigerian doctor and a prominent political activist. Birth and education Vaughan was born in Lagos on 30 May 1893, the son of James Wilson Vaughan, who descended from the 19t ...

, Kofo Abayomi,

Ernest Sissei Ikoli Ernest Sissei Ikoli (1893–1960) was a Nigerian politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist; he was the first editor of the Daily Times. He was the president of the Nigerian Youth Movement and in 1942, represented Lagos in the Legislative C ...

, and

Samuel Akisanya Samuel Akisanya, (1 August 1898 – January 1985) was a Nigerian trade unionist and nationalist based in Lagos, Nigeria during the colonial era, one of the founders of the Nigerian Youth Movement. He was also the Oba of Isara, an office which ...

. He was made Secretary-General. The Youth Movement was one of the earliest political associations to encourage active participation by Nigerians in the political and socio-economic development of the country. After returning from studies abroad along with

, Davies spearheaded the efforts that led to renaming the Lagos Youth Movement the

Nigerian Youth Movement The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) was Nigeria's first genuine nationalist organization, founded in Lagos at Stanley Orogun, with Professor Eyo Ita as the founding father and many others, including Samuel Akisanya. Ernest Ikoli, the first editor of ...

when both individuals became prominent members, contributors and national leaders with large followings. Davies was the founding Secretary-General of the NYM. Davies left the movement in 1951 and founded his own party, the Nigerian People's Congress. He later joined the

National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) later changed to the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, was a Nigerian nationalist political party from 1944 to 1966, during the period leading up to independence and immediately ...

after negotiations for a formidable alliance with Nnamdi Azikiwe were unsuccessful. Davies was a Federal

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

in the Ministry of Industries from 1963–1966 during the Nigerian First Republic.

Legal and other professional life'

Davies was a very successful lawyer, being one of the first two Nigerians (along with Chief

Frederick Rotimi Williams Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, QC, SAN (16 December 1920 – 26 March 2005) was a prominent Nigerian lawyer who was the first Nigerian to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Action Group and subseq ...

) that were honoured with the distinction of

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1959. Among his many legal accomplishments, he was the only African lawyer among the legal team that helped defend Jomo Kenyatta, the future president of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, during the famous Mau Mau Uprising case along with Mr. DN Pritt, QC from Britain, Mr. Diwan Chawaanlal from India; and De Sousa and Kapilla, both Indians resident in Kenya. That same year he left for the United States, where he attended the Research Center for International Affairs at

and wrote the book "Prospects for Democracy". During his time at Harvard, he met with and became friends with future US Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

and future US National Security Advisor

Zbigniew Brzezinski Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzeziński ( , ; March 28, 1928 – May 26, 2017), or Zbig, was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was President Jimmy Carter' ...

. He led a Nigerian delegation to the Economic Council at the United Nations in 1964, and in September 1974, Chief H.O. Davies was knighted by the French Government as Chevelier de l'

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

for promoting French-Nigeria relations and for his significant contributions in energising Total Fina Oil and

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

Petroleum, companies of which he was a director. In 1937, Davies became the Manager of a leading daily newspaper, the Daily Service, and in 1960 he was made the founding chairman and managing director of the then Nigerian National Press, Printers of the Nigerian Morning Post and Sunday Post by the Prime Minister, Sir

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence. Early life Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day ...

. Among his several accomplishments, Chief HO Davies was a national president of the World Peace Through Law, president of the United Nations Organization in Nigeria, chairman of the Rotary Club of Nigeria, and founder and inaugural president of the Nigerian-France Friendship Association. Prior to his death in 1989,

Oloye Oba means ″ruler″ in the Yoruba and Bini languages of West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba ...

Davies published an autobiographical book entitled ''Memoirs''.Memoirs. Chief HO Davies, QC, Kt. Evans Brothers Nigeria Publishers Limited, Ibadan, 1989

Staunch Christian

Davies was a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

and a strong believer that the church should be "militant" in its practicality towards society, not only speaking out in support of the poor, but being actively engaged in ministries involving the poor and actively seeking co-operation among all Christian denominations to effect positive change. He was a key mediator during a fractious period in the history of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, helping to unite disparate factions within the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, H. O. Alumni of the London School of Economics People of Sierra Leone Creole descent TotalEnergies people 1989 deaths National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons politicians Federal ministers of Nigeria 1905 births Politicians from Lagos King's College, Lagos alumni Yoruba legal professionals Lagos State politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians Yoruba royalty Nigerian Christians 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Methodist Boys' High School alumni People of colonial Nigeria