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 ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi (10 July 1896 – 1 January 1979) was a

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 ...

ophthalmologist and politician. He was one of the founders of the nationalist

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 t ...

in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public service career. His last major public assignment was as chairman of the Lagos Executive Development Board from 1958 until 1966.

Early years

Abayomi was born on 10 July 1896 in Lagos of Egbe-Yoruba origin. From 1904 until 1909, he attended UNA School, Lagos and then attended Wesleyan College now known as

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. He left teaching in early 1914 to join the staff of the African Hospital, Lagos. During World War I, he volunteered to work as a dresser at a main base hospital in the Camerouns. He studied pharmacy at the

Yaba Higher College Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, Lagos, Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Iba ...

, then attended the Medical School of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating in 1928. He was retained as a demonstrator for a period before he returned to Nigeria to work under Dr

Oguntola Sapara Chief Oguntola Odunbaku Sapara M.D. (9 June 1861 – June 1935) was a Yoruba doctor, originally from Sierra Leone, who spent most of his career and life in Nigeria. He was best known for his campaign against smallpox. Early life and education ...

. He returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1930 to study tropical medicine and hygiene, and again, in 1939, for a postgraduate course in ophthalmic surgery and medicine. As an African doctor with British training, Abayomi joined the British Colonial Medical Service to make a living.

Nigerian Youth Movement

Abayomi was a founding member of the

(NYM) in 1933. The NYM was formed by members of the Lagos intelligentsia who were protesting the plan for

Yaba College Yaba Higher College was founded in 1932 in Yaba, now a suburb of Lagos in Nigeria to provide tertiary education to Africans, mostly in vocational subjects and teaching. The college staff were transferred to start the University of Ibadan in 1948 ...

, which they considered would provide inferior education to Africans. Abayomi became President of the NYM on the death of Dr.

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 ...

in 1937. Abayomi was elected a member of the Legislative Council in 1938. When he resigned from both positions so he could go abroad for further studies, he precipitated a crisis. Rival candidates were

Ernest 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 ...

, an Ijo, 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 ...

, an Ijebu who was supported by

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 n ...

. When the executive chose Ikoli as their candidate, both Akisanya and Azikiwe left the party, taking most of their followers with them.

Later career

Abayomi returned to Nigeria in 1941 to continue his successful family practice. He later became the first private practitioner to be elected president of the

Nigerian Medical Association The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is the professional association and registered for Nigerian doctors and dentists. The NMA has more than 35,000 members from 36 state branches and the branch from the federal capital territory, including t ...

. The ''

Egbe Omo Oduduwa Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà (Yoruba National Movement) is a Nigerian political organisation established in 1945 by Yoruba leaders in London. Its initial purpose was to unite the Yorùbá people in a manner similar to the tenets of the Ibibio State Un ...

'', a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

social welfare organization formed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1945, was inaugurated in

Ile Ife Ile may refer to: * iLe, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino acid * Another ...

in June 1948. Sir

Adeyemo Alakija Oloye Sir Adeyemo Alakija, (25 May 1884 – 10 May 1952) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Nigerian legislative council for nine years starting in 1933. In 1942, he became a member of the governor' ...

was elected president. Abayomi was elected treasurer. He was a member of the Governor's Executive council from 1949 to 1951. In 1950, the Alaafin of Oyo, Adeyemi II, gave the

Abayomi the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

title of One-Isokun of Oyo. Two years later, in April 1952, Oba Adele II of Lagos gave him the title of Baba Isale. Abayomi was one of the founding members of the Action Group when that party's Lagos branch was inaugurated on 5 May 1951. In the first half of 1954, there were several tax riots in the northern Oyo towns. In August of that year, a number of

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

s sent him to see the

Alaafin Alaafin, or ''The Owner of the Palace'' in the Yoruba language, is the title of the emperor of the medieval Oyo empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. He ruled the old Oyo Empire which extended from the present day Benin republic to Ni ...

of Oyo and try to make him drop support for the nationalist

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 ...

. Sir Kofo represented the Nigerian Legislature on the Governing Council of the

University College, Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 1962 ...

from its foundation in 1948 to 1961. He was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of the

University College Hospital, Ibadan University College Hospital, Ibadan is a federal teaching hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria attached to the University of Ibadan. History The University College Hospital, (UCH) Ibadan was established by an August 1952 Act of Parliament in response to ...

when it was inaugurated in 1951. In 1958, he was appointed Chairman of the Lagos Executive Development Board, which had authority to demolish unsanitary buildings and undertake town planning schemes. The board was also involved in freehold housing and estate development in Surulere, North East and South West

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class res ...

reclamation schemes and up to one thousand acres reclaimed in

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

. Abayomi became the first Nigerian Chairman of the Board of the University College Hospital, Ibadan in 1958, a position he held until 1965. In 1959, he was chairman of the Board of Management of the

Lagos University Teaching Hospital Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is a tertiary hospital established in 1961 and is located in Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos State, the administrative division of Nigeria. The teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Lagos Colle ...

in Lagos. He served on the board or as chairman of several companies for the rest of his life Sir Kofo died peacefully at home on 1 January 1979 at the age of 82, leaving behind a widow, Oyinkan, Lady Abayomi, who was herself a prominent figure in the history of Nigeria.

References

Sources * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abayomi, Kofo 1896 births 1979 deaths University of Ibadan people Yoruba physicians Politicians from Lagos Nigerian knights Nigerian ophthalmologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School 20th-century Nigerian politicians Methodist Boys' High School alumni Yoruba politicians University of Lagos people Members of the Legislative Council of Nigeria Physicians from Lagos 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors Yaba Higher College alumni Ajasa family People from colonial Nigeria Nigerian recipients of British titles