Michael Adekunle Ajasin (28 November 1908 – 3 October 1997) was a Nigerian politician who served as governor of

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to ...

from October 1979 to October 1983 on the

Unity Party of Nigeria The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was a Nigerian political party that was dominant in western Nigeria during the second republic (1978-1983). The party revolved around the political leadership of Obafemi Awolowo, a sometimes polemical politician ...

(UPN) platform during the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

Background

Michael Adekunle Ajasin was born in Owo,

on 28 November 1908. He attended St. Andrews College, Oyo between (1924–1927). He worked as a teacher for some time, then was admitted to

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

in 1943, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Modern History and Economics in June, 1946. Following that, he went to the Institute of Education of 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 ...

where he obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Education in June, 1947. On 12 September 1947, Ajasin was appointed Principal of Imade College, Owo, where he initiated an aggressive staff development program, including sending teachers to

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 ...

for further training. In 1951 he wrote a paper that was to become the educational policy of the Action Group party, advocating free education at all levels. He was one of the founders of the party, whose other policies included immediate independence from Britain, universal health care, and abolition of want through effective economic policies. In December 1962, he left Imade College to become founder, proprietor and first principal of Owo High School from January 1963 to August, 1975, when he retired. He married Babafunke Tenabe, a teacher, on 12 January 1939. They had four children, two boys and two girls. One daughter, Mrs Olajumoke Anifowoshe, became attorney–general and commissioner for Justice in Ondo State.

Political career

Ajasin was involved in Nigeria's pre-independence politics. In the 1950s, he was a national vice president of the Action Group, became an elected ward councillor and then chairman of Owo district council which was made up of Owo, Idashen, Emure Ile, Ipele, Arimogija, Ute, Elerenla, Okeluse and a few more villages. He was also elected to the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos. He was a federal legislator from 1954 to 1966 before the military took over government. In 1976, he was chairman of Owo local government and joined the

when the military government started a new democratic dispensation. Ajasin was elected governor of Ondo State in 1979, with

Akin Omoboriowo Akinwole Michael Omoboriowo (12 January 1932 – 10 April 2012) was a Nigerian lawyer and politician who was Deputy Governor of Ondo State, later switching parties and contested for the governorship election of 1983 in Ondo State during the Nige ...

as his running mate. Omoboriowo later fell out with him, and switched to the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN), where he competed against Ajasin in the 1983 elections and was initially declared winner. Later the result was annulled and Ajasin was sworn in for a second term. Ajasin held office until the military coup of 31 December 1983 that brought General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...

to power. As governor, Ajasin signed the law establishing the Ondo State University in 1982 in Ado-Ekiti, which is in present-day Ekiti State of Nigeria. In 2000, during the government of Chief Adebayo Adefarati, a new university was created in Akungba Akoko and later named Adekunle Ajasin University in his honour. He also opened The Polytechnic, Owo.

NADECO

Ajasin was a leader of the National Democratic Coalition popularly known as NADECO in Nigeria. The coalition was formed to bring an end to the military government of

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

and the regime to honour the electoral mandate given to

MKO Abiola Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian businessman, publisher, and politician. He was the Aare Ona Kankafo XIV of Yorubaland and an aristocrat of the Egba clan. M.K.O ...

. In 1995, he was arrested by the military government of Abacha along with 39 other activists for holding an illegal political meeting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajasin, Michael Adekunle 1908 births 1997 deaths Yoruba politicians Unity Party of Nigeria politicians Governors of Ondo State People from Owo Yoruba educators Politicians from Ondo State