Chief Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi,
CON (April 30, 1932 – November 28, 2007) was a
Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...
n
Yoruba politician and tribal aristocrat as the Aro of
Mopa in
Kogi State
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...
, formerly Kabba Province. Known as little Sardauna, Awoniyi was a founder of the
People's Democratic Party from which he was expelled and then reinstated, Awoniyi was also chairman of the
Arewa Consultative Forum
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) ...
(ACF); a pan
Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...
n organisation.
Family and education
Awoniyi was born in what is now the
Mopa-Muro
Mopa-Muro is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Mopa on the A123 highway.
It has an area of and a population of 44,037 at the 2006 census.
The postal code
A postal code (also known local ...
Local Government Area of
Kogi State
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...
to Pa Solomon Iwalaye and Dorcas Omoboja. A Baptist,
he attended the First Baptist Church in
Ileteju, Mopa.
He began his education at Baptist Day School in Mopa from 1938 to 1944, moving on to Holy Trinity School in
Lokoja from 1945 to 1946, and Provincial Middle School in
Okene
Okene is a town in the Nigerian state of Kogi. The town is based in a Local Government Area of the same name. Okene runs along the A2 highway. It had an area of 328 km² and a population of 320,260 at the 2006 census.
The predominant people ...
from 1947 to 1949. He attended the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology (now
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, A ...
) from 1951 until 1956, University College (now the
University of 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 19 ...
) from 1956 to 1959, and the Imperial Defence College (now the
Royal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest lev ...
) from 1970 to 1971.
Awoniyi had two wives, Florence Ebun Awoniyi and Benedicta Omowunmi Awoniyi, and eleven children; among his children is
Abayomi, an architect and politician.
[ ]
Political career
First Republic
Awoniyi's first political appointment was as a District Officer for the British colonial administration (he was one of few Northern Nigerians to hold the post, most being reserved to Britons). After independence in 1960, he held several posts in the
Northern Regional Government including that of Secretary to the Executive Council,
[ where he worked with Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria.] Awoniyi often held up the assassinated premier as an example of good governance, and was known as "Sardauna Keremi", or "little Sardauna".[
]
Third Republic
During the Third Republic, Awoniyi was a member of the National Republican Convention (NRC), and was elected to the Senate of Nigeria
The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...
for the Kogi West district.[
]
Fourth Republic
Awoniyi was one of the founding members of the People's Democratic Party.[ He attempted to become chairman in 1999, but was unsuccessful. The party under Chairman Barnabas Gemade expelled him and six others in 2001 for "anti party activities", but reinstated them later that year.]
Ever identifying himself as a Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...
n, he later became Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) ...
(ACF), a pan Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...
n political organization detested by many Southern Nigerians; questioned about his acceptance of this position, he said he was "brought up in my own part of the world to act well our part wherever we may find ourselves." He held the chairmanship until his death.
Awoniyi opposed the Third Term Agenda
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
proposed by supporters of President Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
in favor of his re-election, and was attacked at his Abuja house on March 12, 2006 during the debate.[ In April 2006, he wrote an open letter to Obasanjo, saying "I beg of you, for your own good and for our country's good, make a simple announcement to say that you are not interested in a Third Term and that you plan to go back to Otta in 2007."][
]
Death
On November 18, 2007, while being driven from Abuja to Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...
, Awoniyi's car flipped over. He was taken to the National Hospital in Abuja and then flown to London, where he died on November 28.
On December 11, 2007, a one-minute silence honoring him was observed in the Senate. His funeral was held at Mopa on December 15, 2007, and was attended by former Presidents Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquishe ...
, Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as C ...
, and Abdulsalami Abubakar
Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...
, and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
, who represented President Umaru Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Awoniyi, Sunday
Yoruba politicians
Nigerian Baptists
Kogi State politicians
Ahmadu Bello University alumni
Members of the Senate (Nigeria)
1932 births
2007 deaths
Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians
National Republican Convention politicians
20th-century Baptists