Femi Fani Kayode

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode [http://www.fanikayode.org] L.L.B(Lond),L.L.M(Cantab), B.L, Dipl(Theol) Was Born In Lagos,Nigeria On 16th October 1960 To Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode L.L.B(Hons Cantab), Q.C , S.A.N,C.O.N And To Chief (Mrs) Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode. He Was Christened Oluwafemi Adewunmi Fani-Kayode. He Is A Lawyer And He Was The Special Assistant(Public Affairs) To President Olusegun Obasanjo From July 2003 Until June 2006 . He Was Appointed The Minister Of Culture And Tourism Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria From June 22nd To Nov 7th 2006 And As The Minister Of Aviation From Nov 7th 2006 To May 29th 2007.

LINEAGE

Femi Fani-Kayode [http://www.fanikayode.org] Comes From An Illustrious And Well-Established Lineage. He Was Born To The Kayode Family Of Ile-Ife . His Great-Grand Father , Reverend Ernest Adedapo Kayode Who Got His Masters Of Arts Degree (Durham) In The Late 1800after Which He Went Into Christain Ministry And He Was Ordained As A Minister Of The Anglican Church . He Was One Of Those Responsible For Bringing Christianity To Ile-Ife And Other Parts Of South –Western Nigeria Where He Served As One Of The Most Respected And Leading Pastors Of His Generation. He Was Married To Mrs. Sophia Kayode (Nee Cole). They Were Blessed With Nine Children And Their First Child , Justice Victor Adetokunbo Kayode , Was The Grandfather Of Femi Fani-Kayode.

Victor Adetokunbo Kayode Studied Law At Cambridge University (Selwyn College)In He Early 1900, Was Called To The British Bar And After A Distinguished Career At The Bar Joined The Bench And Went On To Become One Of The First And Most Respected Indegenious Judges In Nigeria . He Was Married To One Of The Brightest Stars Of Lagos High Society In Those Days, Mrs Aurora Kayode (Nee Fanimokun) . She Was The Daughter Of Rev. Joseph Fanimokun Who Also Got A Masters Of Art Degree At Durham In The Late 1800's Who Was Also An Anglican Priest And The First Nigerian Principal Of C.M.S Grammar School , Lagos . Victor Adetokunbo Kayode Met His Wife Aurora Kayode Whilst He Was Studying Cambridge University. They Had Four Sons And Two Daughters And One Of Those Sons, Remilekun Adetokunbo Kayode, Was Born In Chelsea, England In 1921.

Chief Remilekun Kayode Was So Close To His Mother That He Attached The Prefix Of Her Maiden Name (Fani) To His Father’s Name And That Was How The Name “Fani-Kayode” Was Created. Remilekun Fani- Kayode , Like His Father, Was Brilliant And In 1941 He Went To Cambridge University (Downing College) After Which He Did The British Bar Examinations Where He Came Top In His Year For The Whole Of The British Commonwealth. He Was Called To The British Bar In 1945 And He Went On To Be Appointed Queen Counsel (Q.C) In 1958 And Later Senior Advocate Of Nigeria ( San) In 1977 . He Set Up The First Indigeneous Nigerian Law Firm In 1948 With Chief Rotimi Williams And Chief Bode Thomas Who Were Also Both Brilliant Lawyers That Had Been Trained At Cambridge University. The Law Firm Was Called “Thomas, Williams And Kayode”. All Three Of Them Went On To Distinguish Themselves In The Legal Profession And In Politics. Remilekun Fani–Kayode Played A Major Role In The Struggle For Nigeria’s Independence . In 1952 He , Together With Rotimi Williams,Bode Thomas And A Number Of Others Were All Detained By The British Colonial Authorities For The Very Active And Passionate Role That They Played In The Struggle Against The British. He Was Elected The Leader Of The Action Group Youth Wing In 1954 . He Set Up A Formidable, Militant And Combative Youth Wing For The Party Who Wore “Black Shirts” And Used The “Mosquito” As Their Emblem In Order To Reflect Their Disdain For British Colonial Rule. Again In 1954 He Was Elected Into The Federal House Of Assembly On The Platform Of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group And He Continued His Fight For Nigeria’s Independence From There . He Made Eloquent , Moving And Passionate Submissions On Both National And International Issues From The Floor Of The House. In 1957 He Gallently Led The Teamof Action Group Lawyers Who Represented And Fought For The People Of The Northern Minority At The Famous Williks Commission In Their Quest For The Creation Of Middle Belt Region Which Would Have Been Carved Out Of The Old Northern Region Of Nigeria. In 1960 He Left The Action Group And Was In That Same Year Elected The Leader Of The N.C.N.C Opposition Party In The Western House Of Assembly. In 1963 He Was Elected Deputy Premier Of The Old Western Region Of Nigeria Under Chief S.L Akintola On The Platform Of The N.N.D.P Party. He Was Also Appointed Minister Of Local Government Affairs For The Western Region In That Same Year . After The First Ever Military Coup In Nigeria On January 15th 1966 Remilekun Fani-Kayode Together With A Number Of Other Notable Figures Were All Detained By The Military Government Of General Aguiyi-Ironsi. They Were Later Released. In 1978 He Was One Of Those That Founded And Pioneered The National Party Of Nigeria (Npn) And In 1979 He Was Elected To The Position Of The National Vice Chairman Of The Party. In Recognition Of His Enormous Contribution To National Development He Was Conferred With The Highly Coveted National Honour Of The Commander Of The Niger (C.O.N) By President Shehu Shagari In 1979 . In 1980 He Was Conferred With The Prestigeous Title Of Balogun (Leader Of The Warriors) Of Ife By One Of The Most Respected And Senior Traditional Rulers In Nigeria, His Royal Highness Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse The 2nd , The Ooni Of Ife. In The Mid 70's Remi Fani Kayode Was Ordained As Lay Preacher Of The Anglican Church (Christ Church Cathedral Marina Lagos) And Latter On In Ile Ife He Became An Active And Leading Member Of The Pentecostal / Evengelical Movement In Nigeria

Remilekun Fani-Kayode Got Married To Chief Mrs Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode (Nee Sa’id), Whose Mother Alhaja Agbeke Sa’id (Nee Williams ), Was The Daughter Of The Famous Alhaji Isa Williams , One Of The Greatest And Wealthiest Muslim Leaders, Businessmen And Traders In Lagos In His Day. Her Father, Alhaji Nurudeen Sa’id Was A Well Known And Respected Civil Servant From Lagos. Their Daughter Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode Became A Devout And Practising Christian Before Getting Married To Remilekun Fani Kayode And Later Became A Leading Member Of The Pentecostal/Evangelical Church. The Two Of Them Had Five Beautiful Children: Akinola, Oluwarotimi (The Famous Artist Who Passed On In 1989), Oluwafemi, Oluwatoyin And Oluwatolulope. Femi Fani-Kayode Was The Third Child And The Youngest Son Of His Distinguished Parents .

EDUCATION

Femi Fani-Kayode Started His Primary School Education At The Age Of 8 At Brighton College,Brighton In The U.K After Which He Went To A Prestigious Boarding School Called Holmewood House Preparatory School In Tunbridge Wells , South-East England. After Distinguishing Himself In Prep School He Gained Entry Into The Famous Harrow School In Harrow On The Hill , United Kingdom And Later On Into Kelly College In Tavistock, U.K, Where He Completed The Rest Of His Public School Education. In 1983 Femi Fani-Kayode Proceeded To The University Of London (School Of Oriental And African Studies) Where He Got His First Degree In Law. After Finishing At London University, He Gained Entry Into Cambridge University (Pembroke College) Where His Grandfather And His Father Had Previously Read Law . At Cambridge Femi Fani-Kayode Matched His Father’s Score In His Final Exams By Also Getting A Very High Upper Second In His Post Graduate L.L.M Degree In 1984 . After Finishing From Cambridge He Went To The Nigerian Law School And In 1985 Was Called To The Nigerian Bar. In 1993 , After A Brief Illness, Femi Fani-Kayode Found God And Became A Devout And Practicing Pentecostal/Evangelical Christian. He Decided To Go Back To School This Time He Attended The Famous Christian Action Faith Bible Seminary In Accra , Ghana .There Femi Fani-Kayode Bagged A Diploma In Theology.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

After Leaving Law School In 1985 Femi Fani-Kayode Worked In The Law Firm Of The Legendary Chief Rotimi Williams In Lagos After Which He Moved To His Father’s Law Firm “Fani- Kayode And Sowemimo Chambers”. There He Worked Under The Direct Tutelage Of His Father And An Uncle Who Was His Father’s Partner In The Law Firm, The Late And Highly Respected Chief Sobo Sowemimo . After Working There For Three Years He Was Promoted To The Position Of A Senior Partner In The Chambers In 1989.

POLITICAL CAREER

[http://www.aviationsquare.org] Femi Fani-Kayode Showed Signs Of Rare Courage And Distinct Traits Of Leadership Very Early In Life.This Was Particularly Manifested By The Fact That In 1988 He Set Up A Group Called The “September Club” Which Was A Truly National Group Made Up Of Many Newbreed Politicians And Young Professionals In Nigeria And He Was Elected Leader Of That Group In 1987. He Was One Of The Most Prominent Members Of The Nigerian National Congress (N.N.C ), A Major Political Association And Undoubtedly The Largest Political Organisation In Nigeria In 1989. He Was Elected The National Youth Leader Of N.N.C That Same Year . In 1990 , He Was Appointed As Chief Press Secretary To Chief Tom Ikimi ,The First National Chairman Of The National Republican Convention (N.R.C) And Then Later In 1991 As Special Assistant To The Highly Respected Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi , Former Head Of The Nigerian Secret Service (Nso) And The Leading Presidential Aspirant Of The Party. In 1996, Disturbed By The Massive Oppression And Persecution That The People Of Nigeria Were Being Subjected To By Gen. Sani Abacha’s Vicious Military Junta , Femi Fani-Kayode Went Into Self-Exile And Pitched His Tent With The National Democratic Coalition (Nadeco) Abroad Where He Played A Very Active Role In The Fight Against Abacha And For The Restoration Of Democracy In Nigeria . He Eventually Came Back To Nigeria In The Year 2001 And In That Same Year He Met President Olusegun Obasanjo Who Encouraged Him About The Future Of Nigeria And Rekindled His Faith In The Possibility Of A Truly United And New Nigeria. In 2002 Femi Fani-Kayode Helped To Establish And Became One Of The Pioneers Of The Famous Progressive Action Movement (Pam), A Very Strong Political Movement Of Young, New And Dynamic Politicians.

At The Beginning Of 2003, Femi Fani-Kayode Was Appointed By President Olusegun Obasanjo As A Member Of His Presidential Campaign Team For The 2003 Presidential Election . After President Obasanjo Won That Election Femi Fani-Kayode Was Appointed As The First Ever Special Assistant On Public Affairs To The President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria . Since Then He Has Been Highly Celebrated In The Country For His Total Loyalty And Commitment To President Olusegun Obasanjo And His Courageous Verbal And Written Submissions And Commentories . Femi Fani-Kayode Is Also Widely Acknowledged As Being One Of The Most Brilliant And Formidable Debaters Of His Generation . He Is A Powerful , Passionate And Persuasive Public Speaker. In 2006 He Was Appointed As The Honourable Minister Of Culture And Tourism . That Same Year After A Minor Cabinet Re-Shuffle He Was Re-Deployed To The Aviation Ministry As The Honourable Minister Of Aviation Where He Did An Excellent Job By Bringing To An End The Terrible Cycle Of Plane Crashes That Took Place In Nigeria Just Before He Came Into That Office. Since The End Of The Tenure Of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Administration On May 29th 2007, Femi Fani-Kayode Has Gone Back To The Private Sector And To His Legal Practice.

FAMILY

Femi Fani-Kayode Is Happily Married To Mrs. Regina Fani-Kayode (Nee Hanson-Amonoo) Who Hails From A Distinguished Ghanian Family And Who Is A Pastor And A Rising Figure In The Intercessionary Ministry Of The Pentecostal/Evangelical Church. He Has Five Beautiful Children: Oluwafolakemi, Oluwatemitope, Oluwatobiloba , Oluwatumininu And Oluwaremilekun .

HOBBIES

Reading Christian Literature, Playing Polo, Practising Karate And Boxing , Watching Rugby, Studying Eschatology , Studying European History And Literature, Writing Articles ,Breeding And Raising High Pedigree Guard Dogs And Shooting.

PUBLISHED ARTICLES

He Has Written Over 150 Articles In The Last 20 Years Which Have Been Published In Various National And International Journals And Newspapers. They Include: The Dodo Syndrome ; A Failed State ; Jurisprudential Perspectives ; The Curse Of Aole ; Masters Of Our Soul ; Nigeria…The Emerging Giant; A New Millenium ; The Prophets Of Baal ; The Deification Of A General ; The Hobbled Giant, The Hunch Back And A Case For A Soverign National Conference; Just To Mention A Few. Favourite Writers: C.S Lewis And William Shakespeare.

PIRITUAL LEADERS

Bishop Mike Okonkwo Of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (Trem), Nigeria. Dr. B.O. Ezekiel Of Christian Pentecostal Mission (Cpm) , Nigeria. Dr. Daniel K. Olukoya Of Mountain Of Fire Ministries (Mfm), Nigeria. Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams Of Christian Action Faith Ministries (Cafm), Ghana.

[My Life, Chief Femi Fani Kayode, Central Press, Nigeria, 2008.]