Bola
Ige
Background
James
Ajibola Idowu Adegoke Ige was born in Esa Oke, Osun
state in
the South Western part of Nigeria on 13 September 1930. His parents were Yoruba natives of Esa-Oke town, in the old Oyo State (now in Osun State). Bola Ige left Kaduna and headed south to
the Western region at the age of 14. He studied at Ibadan Grammar School (1943–48), and then at the
University of Ibadan. From there, he went to
the University
College London
where he graduated with a Law degree in 1959. He was called to the bar in London's
Inner Temple in 1961.[2]
Bola
Ige established Bola Ige & Co in 1961, and later became a Senior Advocate
of Nigeria.[3] He became well known in the country for his
oratory prowess, as well as his advocacy work on civil rights and democracy.
Bola Ige's faith was Christianity.[4][5] Uncommonly, Bola Ige spoke all the three
major Nigerian languages, Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa fluently.[6] He wrote several books, and an anthology of
articles and tributes about him was published shortly after his death.
Early political career
During
the First Republic (1963–1966), at age 31 he
was at the centre of the Action Group crisis, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo was pitted against his deputy, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.[7] He became a rival of Olusola Olaosebikan for
succession to Obafemi Awolowo.[8] Bola Ige was a Commissioner for Agriculture
in the now-defunct Western Region of Nigeria (1967–1970) under the military
government of General Yakubu Gowon. In 1967 he became a friend of Olusegun Obasanjo, who was a commander of the army brigade in
Ibadan.[7]
In
the early 1970s, during the first period of military rule, he devoted his time
to the anti-racism campaign of the World Council of
Churches.[2]
Towards
the end of the 1970s he joined the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the successor to
the Action Group.[2] When General Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the
Second Republic, he was elected as governor of Oyo State from October 1979 to
October 1983.[3] Adebisi Akande, later to be governor of Osun State after it was split off from Oyo State, was
his deputy governor during this period.[9] In the 1983 elections, when he ran for
re-election as the UPN candidate, he was defeated by Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo. Ige unsuccessfully
challenged the election in court. However, Olunloyo lost the seat three months
later to a coup staged by Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon.[6]
Ige
Bola was detained after the coup, accused of enriching party funds. He was
released in 1985, after the next coup, by Ibrahim Babangida, and returned to his legal practice and to
writing. In 1990, he published People, Politics And Politicians of Nigeria:
1940–1979, a book that he had begun while imprisoned. He was a founder
member of the influential Yoruba pressure group, Afenifere. Although critical of the military rule of
General Sani Abacha, Bola Ige avoided
political difficulties during this period.[2]
Third Republic
Following
the restoration of democracy in 1999, Bola Ige sought the nomination of the Alliance
for Democracy
party as a presidential candidate, but was rejected. President Obasanjo
appointed Bola Ige as minister of Mines and Power (1999–2000).[10] He was not able to make significant
improvements to service provided by the monopoly National
Electric Power Authority (NEPA).[11]
He
then became Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (2000–2001).[3] In September 2001 Bola Ige said that the
Federal government had initiated a program to re-arrange and consolidate the
laws of the Federation, publish them in digital form, and make them available
on the website of his ministry.[12] He campaigned ardently against the
imposition of the Sharia law in the northern states of Nigeria.[1] In November 2001 he said that the Federal
government would not allow the Sokoto State government to execute the judgement of a
verdict passed by a Gwadabawa sharia court to stone a
woman, Safiya Hussaini to death for committing
adultery.[13]
Bola
Ige was about to take up a new position as African's Representative on the United
Nations International Law Commission when he was gunned down in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Death
On
23 December 2001, Bola Ige was shot dead at his home in the south-western city
of Ibadan. He had been entangled in squabbles within his Alliance
for Democracy
party in Osun State. The previous week, the
long-running feud between Osun state Governor Bisi Akande and his deputy, Iyiola Omisore, had apparently contributed to the death of
an Osun State legislator, Odunayo Olagbaju.[1] The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo deployed troops in south-western Nigeria to
try to prevent a violent reaction to the murder.[14] Although various people were arrested and
tried for involvement in the murder, including Iyiola Omisore, all were
acquitted.[15] As of November 2010 the killers had not been
found.[16] He was buried in Ibadan.[17] In a speech at his funeral, he was quoted as
saying that he was sure that Nigeria was worth living for but he was not so
sure that it was worth dying for.[18]
Books
- Ige, Bola. Golden quotes : a selection of my favourite inspirational quotations. Ibadan : Pocket Gifts ; Oxford : African Books Collective [distributor], c2000. x, 163 p. ; 19 cm. ISBN 978-129-496-5
- Ige, Bola. Detainee's diary Ibadan : NPS Educational, 1992. 262 p. ; 23 cm. ISBN 978-2556-45-9
- Ige, Bola (1995). People, Politics And Politicians of Nigeria: 1940–1979. Heinemann Educational Books. ISBN 978-129-496-5.
- Ige, Bola. Constitutions and the problem of Nigeria Lagos : Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 1995. 36 p. ; 21 cm. ISBN 978-2353-43-4
- Bola Ige (1991). Kaduna boy. NPS Educational. ISBN 978-2556-35-1.
References
· "Troops deployed
in Nigeria". BBC News. 24 December 2001. Retrieved 7 November
2009.
· · Kaye Whiteman (1 January 2002). "Bola Ige – Dedicated lawyer building bridges in
Nigerian politics". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 8 November
2009.
· · "About the Law Firm". Bola Ige & Co. Archived
from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 7 November
2009.
· · Jan Harm Boer (2006). Christians: secularism, yes and no Volume 5 of Studies in
Christian-Muslim relations, Jan Harm Boer. Essence. p. 62. ISBN 9781553069614.
· · Bola Ige; Akinyemi Onigbinde (2000). The essential Ige: tribute to Uncle Bola at 70. Frontline Books. ISBN 9789783537613.
· · FEMI ADEOTI (23 October 2009). "Olunloyo on 1983 Oyo guber". The Sun. Retrieved 7
November 2009.
· · Alhaji Lateef Jakande (27 July 2009). "My Rivalry With Bola Ige". The News. Retrieved 7
November 2009.
· "Emergency Declared in Nigeria After Killing of Justice
Minister". New York Times. 25 December 2001. Retrieved 6
November 2009.
Copyright
- Wikipedia
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