The Life and Legacy of Olusegun Awolowo by Onigegewura

It is exactly fifty-four years ago this month. It was the news no one wanted to hear. It was as tragic as it was saddening. The whole of the Western Region, indeed the whole of Nigeria, was struck as if by thunder. When the news of his death hit the airwaves, mothers wept with Mama HID. Fathers mourned with Papa Awo. Segun Awolowo was a child of promise whose sun set at noon.

Were Segun Awolowo to be alive today, he would have celebrated his 78th birthday on January 20. He would have likely become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria or a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He might have become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He could also have been the Governor of Ogun State of Nigeria. Or maybe a Senator of the Federal Republic. It is to keep the memory of this illustrious star alive that Onigegewura brings you this story today.

Olusegun!

Yoruba names are usually reflective of circumstances of birth. Let me digress. I recall a young couple from the old Bendel State who lived in our village, Aba Alaro, in the 70s. They lived as tenants of Baba Idowu. They were treated as part of the family. They spoke smattering Yoruba and I recall that the husband was becoming an expert in spicing his sentences with Yoruba proverbs.

A year after his marriage, his wife gave birth to a baby boy. To appreciate the warm hospitality of his host, he named his baby after the first son of his landlord, Idowu!

Idowu ke! Idowu bawo!

They asked him why Idowu. He proudly told the villagers that it was to honor his landlord, his adopted father. It was then explained to him that traditional Yoruba names were symbolic of a child's birth and that Idowu was a name given to a child that came after twins. Without Taiwo and Kehinde, there's no Idowu. Idowu is never a first born. Their Landlord was addressed as Baba Idowu because he had lost his twins. He was therefore advised to change the name to Olumide, Idowu's middle name!

Olusegun Awolowo was born on January 20, 1939. For anyone familiar with the history of Obafemi Awolowo, the years preceding 1939 were one of the most tempestuous of his life. Awolowo, as a fledging but ethical businessman, became a victim of the economic downturn of the 1930s. Iya Agba told me that everything became so expensive during that time to the extent that salt literally disappeared from the market.

Awolowo lost his investment. His house was auctioned. His prized car, a Chevrolet, was sold as part of the auction. Not only that, his clothes and other properties were also auctioned. And his marriage was less than two years old. It was during this tumultuous period that Segun was born. Oluwasegun – Almighty God gives me victory – is therefore an affirmation of Awolowo’s abiding confidence and faith in God’s power to make him victorious. Olusegun! A child of promise!

Awolowo regarded the birth of Olusegun, two months before his own birthday, as the positive turning point. He picked his pen and wrote:

"After rain comes sunshine;
After darkness comes the glorious dawn;
There is no sorrow without its alloys of joy;
There is no joy without its admixture of sorrow;
Behind the ugly, terrible mask of fortune,
Lies the beautiful soothing countenance of Prosperity;
So, tear the mask!"

Segun was a son any parent would be proud of! He inherited Papa Awo’s brilliance. His mates and teachers at Agbeni Methodist School, Ibadan, where he was a pupil between 1943 and 1951, testified to his uncommon intelligence. At a relatively young age, he became the protector of his younger siblings.

In 1952, Segun became a student of Igbobi College, Lagos. He also distinguished himself academically and he passed his West African School Certificate Examination in Grade One.

Upon completion of his secondary education, Segun found himself at a junction. He had a career choice to make. Mama HID wanted some of her children to take to business. Papa wanted some of them to read Law. But Papa Awo would never force his view on his children. Young Segun was allowed to decide on his career path. He chose Law.

In 1957, eighteen-year-old Segun left for London to study at the University of Cambridge. As a student, Segun lived life to the fullest. He was described as an all-around young man. He excelled academically, and he was also sociable. Dr. Kunle Olasope, a childhood friend, recalled that Segun was a ladies' man and wasted no time with the girls, which made his friends give him the nickname "Quicky, Lucky, Lucky."

On January 20, 1960, Segun came of age when he turned 21. As you already know, 21 was then the age of majority in the United Kingdom. Social Segun naturally threw a party to mark the special occasion. The party, which was held at 15A Kensington Palace Gardens, was attended by his friends and classmates at Cambridge. His sister, Tola Awolowo; Degbola Ademola and his sister, Nike Adegbola, as well as Kayode Oyediran, were some of the youngsters who attended the birthday party.

Following the successful completion of his Law Degree in Cambridge, he was called to the English Bar in 1962. It was a proud moment for his parents, particularly his father, who had been called to the same Bar 16 years earlier when Segun was just 7 years old. Immediately after his call to the Bar, Segun went to visit his best friend, Yomi Akintola (the son of Chief Ladoke Akintola), who was in Dublin at the time. It was from Dublin that Segun went to the airport to come back to Nigeria in August 1962. In another account, Dr. Olasope recalled that Segun came back to Nigeria in January 1963.

Despite his outward appearance as a playboy, Segun was an extremely serious young man. According to Wole Soyinka, the Segun who returned to Nigeria was a young man “with a clarified sense of mission, shedding the image of the young, pampered playboy.”

Earlier in 1962, the Sole Administrator for the Western Region, Dr. Moses A. Majekodunmi, had set up a Commission of Enquiry into the affairs of some statutory corporations in the region. The Commission was headed by Justice George Baptist Ayodola Coker, who later became a Justice of the Supreme Court in 1964. I can see lawyers reading this nodding their heads as they remember the popular case of Vaswani v. Savalakh!

As the premier during the period covered by the commission’s terms of reference, Awolowo was one of the key people summoned to appear before the Commission. It was at this period that Segun returned to Nigeria to assist his father with his appearance before the Commission. His father found in him a dependable companion who was quick to appreciate salient legal issues. A chip off the old block. A son to be proud of.

Segun’s first taste of criminal cases was as one of his father’s counsel in the treasonable felony case. Segun appeared alongside other famous lawyers who appeared for Chief Awolowo before Hon. Justice George S. Sowemimo. People marveled at the brilliance of the young man who was already his father’s rock at that tender age. One of the people who noticed the morning star was the Attorney General of the Federation, Dr. Taslim Elias. It was certain that Segun was going to be a brilliant advocate like his father.

That was until that fateful day! A black Wednesday in the month of July 1963!

Papa Awolowo was in Broad Street Prison in Lagos. Mama HID was at the time in an apartment in Somolu, somewhere off Ikorodu Road. It was Mama’s temporary residence whilst she looked after her husband, who was in detention. Segun and Tola were living at their Oke-Bola residence in Ibadan. Tola was at the time working with Shell as a secretary to the regional manager.

Tola had a car but was just learning how to drive. It was a Triumph Herald, white in color. She had a driver who took her around. Ogunjimi Odunlami was the name of her driver. Ogunjimi was popularly known as No Paddy. That’s the name everyone called him. That’s the name he loved to be called. No Paddy! It could have been a shortened form of ‘No Paddy for Jungle’.

Segun, on the other hand, was a licensed driver. He was as skillful behind the wheel as he was deft with his legal practice. However, whenever he wanted to travel, he usually asked his sister to allow No Paddy to drive him. This was to allow him to read and review his case files. At such times, Tola would have to rely on her fiancé, Kayode, a young medical doctor, to drop and pick her up from work.

Segun spent the evening of Tuesday, July 9 with some of his friends, including Kunle Olasope, at Osunmarina Restaurant, next door to Radio Nigeria Ibadan. Segun left them early to go home as he was traveling to Lagos on Wednesday. At their Oke-Bola residence, Segun informed his sister that he would need No Paddy the following day to drive him to Lagos. As a good sister, Tola told her brother that she would also travel with them to see their father in prison.

Early in the morning of Wednesday, July 10, 1963, the trio left Oke-Bola for Lagos. It was around 7 a.m. Segun was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car with No Paddy driving. Tola was seated at the back. Segun was going to represent his father at the Coker Commission of Enquiry.

No Paddy was cruising smoothly at high speed as he passed Ewekoro Cement Factory, when Tola warned him to reduce his speed. He acknowledged the warning and reduced his speed accordingly. Unfortunately, as the car descended a slope at Olodo Village, a Mercedes Benz car drove past them. Perhaps as a show of superiority of their car, No Paddy decided to overtake the Mercedes Benz in front of them.

With a terrifying loud bang, the two cars collided. Their car somersaulted several times, and then the unimaginable happened. The roof of the car was ripped off! Tola was thrown out of the car through the opening where the roof once was. But for the quick intervention of a police officer who pulled her away, she would have been crushed to death. She survived the crash.

No Paddy also survived the crash with injuries.

But Segun! Oh, Segun! Olusegun Awolowo died at the scene of the accident. He was just 24 years old.

It was a devastating moment for everyone. Mama HID was completely devastated. And so was Papa Awo, who was still in prison. It was indeed a terrible tragedy. His sun had set at noon.

Olusegun Awolowo was buried on Saturday, July 13, 1963, at the Saint Saviour’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Ikenne. He was buried where he played as a child with his siblings. He was buried near the house where he was born. Wole Soyinka, one of the students who attended the burial, recalled the pain on Awolowo’s face, even as he pretended to be strong for others. But when he cried, others wept. A child of promise had gone too soon.

May the soul of Olusegun Awolowo, and all others gone before us, continue to rest in peace.