My Biography Chief Femi Fani Kayode

Femi Fani-Kayode l.l.b(lond),l.l.m(cantab), b.l, dipl. was born in Lagos,Nigeria on 16th October 1960 to Chief Remilekun Adetokunbo Fani-Kayode m.a, 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 comes from an illustrious, well educated and well established lineage. He was born to the Kayode family of Ile-Ife and Lagos in South-Western Nigeria. His great-grand father , The Reverend Emmanuel Adedapo Kayode, got his Masters of Arts Degree (Durham) in the 1880s' after which he went into christian ministry and was ordained as a minister of the Anglican Church. He brought christainity to Ile-Ife and he joined hands with others to take it to 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) whose brother, The Reverend M.S. Cole was also an Anglican Priest, was the first principal of Abeokuta Grammar school(1908 - 1920) and was the first Principal of Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife. They were blessed with nine children and their first child , Victor Adetokunbo Kayode m.a., l.l.b (hons cantab) was the grandfather of Femi Fani-Kayode.
Victor Adetokunbo Kayode studied law at Cambridge University in 1917, 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 most respected magistrates 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 Reverend Joseph S. Fanimokun who also got a Master of Arts Degree (Durham) in 1891, who was also an Anglican priest and who later became the principal of C.M.S Grammar School Lagos from 1896 to 1914. Victor Adetokunbo Kayode met his wife Aurora Kayode whilst he was studying at Cambridge. They had five sons and three daughters and the first of those children, Chief Remilekun Adetokunbo Kayode, was born in Chelsea, England in 1921. This was the father of Femi Fani Kayode.
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 Queens 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 gallantly led the team of Action Group lawyers who represented and fought for the people of the Northern minorities at the Famous Willinks minorities Commission in their quest for the creation of a middle belt region which would have been carved out of the old Northern Region of Nigeria. In July 1958 he successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence in the Federal House of Assembly. He argued that independence should take place on April 2nd 1960 (the minutes of Hansard, 1958; Richard Sklar's "Nigeria's Political Parties" pg269;Professor Onabamiro's "Perspectives on Nigeria's History"'' pg140). ''It was accepted by the House and the motion was successfully moved. However the British appealed for a delay of 6 months and consequently in August 1960 Sir Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, moved another motion calling for a minor amendment to the orignal 1958 motion. He argued that the year 1960 should be retained as the year for independence as originally moved by Remilekun Fani-Kayode but that the month for that independence should be October.The motion for this minor amendment was seconded by Raymond Njoku, who was the Minister of Transport, and it was successful. That was how october 1st 1960 was agreed upon as our date for indepdence from our colonial masters.In 1959 Remilekun Fani -Kayode resigned from the Action Group and joined the N.C.N.C opposition party. In 1960 he was elected the leader of the N.C.N.C 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 . Again in 1963, he was conferred with the prestigious title of Balogun (Leader of the Warriors) of Ife by one of the most reverred and senior traditional rulers in Nigeria, His Royal Majesty Oba (Sir) Adesoji Aderemi, the late Ooni of Ife. 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 (N.P.N) . In 1979 he was elected to the position of the National Vice Chairman of that party and in recognition of his enormous contribution to national development he was conferred with the highly coveted national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (C.O.N) by President Shehu Shagari. In the mid-70's Remi Fani Kayode was commissioned as a lay preacher of the Anglican Church (Christ Church Cathedral, Marina, Lagos) and later on in life he became an active and leading member of the Pentecostal / Evangelical movement in Nigeria.After the annulment of Chief Moshood Abiola's presidential election on june 12th 1993, Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode was one of those that openly wrote about and spoke out strongly against the annulment.He even went to court over the issue.In 1994 he was appointed into the Justice Kayode Eso panel of inquiry which effectively probed and helped to sanitise the Nigerian judiciary and rid it of corrupt judges. Chief 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 and businessmen in Lagos in his day. Her father, Alhaji Nurudeen Sa’id was a well known and respected civil servant from Isale-Eko, 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 Fani-Kayode, Rotimi Fani-Kayode (the famous artist who passed on in 1989),Femi Fani-Kayode , Toyin Fani-Kayode (Mrs Bajela) and Tolu Fani-Kayode (Mrs Fanning). Femi Fani-Kayode was the third child and the youngest son of his distinguished parents . Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode also had four other children: Aina Fani-Kayode (Mrs Ogunbe), Remilekun Junior Fani-Kayode, Tokunbo Fani-Kayode and Ladipo Fani-Kayode.''

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 1980 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 in 1983, he gained entry into Cambridge University (Pembroke College) where his grandfather, his father and his older brother, Akinola (Downing College) had all 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 to study theology at the Christian Action Faith Bible Seminary in Accra , Ghana . In 1995 Femi Fani Kayode bagged a diploma in theology from that famous institution.

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 his uncle, 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
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 1987 he set up a group called the “September Club” which was a truly national group made up of many new breed politicians and young professionals in Nigeria and he was elected leader of that group in 1988.
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. He also fought corruption by exposing a massive #6.5 billion naira($55,000,000 usd) fraud that took place in the aviation sector just before he came in.For this Femi Fani-Kayode was widely acknowledged and commended but he also earned himself many powerful enemies.He also insisted that Nigerians should be treated with dignity, fairness and respect by all foreign airline operators.On June 30th 2008 Femi Fani- Kayode was invited to appear, together with all the other former and serving Aviation Ministers in Nigeria, before the Senate Aviation Committee to defend, explain and give an account of their tenure as Ministers of Aviation.Femi Fani-Kayode was articulate, factual and accurate at the public hearing,substantiating his forceful assertions with facts,figures,documents, bank statements and due process certificates for every contract that he awarded.He also proved that he left an unprecedented and staggering #7.2 billion($60,000,000 usd) in the accounts of the ministry's special intervention fund by the time he left office.He submitted a detailed analysis and report on the problems of aviation in Nigeria(see memo titled:''My Mandate at the Ministry of Aviation'' by Femi Fani-Kayode[http://www.fanikayode.org]) to the committee and his submission shed a lot of light on the workings of the aviation sector and even exposed what he referred to "as a vicious blood cult" within that sector.Femi Fani Kayode assisted the Senate Committee in it's admirable work by providing essential documents and explanations on virtually every question that he was asked.He did an excellent job at the public hearing(see C.D. of the Senate Aviation Committee public hearing 2008) and was given commendation and applause by many of those that witnessed the proceedings. 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.

CHALLENGES
After president Olusegun Obasanjo relinquished power in 2007, an unprecedented wave of virulent criticism, disinformation ,false accusations and misrepresentation was unleashed on him and all those that worked closely with him from various quarters. Femi Fani-Kayode was not left out and has had his own fair share. Despite this he has resolved to continue to play a role in the affairs of his country well into the distant future.

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: Folake Fani-Kayode, Temi Fani-Kayode, Tobi Fani-Kayode , Tumi Fani-Kayode and Remi Fani-Kayode.

HOBBIES
Reading christian literature, playing polo, practising karate and boxing , watching rugby, studying eschatology , studying European history and literature, writing articles and poems,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 Brave New World;The God Of All Millenniums ; The Prophets Of Baal ; The Deification of a General ; The Hobbled Giant, The Hunch Back and The National Conference, just to mention a few.

CELEBRATED POEMS
He has written many poems including:A Beautiful World;The Eagle,The Lion,The Warrior and The King; The One I Love;As Unworthy as I Am; A Prayer For The Year.

FAVOURITE WRITERS
C.S Lewis ,Christopher Marlowe,Charles Dickens,Linton Kwesi Johnson and William Shakespeare.

SPIRITUAL 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.