Adegboyega Edun (né Jacob Henryson Samuel; July 22, 1860 – c.1925) was an
Egba official. He served as the
secretary
A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
of the
Egba United Government, a colonial-era Yoruba political entity.
Life
A
Saro, Edun was born in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
on Sunday, July 22, 1860, to Egba parents. He attended
Richmond Theological College, England, and matriculated at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in 1887, where he was placed in the first division. He was a very brilliant scholar, and after graduating he began to function as a pastor and teacher. He was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church. From 1893 to 1902, he was the principal of the Wesleyan Boy’s High School, Lagos. His public service at this time earned him the appreciation of the Governor of
Lagos Colony
Lagos Colony was a British Empire, British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was Lagos Treaty of Cession, annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS ...
, Sir
William Macgregor.
On April 24, 1902, Edun relinquished the church ministry because he was offered the position as the Secretary of the Egba United Government (or E.U.G.). He also gave up his English name in 1904 and assumed the ancestral name of ''Adegboyega Edun''. The E.U.G. was formed as a result of the prompting of Governor Macgregor's successor in Lagos, Sir
Henry McCallum
Sir Henry Edward McCallum, GCMG (28 October 1852 – 24 November 1919) was a British colonial governor.
Biography
McCallum attended the Royal Military College in Woolwich and began his colonial service career in 1874.
He was Colonial ...
, in 1865. The new governor made the Egba to reorganise what was then called the “National Council”. This was emblematic of the rise of
an educated elite in Egbaland, one that Edun belonged to. Some of Edun's contemporaries were C. B. Moore (Treasurer), J. Martin, and the Rev. D. O. Williams (Prime Minister from 1898 to 1911). With the rise of the E.U.G., the
Ogboni lost its political significance. The E.U.G. was now saddled with the responsibility of advising the
Alake of Egbaland in the discharge of his duties.
In May 1904, Edun accompanied the Alake, Oba Gbadebo, to England on a visit to King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910.
The second child ...
. This was the first state visit by any Yoruba monarch to England. In 1913, Edun led a delegation of Southern Nigerians to England on matters relating to native land tenure. It was ultimately proven in 1921 that there were
good grounds for the protest by the people who were against State ownership of native lands. Edun facilitated a good relationship between the white merchants and the Egba people, and he was pivotal to the modernization of administration and civilization in the land.
His tenure in office was not without controversy, as the death of Chief Ponlade of Ijemo while in the custody of his government led to calls - mostly from the Ijemos - for Edun to step down. The resulting civil unrest led to Abeokuta's absorption into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria shortly thereafter.
Edun weathered these storms relatively unscathed. He left government after the accession and spent his final years in quiet retirement.
He died about 1925.
Achievements
The following achievements occurred during his tenure as Secretary of the E.U.G.:
1902: Establishment of European factories in the Ibara area of Abeokuta.
1903: Opening of Sokori Bridge, the first of its kind.
1904: Publication of the first issue of the E.U.G. Gazette in February.
1904: Establishment of the Egba Government Police Force.
1908: Establishment of Abeokuta Grammar School.
1908: Establishment of an E.U.G. hospital.
1914: Opening of the Abeokuta Water Works, which led to the eradication of guinea-worm and other water-borne diseases in the land, to the benefit of all.
On October 6, 1913, he was honoured by his people for his long service to the E.U.G. when he was presented with a Double Albert Gold Chain of rare original design and beauty, and of native workmanship, the pendant of which was a model of a human hand holding a pen in the act of writing; the whole thing being mounted in a flat ring, around which was inscribed the following: "Souvenir. A. Edun, Govt. Sec., E.U.G., 1912."
Descendants
A notable contemporary descendant is Chief
Wale Edun, the Nigerian minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy in the
Tinubu Administration.
[ ]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edun, Adegboyega
Cripps–Appiah–Edun family
People from colonial Nigeria
1860 births
1920s deaths
Year of death uncertain
Nigerian Methodists
Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges
Alumni of the University of London
Nigerian Christian clergy
Politicians from Abeokuta
Heads of schools in Nigeria
Educators from Lagos
19th-century Nigerian educators
20th-century Nigerian politicians
History of Abeokuta
History of Lagos
Sierra Leone Creole people
Saro people
Yoruba politicians
Yoruba educators
Yoruba Christian clergy