Cornelius Olaleye Taiwo (27 October 1910 – 8 April 2014) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

educator and lawyer.

Early life and education

Taiwo was born on 27 October 1910, at Oru-Ijebu in

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, to Isaac and Lydia Taiwo. He started school shortly after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and attended St. Luke's School, a CMS school of St. Luke's Church. Oru, Ijebu in 1921. He proceeded to St Andrews College, Oyo, and later attended Yaba Higher College, Lagos. He attended 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 ...

and earned a

D. Litt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree in 1982. He also earned an M.A Degree in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge University, a Barrister-at-Law degree of the Middle Temple Inn's Court and Hon. LL.D. (Cape Coast).

Academic career

Taiwo commenced his teaching career as the headmaster of Sagun United School, Oru-Ijebu, a government-assisted institution in 1932. He was the first African Principal of Edo College, Benin City and became Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Natural Resources in the former Regional government of Western Nigeria; He was called to the Bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

(Inn of Court), London on 4 February 1964, and enrolled as Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 3 July 1964. Taiwo worked with the Western Nigerian Government between 1960 and 1966 when he served variously as Administrative Officer, Inspector of Education and ultimately as Permanent Secretary, to the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

where he spent 11 years, private legal practice and authorship of books. He became the first Emeritus Professor of Education and Provost of the

. He was also appointed as Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...

on 1 September 1990 and became a Solicitor and Advocate of the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

. He taught in many other universities including University of Lagos before retiring from active service.

Personal life

Taiwo was a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

who hailed from the Olumota ruling house of the Oba Oloru of Oru, Ijebu, thus making him an

Omoba ''Oba'' ('King' in the Yoruba language, Yoruba language) is a pre-nominal honorific for kings in Yorubaland. Traditional rulers with dynasties of Yoruba origin, across the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, frequently make use of it. ...

of the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people ( ; , , ) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, which are collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outsid ...

. He married Susan Olufowoke Keleko on 25 December 1941, at St. James Church,

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

. They had six children. He died at the age of 103 in 2014.

Honours

*Baba Ijo (Father of the congregation), a

chieftaincy A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Af ...

title, of St. Luke's Church, Oru, Ijebu since 1973. *Fellow of Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration *Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Education *Lord LUPEN; NAPE's highest award (the Lord of all Luminaries of Professional Educators of Nigeria, 1989) *Inducted into the International Educators' Hall of Fame

Selected publications

He wrote several books, papers and articles. Noted ones include: * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiwo, Cornelius Olaleye 1910 births 2014 deaths Nigerian men centenarians Nigerian Christians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London Yoruba educators Yoruba lawyers Yoruba academics Academic staff of the University of Lagos People from Ogun State Yoruba princes Academic staff of the University of Ilorin Nigerian schoolteachers 20th-century Nigerian lawyers 20th-century Nigerian educators People from colonial Nigeria Yaba Higher College alumni Nigerian princes Heads of schools in Nigeria