Anthony Olufunsho Williams (9 May 1948 – 27 July 2006) was an influential politician from Lagos State and former Commissioner under Colonel

Olagunsoye Oyinlola Ọlagunsoye Oyinlọla (born 3 February 1951) is a retired Nigerian general, he became governor of Osun State in Nigeria in May 2003, and was reelected in 2007. He was a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). On 26 November 2010 ...

's Military Administration in Lagos.

Early life

Funsho Williams attended the St. Paul's Catholic school at

Ebute Metta Ebute Metta is a neighbourhood of Lagos Mainland, Lagos, in Lagos State, Nigeria. History Ebute Metta is known for the production and sale of local food and cloths. It is a very old part of Lagos State, many of its houses were built during the ...

and later

St Gregory's College, Lagos St. Gregory's College, Lagos, is a catholic missionary school for boys, with boarding facilities, located 1.0 km from Tafawa Balewa Square in the vicinity of Ikoyi – Obalende, Lagos State, Nigeria. History The college, originally a coed ca ...

. In 1968, he studied at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

, attaining a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

. He then went on to attend the

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

for his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Civil service career

In 1974, Williams returned to Nigeria and joined the

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...

civil service. He spent the next 17 years working on construction projects in Lagos State. Approximately 70% of the roads and bridges were built under his stewardship. Williams was a Permanent Secretary by the time he left the civil service in 1991. He went into business, but he shortly returned to public service, as a Lagos state Commissioner under Colonel

's Military Administratorship.

Political career

In the mid-1990s, Williams decided to enter into politics in order that he could formulate policy, rather than just carry it out. He first joined the

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, in ...

(UNCP), but after the suspicious death of its leader, General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

he moved to the Alliance for Democracy (AD). After a short time, Williams again switched parties, this time to the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: *People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) *People's Democratic Party (Domin ...

(PDP).They had won the 2003 elections under the leadership of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pre ...

. Williams had stood twice before in the

Governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

(Gubernatorial)

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. At the time of his death he was hoping to be nominated as the PDP Gubernatorial candidate for Lagos State. He had vowed to wrest control of the wealthy state from the Alliance for Democracy Party.

Positions

Williams held directorships in several companies: *

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc Julius Berger is a Nigerian construction company, headquartered in Abuja, with additional permanent locations in Lagos and Uyo. The company is represented across Nigeria in structural engineering and infrastructure works, and in southern Niger ...

* Cappa and D'Alberto Plc *

Ajaokuta Ajaokuta is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and a town within it on the left bank of the Niger River. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of Egayin in the south of the area at . It has an area of 1,362 km and a popula ...

Steel Company *Chairman of the Board of Directors of the

National Maritime Authority The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), formerly the National Maritime Authority (NMA) is responsible for regulations related to Nigerian shipping, maritime labor and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes inspections ...

Murder

On July 27, 2006, Funsho Williams was found bound, strangled, and stabbed at his home in

Dolphin Estate Dolphin Estate is a gated community in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. History The Dolphin Estate was one of Ikoyi's first gated communities. built by Messrs HFP Engineering Nigeria in 1990 for the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, LSD ...

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class ...

, an exclusive and wealthy neighborhood in Lagos. On July 28, 2006, two people were arrested in connection with his death. One was his campaign manager, and the other was a senator and former Works Minister

Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe is a Nigerian from a royal family of Igbogbo and politician who was elected Senator on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform 1999 for the Lagos East constituency, before he defected to the PDP. He later became the Mi ...

. Ogunlewe was also hoping to be the PDP Gubernatorial candidat

Williams was laid to rest at the Victoria Court Cemetery, Lagos. He was survived by his wife, Hilda, and four children.

Memorial

On February 26, 2007, approximately seven months after the murder incident, the then Lagos State governor, Governor

Bola Ahmed Tinubu Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as the ...

in honor of the late iconic character, renamed the longest and the popular Western Avenue highway in Lagos to Funsho William Avenue. Yet, it is still known to most Lagosians as Western Avenue highway.

References

External links

Official website of the Lagos State Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Funsho 1948 births Yoruba politicians Politicians from Lagos University of Lagos alumni Nigerian civil engineers Lagos State civil servants New Jersey Institute of Technology alumni United Nigeria Congress Party politicians Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians People murdered in Lagos Assassinated Nigerian politicians 2006 deaths St Gregory's College, Lagos alumni Burials at Victoria Court Cemetery Yoruba engineers Commissioners of ministries of Lagos State 2006 murders in Nigeria Nigerian corporate directors Yoruba businesspeople Assassinated businesspeople Businesspeople from Lagos