Michael Agbolade Otedola KSS (16 July 1926 – 5 May 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as governor of Lagos State during the

Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republicanism, republican government of Nigeria in 1992 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. In the Third Republic, there were to be state governors, state assemblies, and the Nation ...

. He was born on the 16 July 1926 into a Muslim family at Odoragunsin, Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State. He died on 5 May 2014 at his residence in his home town of Epe, Lagos.

Early life

After moving to

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

to pursue his education he won a scholarship to study Journalism at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where he graduated in 1958. He began his career as a teacher before working as a reporter at the ''St. Pancras Chronicle'', then as a reporter and later sub-editor at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in England.

Politics

On his return to Nigeria in 1959 he became an Information Officer in the Western Nigeria government, and while in this post he was appointed the Editor of the Western Nigeria Illustrated. In 1961 he moved into public relations, working for Western Nigeria Television/Western Broadcasting Service (1961-1964) and Mobil Oil Group of Companies (1964-1977), continuing as a consultant to Mobil after leaving the company. He was elected governor of Lagos State from 1992 to 1993 on the platform of the National Republican Convention (NRC), leaving office when General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

came to power. His administration facilitated establishing the Yaba College of Technology campus in Epe, his home town. After leaving office, he continued his career as a writer, a consultant holding positions on the boards of various businesses, and a philanthropist. In February 2010 ThisDay newspaper announced that he was among 15 eminent Nigerians who had won Lifetime Achievement Awards. His son

Femi Otedola Olufemi Peter Otedola (born 4 November 1962) is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the former chairman of Forte Oil PLC, and is the current executive chairman of Geregu Power PLC. Femi Otedola made his first fortune in commodit ...

became the billionaire owner of Nigerian oil giant Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited. The Michael Otedola College of Primary Education was named after him after his demise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otedola, Michael 2014 deaths 1926 births Yoruba politicians Lagos State politicians Alumni of the University of Westminster National Republican Convention politicians Governors of Lagos State 20th-century Nigerian politicians Yaba College of Technology people

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester

Early life

Politics

See also

References