Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi marked his ninetieth birthday on the 13th of October, 2026. Born on Lagos Island on 13 October 1936 to Oba Sanusi Olusi, the first Muslim Oba of Lagos, and Princess Kabitu Asake Olusi, Tajudeen is now known by many names: Baba, the Prince of Peace, Atobatele of Ado-Ekiti, Baba Adini of …
Erelu Dame Olusola Idowu Obada, CON, KJW, the esteemed Erelu of Ijesaland, stands as a towering figure in modern Nigerian history—a lawyer, corporate executive and stateswoman whose life has been defined by a relentless willingness to break barriers where few women had previously ventured. She is our Akikanju this week because she opened doors few …
Princess Tejumade Alakija remains, more than a decade after her passing, one of the most distinguished names in Nigerian public service: a teacher who founded a school, an administrator who helped negotiate the industrial projects of old Western Nigeria, and the first woman to head the civil service of old Oyo State. But her journey …
Oluwaremilekun Debbie Olowu, known across Nigeria as Remi Olowu, was born in Ilesa, Osun State, on September 27, 1946, and on that date this year she turned 80. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu joined the celebration, hailing her as a lawyer, public servant, community leader and nation-builder. The DAWN Commission celebrates her as an Akinkanju, a …
King Sunny Ade turns eighty this day, the 22nd of September, 2026, active, agile, and still rocking the music world, with fans everywhere dancing to the rhythmic strings of his guitar and singing along to his melodious, intelligent, and enduringly popular music. What many contemporary Afrobeat artists still aspire to, King Sunny Ade has already …
Otunba King Sunny Ade, MFR at 80: The Global King of Juju Music Read More »
Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, MFR, the actor and film executive the world came to know as Olu Jacobs, died on September 16, 2026, at the age of 84, bringing to a close a career that had spanned more than five decades and two continents. The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission joins his family, the …
OLUDOTUN BAIYEWU JACOBS, MFR (1942–2026): A Tribute to the Godfather of Nollywood Read More »
Otunba Bimbola Ashiru was born in Ijebu-Ode to the illustrious Ashiru family, the son of the late Pa Simeon Adeyemi Ashiru, a distinguished Ijebu statesman, and Omo’ba (Princess) Moradeun Ashiru, of the Fidipote royal family of Ijebu-Ode and the ruling house of Owu-Ijebu. Over more than three decades since he first walked into a banking …
Otunba Bimbo Ashiru: From 57th Child To A Two-Term Commissioner and Boardroom Icon Read More »
Very Rev. Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN, was born on May 25, 1959, and raised in the intellectual and professional tradition of a family deeply rooted in Nigeria’s legal and public life. He is the son of Sir Olaniwun Ajayi (1925–2016), the revered Nigerian lawyer, Afenifere chieftain, a revered author, and elder statesman who founded the …
Benjamin Ola Akande was born in 1962 in Nigeria, the only son among five children of Rev. Dr. Samuel T. Ola Akande, a widely respected Baptist minister with ancestral ties to Awe town in Oyo state, and Comfort Olalonpe Akande, in a household that prized ambition long before Akande had the means to reach for …
Benjamin Akande: The First African-Born President of a US Liberal Arts College Read More »
Oluwafunmilayo Olonisakin was born on 8 February 1965 in South London to Nigerian parents, the child of two worlds long before she chose to spend her career moving between them. She would go on to become a scholar, feminist, institution-builder, and one of the most consequential voices in African peace and security studies, a woman …
