Chief Taiwo Adedamola Harold Sodipo
“Chief Harold Sodipo was one of the fighters for Nigerian Independence and a true nation-builder”. Chief (Dr) D.C. Osadebey GCON Ojiba of Asaba, First Administrator and first Premier, Mid-western Nigeria, March 1992
Genealogy “You will see that we shall fight”
Omoba Chief Adedamola Taiwo Harold Sodipo was born in Abeokuta on the 9th May 1921, the son of Chief Isaac Omolaja Ademoye Sodipo and Omoba Rachel Aridegbe Ogunbona Sodipo.
Chief’s father Isaac Omolaja Ademoye Sodipo was a devout Christian who once had a church within his residence. As well as being a Chief, he was the Babasale Ogboni Egba and the oldest member of Nigeria’s first elected House of Representatives in 1954. Isaac’s mother Patience Adeyoyin Sodipo née Majekodunmi was a devout Christian and the senior sister of Chief M.A. Majekodunmi, who was the father of Chief Dr M.A. Majekodunmi, a medical practitioner of repute and founder of St Nicholas Hospital. A principled man, Isaac was unwavering in standing up for the tenets that he believed in; ensuring justice for the deprived and for those who could not defend themselves against tyranny and inequity.
In 1956 he introduced Chief into politics and sponsored his contesting the Western House of Assembly elections, in his federal constituency of Egba South on the platform of the NCNC. Chief was later elected the divisional chairman of the party.
Chief’s mother, Rachel Aridegbe traded in commodities such as cocoa, kola nut and palm kernel and travelled extensively in the course of her business through Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cameroun. Omoba Rachel Aridegbe was the granddaughter of His Highness Ogunbona Agboketoyinbo who journeyed from the homestead Orile and settled at the foot of Olumo Rock, becoming the first Balogun (warlord) of Ikija. Ogunbona led the people of Abeokuta on several internecine sorties and wars against the indigenes of both neighbouring communities and those some distance away; he established himself as a defender of the freedoms of the people of Abeokuta. There are several literary accounts written by the missionaries of the time that chronicle Ogunbona’s acceptance of Christianity and the role that he played in ensuring that their teachings and precepts were well received by the people of Abeokuta.
From the historical book written by Chief Harold Sodipo and published in 1992, “A Dynasty of Missioners” we learn that the Omoroba-Omoroluwo Family Union of Ogunbona was perceived as a dynasty of missioners who excelled in varying endeavours; amongst the members of this Family Union are: His Grace The Most Reverend Father Olu A. Abiola, member of the Religious Advisory Committee of the United Nations Association and Chairman of the Council of the African and Afro-Caribbean Churches in the UK; Chief Dr Tinuola Abiola-Oshodi, former President Nigerian Medical Association; Canon Yinka Olumide, Dr Adebola Bailey, FRCS; Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Mrs Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, Mrs Titi Ibru née Olumide, Nigeria’s first Surveyor General; Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, human rights activist and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Pan-Africanist, musical legend and son of Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, pioneer of Niigerian women’s rights.
Childhood in Abeokuta “My good name is better than my books”
Chief travelled strapped to his mother’s back as she carried on her trading business throughout the West African region; as a result, growing up he enjoyed his infant education in Ghana before being brought back to Abeokuta and continuing his primary education.
He attended a church-supported primary school that embraced the philosophy of “discipline and education go hand in hand”. In those days the only pre-requisite to admission was that potential students had to be able to reach an arm over their head and touch the ear on the other side of the head!
The range of subjects taught at that time included English, pictorial alphabets, Scripture, Yoruba, multiplication tables and the history of Abeokuta. Extracurricular activities and festivities that students of the age looked forward to included the march past the Union Jack on Empire Day 24 May every year and of course Christmas Day; a time for children to wear their finest, make extra merry and be part of the festive throng that would pour into the town to celebrate the holiday.
After finishing primary school Chief attended Abeokuta Grammar School founded in 1908 by the Abeokuta Christian Mission. Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a rigid disciplinarian and prodigious musician was the school’s principal at the time; he is known to have composed the Egba National Anthem “Lori Oke Ati Petele” (On the Hills and the Downs). After enduring the rigors of AGS, including the daily sprint around the football pitch after morning assembly and prayers, Chief passed all his subjects, which were taken under the Cambridge Examination Board in 1944 and travelled to the UK in 1947 to further his studies.
Early Days “The Honourable Sodipo, Federal Minister of Youths”
In 1947 Chief and Olamide Flora Adefope became man and wife at the Supreme Court in Lagos; the registry ceremony was then followed by a grand wedding at St Peter’s Church, Lagos.
In the UK Chief combined a love for sports, especially tennis with his academic studies, until an injury meant he could no longer play. He combined his love for Architecture with Building, completed his studies successfully and returned home.
In his earlier days, Chief was fondly known as the “The Honourable Sodipo, Federal Minister of Youths”, he was very popular with the youths of Lagos and its environs, being the Chairman and Patron of over 23 youth clubs in Ebute-Metta, Ikeja, Yaba, Mushin and Somolu. He sponsored various sporting occasions; realising early on that the youth were the foundation of the future and therefore required physical, moral and educational edification.
Devoid of ethnic prejudice and bigotry, Chief exemplified this by annually sponsoring Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and Medina; he also set up a scholarship scheme that operated in rotation within the four sections of Abeokuta: Ake, Oke-Ona, Gbagura and Owu.
Chief was a powerful member of the Provisional Council of the University of Ife, he resigned in December 1963 when it was clear the University sought to maintain relationships with the Western Nigeria Government, and he could not abide the notion of politics intruding invasively into academic life. Such was the man and his convictions. He also sat on the Board of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation but resigned soon after due to what he saw as “ethno-centric short-sightedness and blindness”, he was always ready to confront injustice and speak out without fear; here was a man who could never be cowed. In March 1965 he was appointed a Director of Nigeria Airways and pushed through the first ever flight across the Atlantic by a Nigerian pilot whose name was Bob Hayes; but “policy issues of tribalism” became a problem when it was apparent that staff of a particular ethnicity were being favoured over other employees. Chief took up the matter in his unflinching and uncompromising manner but regrettably in his own words”threw in the towel” and resigned in 1966.
It was during this period that Chief’s children, Adedapo (1952), Oladunni (1956) and Adebayo (1962) were born.
The Civil Engineer “Engineering Construction”
Hearkening to his own father’s words that “a full time politician without an independent means of livelihood would not be able to exercise objectivity, probity and integrity”, Chief made sure that his construction business grew and became a company that was renowned for completing projects within cost and on time. Harold Sodipo & Company, Building and Civil Engineering Contractors first started operating from 97 Griffith Street, Ebute Metta in 1960, from there the business moved to Brickfield Street and during this period several schools were built by the company in Lagos State including Ideal Girls School and renovations at King’s College Lagos.
Harold Sodipo & Company ran its projects on a twenty four hour basis on a “take no prisoners” formula. On one occasion when one of his truck drivers buckled under the strain of continuous work his wife Lande took over and drove the truck so that a delivery deadline could be met. This commitment won him respect and led to a joint venture with Lemminkainen Oy and Rakennus Oy of Helsinki Finland that was called FinNiger Construction Company Limited. At a point this company was the single largest building construction company in Nigeria; completing landmark contracts such as the 3000 housing unit Low Cost Satellite Town in Amuwo Odofin, Ojo Military Cantonment and the Radio Link with Nigerian Missions abroad.
Harold Sodipo & Co also successfully completed Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Complex, Jubril Martins Grammar School and Ebute Ero Market in Lagos, amongst others.
Politics “The politics of angels are clearly not of this world”
Chief had cut his political teeth in 1956 when he was Divisional Chairman representing the NCNC; he began espousing his beliefs of being a Nigerian first before being an Egba man and sought to ensure that he drove forward the principles of a de-tribalised polity. He was a founding member of the NPN and sat on the National Executive Committee. Brevity does not allow for an exposition of the political achievements or otherwise of the NPN, it is sufficient to say that due to the destructive plague of tribalism, nepotism and ethnicity from the certain elements within the party, Chief became disillusioned with what he termed the inability of Nigerians to “live in unity and harmony as an indivisible and indissolubly sovereign nation”.
On the 20th July 1983 The Daily Sketch reported that the Akogun of Egbaland resigned from the NPN because “everything in the party was being monopolised by a few privileged people”. He also resigned as a Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority. Chief waged a one-man war against the morally bankrupt class that held the reins of power within the NPN, it is on record that he publicly disavowed the party and called for the military to take over, this obviously won him no friends in certain cabals, but being made of the mettle that he was, that meant little to the Akogun; he would never compromise his ideologies.
This is best encapsulated in his own words - “to follow the path of truth, fair play, justice and integrity which I believe alone inspires that inexhaustible feeling of service, satisfaction, dignity of purpose and confidence, surpassing any amount of gold or silver”
Dynasty of Missioners “No Nigerian should be oppressed”
As previously mentioned, in 1992 Chief wrote and published a book titled ‘A Dynasty of Missioners’; an introspective work that commences with the genealogical history of his family and traces his lineage back 300 years. The book is also a social and political commentary on Nigeria; furthermore it provides valuable insights into the constituent parts that made Chief Harold Sodipo the enigmatic man that he was. An examination of this book reveals that Chief carried out a minute dissection of the measures that were put in place by the then military administration led by General Babangida and weighed them for effectiveness. He makes mention of MAMSER (Mass Mobilisation, Self Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery), a policy tool that was meant to ensure economic improvement and transition. He questions whether this policy will eradicate “a thirty year old collective malady”. He concludes that effectiveness is wanting but at least the attempt has been made but that nevertheless the “root causes of social and moral malaise – hunger, social deprivation, ignorance, poverty and disease” must be attacked and arrested.
With philosophical clarity Chief warned of the dangers of Nigeria relying solely and myopically on oil as a primary source of national income. With unnerving accuracy he plots the careering decline of agriculture as an industry against the directly proportional rise in crude production and sales and the effects, which include a gargantuan increase in the importation of food and the failure of self-sufficiency.
Chief also examined another “policy fix” – the Structural Adjustment Programme, or SAP. A financial spanner that was wielded by the World Bank which was supposed to, by way of loans, ensure that economic indicators would rise, flatten out and result in the ultimate panacea. Chief points to the futility in an aid plan that failed to take into account that fundamental problems that assailed Nigeria, a minus-zero living standard amongst a large percentage of the populace, the creation of several strata of deprived people and the inability of some Nigerians to afford a healthy diet. Chief casts a despairing look at the problems facing the armies of unemployed graduates “roaming the streets for jobs that are not there.......resulting in endless queues at the gates of foreign embassies”. Not much has changed since Chief wrote these words almost twenty years ago.
Chief also stridently campaigned for political transparency and accountability with respect to press freedom and sought to ensure that when “a government tends to perform in a less than credible manner that offends public decency and standards....that government is damagingly wrong”. Chief Harold Sodipo never failed to speak out publicly regardless of whose ox was gored; believing that a failure to utter the truth and speak his mind when injustice demanded it was tantamount to moral complacency, complicity and rectitude.
In Good Company “Brotherly love and warmth”
There is an old aphorism that says that you can tell the character of a man by the company that he keeps; the following is a list of people that Chief Harold Sodipo considered like minded and therefore close friends: Alhaji Aminu Kano (late), Alhaji Maitama Sule, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, K.O. Mbadiwe (late), Nnamdi Azikwe (late), Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Yahaya Dikko (late), Chief Alfred Rewane (late), Alhaji Dantata, Chief Bisi Onabanjo (late), Alhaji Otiti, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (late), M.K.O. Abiola, Professor Busari Biobaku (late), General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Alhaji Kam Salem (late), Chief S.L. Edu (late), Alhaji I.S. Adewale (late), Chief (Dr) D.C. Osadebey, Chief Fashanu, Senator Lere Adesina (late), Fred Egbe SAN (late), Chief Remi Fani-Kayode (late), F.R.A. Williams SAN (late), Chuba Okadigbo (late), Oba Oyekan of Lagos (late), Alhaji Atta, Chief TOS Benson, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, Chief Chris Ogunbanjo (who was Chief’s best man when he married Olamide Flora Adefope), Chief Mike Enahoro, and Chief Okotie-Eboh . From the foregoing it is clear that Chief did not merely pay lip service to the principle of de-tribalisation, but that he exemplified this very belief throughout his life time.
Chief was a member of several bodies and associations including the English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, The British-Nigeria Association (life member), Amnesty International, American Civil Rights Convention. He was a former member of the American Society for African Culture.
Sunset “Rekindling the ancestral legacy”
After resigning from the NPN and politics in 1983 Chief moved abroad and maintained homes in Paris, London and Florida. He busied himself with commercial investments and business, social philanthropy, granting scholarships and maintaining a knife-keen interest in the affairs of Nigeria, from afar.
The few words written here can scarcely accurately portray a vivid portrait of Chief Harold Sodipo, the War-Lord of Egbaland. He led a life that was by all accounts driven, radical, fearless, morally incorruptible and successful. His name is enshrined in gold in Nigeria’s annals. We remember his legacy and recall his commanding aura, his imposing mien and his leonine demeanour. We are proud to be his children and descendants and we pray for the ability to carry on his beliefs and objectives and thus ensure that Chief carries on for eternity.
“Nigerians shall miss the passing of this illustrious and forthright public figure whose capacity to speak his mind with giant courage was rarely matched by any in his position...”
A premature tribute to Chief Harold Sodipo published in the Daily Times June 12, 1978
References[edit]
- ↑ "A Dynasty of Missioners" written by Harold Sodipo published by Spectrum Books Limited 1992
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