Samuel Aliyu Ajayi

Samuel Aliyu Ajayi was born on 2 December 1910 in Kabba Province, in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate, present-day Ogidi, Ijumu, Kogi State, Nigeria. He attended Ovim Central School, Etinan Institute, Ibadan Grammar School, and CMS Teachers School. He worked as a teacher and a civil servant before joining politics. He was a member of the Northern People's Congress and represented the Kabba Division in the Northern House of Assembly. He served as the Regional Minister of State for Forestry Affairs and Education, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of Northern Nigeria. He was part of the delegation that negotiated Nigeria's independence at the Lancaster House Conferences in London. He also led the Northern Nigeria Delegation to London for the Negotiation and Launching of VC-10 Nigeria Airways. He played a key role in the establishment of several educational institutions in Kabba Province, such as Kabba College of Agriculture, Kabba Teachers College, and the University of Northern Nigeria. He died on 11 May 1994 in Kabba, Kogi State, and was buried at St John's Anglican Church, Ogidi, Ijumu, Kogi State. He was honoured with the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is regarded as a pioneer politician of Okun land and a Nigerian statesman. ¹