Kofo Abayomi
| Kofo Abayomi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 July 1896 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Died | 1 January 1979 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Medical Doctor |
| Known for | Political activity |
| Spouse(s) | Oyinkan Abayomi |
Sir Kofoworola Adekunle Abayomi (10 July 1896 - 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian ophthalmologist who was one of the founders of the nationalist Lagos Youth Movement in 1934 and who went on to have a distinguished public service career.
His last major public assignment was as chairman of the Lagos Executive Development Board from 1958 until 1966.
Abayomi was born on the 10 July 1896 in Lagos. He was of Egbe-Yoruba origin. From 1904 till 1909, he attended UNA School, Lagos and then attended Wesleyan College now known as Methodist Boys High School Lagos. He was a pupil teacher at Wesley College and later Eko Boys High School from 1912 until 1914. He left teaching in early 1914 to join the staff of the African Hospital, Lagos as a dispenser. During World War I, he volunteered to work as a dresser at a main base hospital in the Camerouns. He also studied pharmacy at the Yaba Higher College, then attended the Medical School, University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1928. He was retained as a demonstrator for a period before he returned to Nigeria to work under Dr. Oguntola Sapara. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1930 to study tropical medicine and hygiene, and returned again in 1939 for a postgraduate course in ophthalmic surgery and medicine. As an African doctor with British training, Abayomi had to join the British Colonial Medical Service to make a living, and had to cope with British doctors who felt that Africans were inferior.
Abayomi was a founding member of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1933. The NYM was formed by members of the Lagos intelligentsia who were protesting the plan for Yaba College, which they considered would provide inferior education to Africans. The organization was originally called the Lagos Youth Movement but was renamed in 1936 to reflect its broader scope. Abayomi became President of the NYM on the death of Dr. James Churchill Vaughan in 1937. Abayomi was elected a member of the Legislative Council in 1938. When he resigned from both positions so he could go abroad for further studies, he precipitated a crisis. Rival candidates were Ernest Ikoli, an Ijo, and Samuel Akisanya, an Ijebu who was supported by Nnamdi Azikiwe. When the executive chose Ikoli as their candidate, both Akisanya and Azikiwe left the party, taking most of their followers with them.
...
Wikipedia