Olu Falae
| Olu Falae | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Finance | |
|
In office 08 January 1990 – 29 August 1990 |
|
| President | Ibrahim Babangida |
| Preceded by | Chu Okongwu |
| Succeeded by | Abubakar Alhaji |
| Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) | |
|
In office January 1986 – January 1990 |
|
| President | Ibrahim Babangida |
| Preceded by | Shehu Musa |
| Succeeded by | Aliyu Mohammed |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 September 1938 Akure, Ondo State, |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) |
| Alma mater |
University of Ibadan Yale College |
Samuel Oluyemisi Falae CFR (born September 21, 1938), simply known as Olu Falae, is a Nigerian politician from Akure, Ondo State. He was secretary to the military government of Ibrahim Babangida from January 1986 to December 1990 and was briefly the Finance Minister in 1990. He ran for president in Nigeria's Third and Fourth republics.
Falae was born to the family of Joshua and Abigail Falae. His father was originally from Akure but due to opportunities in cocoa farming, Falae's family and a few other Akure natives moved to a nearby location called Ago-Abo where they settled as pioneers. Falae's father was later made the head of Ago-Abo village. Falae attended an Anglican primary school in Akure where he met his future wife, Rachael Fashoranti. After primary education, he sat for the entrance exam into Igbobi College and was accepted in 1953, after graduating, he went on to complete his Higher School Certificate at Government College, Ibadan in 1958. Thereafter, he was a tutor at Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure. He attended the University of Ibadan for his undergraduate studies before pursuing a graduate program at Yale University in the United States. At the University of Ibadan, he represented his hall of residency in the Students Representative Council and was editorial board member of the student run campus magazine.
After completing his bachelor's degree in economics, Falae joined the civil service as the assistant secretary of the National Manpower Board, he later became a principal assistant secretary of the board. In 1971, he was transferred to the Central Planning office and by 1975, he was a director at the planning office. Falae was appointed permanent secretary (Economic dept), Cabinet office in 1977 before leaving the civil service to head the Nigerian Merchant Bank in 1979. However, in 1986, he returned to government service and was appointed as the Secretary to the Government. By then, he believed Nigeria needed economic re-structuring. In 1985, prior to his appointment, the military sought public opinion of an IMF economic structuring proposal as a condition for external credit from the fund, the popular opinion was to reject the proposal. The administration then came up with Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). SAP was a proposal to diversify export from a crude oil dependent regime, ensure fiscal and balance of payments equilibrium and non-inflationary growth. The mechanisms to be implemented in order to achieve these objectives were the devaluation of the naira, reduction of petroleum products subsidies and trade liberalization. During his time in office, Falae became a vocal defender of SAP even when it was becoming unpopular earning him the moniker, Mr. SAP.
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