Saburi Biobaku

Saburi Biobaku
Born	June 16, 1918 Abeokuta
Died	2001
Citizenship	Nigerian
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Known for	Yoruba historiography
Scientific career
Fields	History
Institutions	University of Ibadan University of Lagos

Saburi Oladeni Biobaku (1918–2001) was a Nigerian scholar, historian and politician who was among a set of Yoruba historians who followed the pioneering effort of Samuel Johnson in setting the foundations of Yoruba historiography and creating reference notes of indigenous African historical literature.

He was a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos and served as a pro-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Biobaku was born in Igbore, Abeokuta to the family of a prominent Muslim chief and wealthy transporter who bore the initials S.O, same as Saburi. He was educated at Ogbe Methodist Primary School, Abeokuta, the Government College, Ibadan and Yaba Higher College. He also attended Cambridge University for his master's degree and the University of London's, Institute of Historical Research for his Ph.D. He returned to Nigeria thereafter and started his career teaching, he worked as a school master in his former school at Government College, Ibadan. He later became the secretary to the premier of the Western Region, Nigeria. Prior to becoming the Premier's secretary, he was taught by him early on in his primary school days at Abeokuta. Biobaku also served as a registrar of the University of Ibadan.

In 1957, he wrote a book on his ethnic group, the Egba's, the book was titled: 'The Egba's and their Neighbours', It was originally written as a dissertation but later turned into a 99-page text. He focused on the position of Egba's within historical contexts and factors that effected change in Yorubaland. The book also contained information on Egbaland during the coming of the Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century. At the time, the book was the second Nigerian authored historical study published by the Oxford University Press, after Kenneth Dike's, Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta. He later wrote 'Sources of Yoruba History', published in 1973, and a few other books.

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