Bode Thomas

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Bode Thomas
Born
Olabode Akanbi Thomas

October 1919
Nigerian
OccupationPolitician
Known forFirst Nigeria Minister of Transportation

privy counsellor of the historic Oyo Kingdom
of Yorubaland at a time when his country was still under British colonial rule before her independence in the 1960s. He was Nigeria's first Minister of Transportation.

Early life

Olabode Akanbi Thomas was born to the family of Andrew Thomas, a wealthy trader and auctioneer who was originally from

Abiodun of Oyo. He attended C.M.S. Grammar School, a missionary school founded by Thomas Babington Macaulay and James Pinson Labulo Davies. After completing his studies, he served as a junior clerk at the Nigerian Railway Corporation but towards the end of the year, he resigned his appointment and went to London to study law. He was called to the bar in 1942 and returned to Nigeria to establish what became a successful practice in Lagos.[1] In 1948, together with Chief Frederick Rotimi Williams and Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode he set up a Nigerian law firm, called "Thomas, Williams and Kayode".[2]

Political career

In 1946, he became the legal adviser of

Awolowo sometimes had rival political thoughts, many of which were never settled before his death. Most of his ideas on regional parties, which ended up becoming approximated with the early self-government political structure, were never fully reconciled with Awolowo's ideas, which were based on federalism
.

In 1951, Thomas represented the Western region as Minister of Transport under the Mcpherson Constitution and an advocate for self governance in Nigeria. He resigned from the portfolio during a constitutional crisis in March 1953. He later became Minister of Works after a Constitutional Conference in London.[6]

Thomas was regarded as a brilliant but very arrogant man who had strained relationships with some of the local leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello and Alaafin Adeyemi II. He was said to have been rude to the Alaafin at an Oyo Divisional Council meeting because the Alaafin did not stand up in reverence to him (he was the chairman of the council while the Alaafin was a member, but this was in itself an aberration - as the Balogun of Oyo, Chief Thomas was traditionally one of the Alaafin's retainers).[7] He was a leader of a group that included the majority of the Oyo Mesi who were against the rule of Alaafin Adeyemi on the grounds that the Alaafin was against the capitalization of taxes used to finance education and health.

Personal life

The

Oloye Thomas married Lucretia Shobola Odunsi. Among his children are Eniola and Dapo. He was chancellor of the African Church of Nigeria and was an editorial board member of the Daily Service. He was sometimes outspoken and this made him incur enemies.[8]

Later life and death

On 22 November, after returning from Oyo, Thomas became ill at his

Ijebu-Igbo on 23 November 1953[9]
which was his daughter's second birthday.

References

  1. JSTOR 1156426
    .
  2. ^ Femi Fani-Kayode. "In remembrance of Fani Power". Niger Delta Congress. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  3. ISBN 1-59221-209-3
    .
  4. ISBN 1-59221-209-3
    .
  5. ISBN 0-903274-18-3
    .
  6. ^ Ifeoma, Peter (2018). "Fallen Legal Heroes: Chief Bode Thomas". Archived from the original on 25 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Bode Thomas: 55 years after". The Nation. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  8. ^ Peters, Ifeoma. "Fallen Legal Heroes: Chief Bode Thomas". Dnel Legal and Style. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  9. ISBN 978-0-521-08503-8
    .
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