Chief Obafemi Awolowo died at 78 on May 9, 1987, in Ikenne, Ogun State

Chief Obafemi Awolowo died on May 9, 1987, at the age of 78 in Ikenne, Ogun State. He was born on March 6, 1909, in the same town. Awolowo was the only son of David Shopolu Awolowo, a farmer and sawyer, and Mary Efunyela Awolowo. He had two sisters and one maternal half-sister. His father descended from a high chief and member of the Iwarefa, the leading faction of the Osugbo group that governed Ikenne.

Awolowo attended Baptist Boys' High School in Abeokuta and later worked as a teacher there. He qualified as a shorthand typist and served as a clerk at Wesley College, Ibadan. He also worked as a correspondent for the Nigerian Times. After completing his studies at Wesley College in 1927, he enrolled as an external student at the University of London, earning a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree.

In 1944, Awolowo travelled to the United Kingdom to study law at the University of London. He was called to the Bar by the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple on November 19, 1946. He founded the Nigerian Tribune in 1949 as a private newspaper to promote nationalist awareness among Nigerians. He also established the Yoruba nationalist group Egbe Omo Oduduwa.

Awolowo served as the first Leader of Government Business and Minister of Local Government and Finance in Nigeria's Western Region. He became the region's first Premier under the parliamentary system, holding office from 1952 to 1959. From 1959 to 1963, he served as the official Leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament against the Balewa government. He was buried in Ikenne after his death.

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