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Femi Okurounmu
The author, Femi Okurounmu graduated with a Doctor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968 on top of a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard in 1963...view moreThe author, Femi Okurounmu graduated with a Doctor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968 on top of a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard in 1963. Growing up in Cambridge Massachusetts amidst the ferment of the U.S civil rights and the African Independence movements of the sixties, he was deeply influenced by these transformational experiences to develop a deep passion for engendering rapid political developments in Africa that would uplift the black race from the bottom of the totem pole of humanity and enable it take its rightful place, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other races of mankind. This passion inexorably propelled him into the politics of his country Nigeria and after a brief stint as a lecturer at the University of Lagos, he joined forces politically with the leading Nigerian nationalist and pan-Africanist, progressive political thinker and actor of the time, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who became his mentor.
The author has thus spent most of his political life crusading for the restoration of purposeful and people-centred governance in his country, on the platforms of principled opposition political parties, first under the Awolowo-led UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria) and most recently, under the AD (Alliance for Democracy). He has served at different times as a state government commissioner (minister), and as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the platform of the AD. He was a leader of the pro-democracy movement against the late military dictator, Sani Abacha and remains till date, a leading spokesperson of the progressive opposition political movements.view less