Shafi Edu
Chief Shafi Lawal Edu (1911–2002), popularly known as S.L. Edu, was a prominent Nigerian businessman and conservationist from Epe, Lagos State. He was the founder of the Nigerian Conservation Fund, a Nigerian NGO involved in conservation projects and was a former member of the council of the World Wildlife Fund.
S. L. Edu | |
|---|---|
 Shafi Edu welcoming Prince Bernhard to Nigeria, 1987 | |
| Western Region Commissioner for Health and Social Services | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 7, 1911 Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria |
| Died | January 8, 2002 (aged 91) Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
Life
Edu was born in Epe to the polygamous family of Lawani Edu; his mother was Raliatu who was the daughter of a Muslim cleric. His education started with attendance at Quranic schools before enrolling in the Government Muslim Primary School, Epe. He finished his education in 1927 and thereafter, taught at his alma mater.
Career
Edu left teaching in 1930 and started a career as a clerk with the Africa Oil and Nuts Company, a firm which had a business alliance with Holland West Africa and was involved in buying palm produce at Epe. In 1933, he was posted to Apapa as a shipping clerk with Holland West Africa. By 1945, he had risen to a managerial level. As a manager, he organized the Dutch shipping line's offices in the country and helped in expanding the business to other coastal cities. Figuring out there were affordable untapped prospects in the Nigerian shipping industry, he left Holland West Africa Lines and founded his own firm. Using his prior experience in the shipping industry, he found himself a niche in ship handling and stevedoring. He later expanded the venture into timber and other commodities. In the post war period, he was a food contractor to private, government and European agencies. He also delved into the oil haulage business working as a contractor for British Petroleum, Edu was chairman of British Petroleum, Nigeria when the firm was nationalized and had its name changed to African Petroleum by the Obasanjo regime. In partnership with T.A. Braithwaite and Munich Re-Insurance, he set up an insurance firm, African Alliance.
In the 1950s, Edu was a member of the expatriate-dominated Lagos Chamber of Commerce, as a member, he became acquainted with the law firm of Irving and Borner which acted as an advisory firm to foreign businesses scouting for opportunities in the country. Through Irving and Borner, he secured board seats with Blackwood Hodge Nigeria, plumbing and electrical firm, Haden Nigeria and Glaxo Nigeria. He was also a board member of the Federal Industrial Loans Board from 1954 to 1959. In 1963, he was elected president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.
Political career
During the pre-independence period, Edu was sympathetic to the Nigerian Youth Movement as a supporter of Jubril Martin, one of the party's candidate in the 1943 election. He was elected into the Western House of Assembly in 1951 and was later nominated to represent Epe at the Federal House of Representatives.
As a prominent Lagosian, he spent a few years as a commissioner for health in Lagos. After his resignation, he focused his energy on various enterprises. He founded Nigerian Conservation Foundation in 1980. One of his sons, Yomi Edu, was appointed Minister of Special Duties, by Olusegun Obasanjo.
Further reading
- Siyan Oyeweso. (1996). Journey from Epe: biography of S.L. Edu. West African Book Publishers
References
- Tom Forest, The Advance of African Capital:The Growth of Nigerian Private Enterprise, University of Virginia Press (August 1994). ISBN 0-8139-1562-7