Both mother (Wuraola Esan), and daughter (Jadesola Akande) have returned to their creator but their legacies remain. Platforms Africa presents story of mother and daughter, the first who begotten the first
Teacher, School proprietor, politician and feminist, Mrs Wuraola Esan was the first Nigerian female Senator and member of the National Assembly.
She was nominated a senator from Ibadan-West and served 1960-65.
She was a daughter of Chief Thomas Adeogun Ojo (aka Ojo’badan), the Ekerin of Ibadan and Chief Manager of Ibadan Forest Reserves.
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Mrs Esan was married to a Lawyer, Chief V.O. Esan, with 4 children; Chief Olubunmi Esan, Chief Yetunde Omisade, Mr Toyin Ojo and Prof. Jadesola Akande.
Her daughter Prof. Jadesola Akande was Nigeria’s first female Law Professor and first female Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU).
Mrs Wuraola Esan was a member of the women’s wing of the Action Group in the 1950s.
She was also a founding member of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS).
In 1975, she became the Iyalode of Ibadan, the highest ranking female high chief in Ibadan.
First Begets First
Jadesola Olayinka Akande (CON, OFR) (15 November 1940 – 29 April 2008) was a Nigerian lawyer, author and academic who is regarded as the first Nigerian female professor of Law.
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Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Jadesola completed her basic and secondary school education at Ibadan People’s Girls School and St. Annes School respectively. She obtained her G.C.E Advanced Level certificate after attending Barnstaple Girls Grammar School, Devon, England before proceeding to study Law at the University College, London where she graduated in 1963
After her call to the bar at the Inner Temple, London and the Nigerian Law School, Jadesola returned to Nigeria where she began her career as an Administrative Ofiicer in the West Regional Civil Service. She was a key member of the Constitutional Review Committee of 1987, and the Presidential Panel of National Security in 2000.
In April 1989, Jadesola was appointed as the second Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, a position she held till 1993, after quitting as a lecturer at the University of Lagos. In 2000, she was appointed the Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure until 2004.
Last Line
Both mother (Wuraola Esan 1909 – 1985), and daughter (Jadesola Akande 1940-2008)) have returned to their creator but their legacies remain. That is the story of mother and daughter, the first who begotten the first.
