Oyo-born Writer of Nigeria’s National Pledge, Felicia Adedoyin, is Dead

 

Professor Felicia Adebola Adeyoyin, the author who wrote Nigeria’s national pledge has passed away after a brief illness.

The Late Professor Adedoyin was born on the 6th of November 1938. She was the 2nd of 6 Children and was born into the Iji Ruling House of Saki, Saki West Local Government, Oke Ogun, Oyo State.

Prof. Adeyoyin was a lecturer at the University of Lagos and she received her PhD from the same institution in 1981. She was also a consultant with the United Nations.

She wrote the pledge in 1976 after her children had questioned her about Nigeria’s pledge having been used to reciting the Oath of Allegiance and the State Pledge when they lived in the U.S.A and Ghana.

Once the pledge was written, the Daily Times posted it in July 15, 1976 in an article titled ‘Loyalty to the Nation, Pledge’. This article eventually came to the attention of the then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo who liked it so much that he had it modified and introduced to the country during the launch of the Universal Free Primary Education in the same year. He also decreed that all school children should recite the new pledge in assembly.

In 2005, Professor Adedoyin was awarded the Order of the Niger (OON) for her contribution to Nigeria. She passed away surrounded by her loved ones.