Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past governor of Ondo State, has expressed sadness at the death of Frederick Fasehun, the founder of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC.
Dr. Fasehun passed away in a Lagos hospital in the early hours of Saturday, December 1, 2018.
The former housing and urban development minister took to social media platform, Twitter to mourn the passing of Dr. Fasehun, a renowned politician and prominent Yoruba elder statesman, hailing him as a leader in the defence of democracy in Nigeria.
“Dr Fasehun, an illustrious son of Ondo Kingdom, was at the forefront of the struggle to restore Nigeria’s democracy,” the prominent Nigerian politician tweeted. “He was an asset to the Yoruba race and our nation. Olukemi and I condole with his family on this great loss. May the Good Lord grant him eternal rest.”
Dr Fasehun, an illustrious son of Ondo Kingdom, was at the forefront of the struggle to restore Nigeria's democracy. He was an asset to the Yoruba race and our nation.
Olukemi and I condole with his family on this great loss. May the Good Lord grant him eternal rest. https://t.co/rEhLEBfy0X
— Dr Olusegun Mimiko (@Segunmimiko) December 1, 2018
In an e-mailed statement to The Trent, on Saturday, December 1, 2018, Mimiko described the death of Chief Frederick Fasehun, as “the departure of a committed patriot and a worthy elder statesman with love and passion for the progress of the nation”.
He also added that “posterity will always remember Fasehun as one of those who, through their patriotism and strong desire to see Nigeria work for all, staked all and displayed exceptional courage in the face of oppression to ensure the enthronement of a democratic government.”
“Death took Baba Fasehun away at a time the nation need him to help provide workable contributions to the restructuring of Nigeria, now that majority of the people have seen the need for restructuring, which is one of his utmost agitations,” the statement continued.
“While his death will rightly be seen as a great loss to his immediate family, the people of Ondo State and the nation at large, it will no doubt create a vacuum in Yorubaland and the nation.”
Fasehun Passes On
A spokesperson to the late politician, Adeoye Jolaosho confirmed that Dr. Fasehun died in the early hours of Saturday, December 1, 2018 after a brief illness at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, in Ikeja.
“It is true, baba died this morning at the ICU in LASUTH, Ikeja,” he said.
Dr. Fasehun was born in Ondo Town, Ondo State in 1938. He was a medical doctor and he owned a number of businesses including a hotel.
He founded the OPC after the annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993 in which Chief Moshood Abiola was believed to have won. At some point, the group believed in the use of militancy to actualise the mandate of Chief Abiola.
Dr. Fasehun was imprisoned for 19 months from December 1996 to June 1998 during the military rule of Sani Abacha.
His Wikipedia profile says he studied science at Blackburn College and furthered his education at Aberdeen University College of Medicine. He also studied at the Liverpool Postgraduate School after which he had a Fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons.
In 1976, Fasheun studied acupuncture in China under a joint World Health Organization and United Nations Development Scholarship Program.
In 1977, he set up an Acupuncture Unit at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. He resigned in 1978 and immediately set up the Besthope Hospital and Acupuncture Centre in Lagos. The Acupuncture Centre once earned a reputation as Africa’s first for the Chinese medical practice.
The late politician recently attempted a revival of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, a party formed by the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo in the 1970s.
