Frederick Fasehun, the founder of the Yoruba militancy group, Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC has passed away at the age of 83.
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 page says, Dr. Fasehun 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.
