The first African Rotary International President, Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe SAN, is dead
Majiyagbe died aged 88 on Saturday, May 27th 2023 at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.
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Who Is Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe?
Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe (OFR) is the first lawyer practising in northern Nigeria to be elevated to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He attained this in 1980.
After settling in Kano in the 1970s, he became a doyen of the legal profession in the state.
In 2003, Majiyagbe rose was elected as the Rotary International President for the 2003/2004 Lend A Hand year.
Majiyagbe Recounts Early Life Experiences and Life in the North
In a 2019 interview with Daily Trust, he said recounted his early life experiences saying
“I was born on July 10, 1934 in Lagos, so I have just celebrated my 85th birthday. My father, Jacob Mofolorunsho Majiyagbe was from Abeokuta, Ogun State, and my mother, Victoria Olatilewa Majiyagbe, also from Abeokuta, was a princess from the Ogunbona royal family.
“My father was a civil servant who worked as an almoner in the health department. He was transferred from place to place.
I remember following him to Kaduna, Kano, Jos and Bamenda in Cameroon. That was how I became very familiar with the northern part of Nigeria. I returned to the North when I graduated in England.
Muhammadu Buhari Mourns the doyen, Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe SAN
President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with Rotary International over the passing of the first and only African President, Jonathan Babatunde Majiyagbe SAN, OFR.
Buhari said he joins with family members, friends and associates of the renowned lawyer in grief, urging an approximation of his lofty achievements on earth, which includes scoring many historic firsts, like being the first practicing lawyer in the North to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), 1980.
As the first and only African to have led the over 118 years Rotary International as its President in the year 2003-2004 Rotary year, the President believes Majiyagbe lived for the good of the country and humanity, with his humility, kindness, and integrity.
President Buhari prays that the Almighty God will grant the departed eternal rest, and comfort his family.
