Yemi Osinbajo

Yemi Osinbajo
14th Vice President of Nigeria
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 May 2015
President	Muhammadu Buhari
Preceded by	Namadi Sambo
Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice
In office 1999–2007
Personal details
Born	8 March 1957 Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Political party	All Progressives Congress
Spouse(s)	Oludolapo Osinbajo
Children	3
Alma mater	Igbobi College University of Lagos (LL.B) London School of Economics
Profession	Lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria
Religion	Christianity[1]
Website	profyemiosinbajo.com

Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo (born 8 March 1957) is the Vice President of Nigeria, in office since 29 May 2015. He is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, ^[2] Professor of Law and until his inauguration as Vice President, a Senior Partner with SimmonsCooper Partners, a commercial law practice.^[3]

Marriage, family and personal life

Yemi Osinbajo was born into the family of Opeoluwa Osinbajo on 8 March 1957, Creek Hospital, Lagos. Osinbajo is married to Dolapo (née Soyode) Osinbajo, a granddaughter of Obafemi Awolowo.^[4] They have three children together.

Education

Yemi Osinbajo was educated at Corona primary School, in Lagos. Between 1969–1975, he attended Igbobi College Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.^[5] From 1975–1978, he studied for his undergraduate degree in Law at the University of Lagos, where he was awarded a LLB Law degree. From 1979–1980 he attended Nigerian Law School. In 1981, he was awarded a Master of Laws after attending the London School of Economics.

Legal career

From 1979–1980, Osinbajo served the compulsory one year youth services as a legal officer with Bendel Development and Planning Authority (BDPA), Bendel state.

In 1981, he was employed as a law lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. From 1983 to 1986, he was Senior lecturer of Law at the University of Lagos. From 1988 to 1992, he was an Adviser (legal advice and litigation) to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola.

From 1997 to 1999 he was made Professor of Law and Head of Department of Public Law, University of Lagos. From 1999 to 2007, Osinbajo was Member of Cabinet, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, also Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

From 2007 to 2013 Osinbajo was once again employed as a Professor of Law, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. In 2007, Osinbanjo was made Senior Partner, Simmons Cooper Partners (Barristers and Solicitors), Nigeria.^[6] Osinbajo was also a senior lecturer at the Lagos State University.

Other past roles include:

• Staff Member, United Nations Operations in Somalia, Justice Division, UNOSOM II.
• Member, United Nations Secretary General’s Committee of Experts on Conduct and Discipline of UN, Peacekeeping Personnel around the globe, Member, 2006.
• Partner in Law Firm of Osinbajo, Kukoyi & Adokpaye.
• Senior lecturer at faculty of law, Lagos State University Lecturing public law.

Pastoral career

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was also the Pastor in charge of the Lagos Province 48, Olive Tree provincial headquarter parish, Ikoyi before his inauguration into office as the Vice President of Nigeria. He however still insists that he remains the pastor-in-charge of the said province and he is only on loan to the Federal Government. In his words, ”Just like Pastor Ibitayo has said we are on loan. I am still the pastor-in-charge of Province 48 in Lagos and my wife remains wife of the pastor-in-charge.” ^[6]

Political career

After the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, Yemi was tasked, with other notable Nigerians, to design and produce a manifesto for the new political party. This culminated in the presentation of the "Roadmap to a New Nigeria" , a document published by APC as its manifesto if elected to power . The highlights of the Roadmap included a free schools meal plan, a conditional cash transfer to the 25 million poorest Nigerians if they enroll children in school and immunise them. There were also a number of programs designed to create economic opportunities for Nigeria's massive youth population.^[7]

On 17 December 2014 the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, retired General Muhammadu Buhari, announced Osinbajo as his running mate and vice-presidential candidate for the 2015 general elections.^{[8][9][10][11]}

On 31 March 2015 Buhari was confirmed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the presidential elections. Thus Osinbajo became the Vice President-elect of Nigeria. They were both sworn in on 29 May 2015.

Vice Presidency

Professor Yemi Osinbajo assumed office after taking the oath of office on 29 May 2015 at the Eagle Square, Abuja. As the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he is expected to oversee the economic planning team and report, as well as make recommendations, to the president who takes the final decision. Because of his legal background and antecedents as a commissioner for justice in Lagos state for eight years, many expect that he will contribute a great deal to the much needed reform of the judicial system at the national level. During the 2014/2015 campaigns of the All progressives Congress, Professor Yemi Osinbajo held numerous town hall meetings across the country as against the popular rallies that many Nigerians and their politicians were used to. One of his campaign promises, which he has recently reiterated, was the plan to feed a school child a meal per day. Beyond feeding the school children, he has recently emphasized that this plan will create jobs (another campaign promise) for those who will make it happen.^[12]

Awards

Yemi Osinbajo, has received several awards, they include:

• State Merit Award 1971;
• the School Prize for English Oratory, 1972
• Adeoba Prize for English Oratory 1972–1975
• Elias Prize for Best Performance in History (WASC) 1973
• School Prize for Literature (HSC), 1975
• African Statesman Intercollegiate Best Speaker’s Prize, 1974
• President Goodluck Jonathan conferred on Osinbajo the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on May 28, 2015.

Memberships

He is a member of the following professional bodies:

• Nigerian Bar Association
• International Bar Association,
• Nigerian Body of Benchers
• Council of Legal Education in Nigeria and Senior Advocate of Nigeria

Publications

Chapters contributed to Books

• The Common Law, The Evidence Act and The Interpretation of Section 5(a) in Essays in Honour of Judge Elias (1986) (J.A. Omotola, ed) pgs. 165-18;
• Some Reforms in The Nigerian Law of Evidence Chapter in Law and Development (1986), (J.A. Omotola and A.A. Adeogun eds.) pgs. 282–311;
• Rules of Evidence in Criminal Trials in the Nigerian Special Military Tribunals Chapter 2 in Essays on Nigerian Law, Vol ... 1, Pgs. 28–42. (J.A. Omotola ed),
• Some Public Law Considerations in Environmental Protection. Chapter in “Environmental Laws in Nigeria”, (J.A. Omotola ed.) 1990 pgs 128–149,
• Domestic and International Protection for Women: “Landmarks on the Journey so far” in Women and Children under Nigerian Law”. (Awa U. Kalu & Yemi Osinbajo eds.) 1990. pgs. 231–241
• Some Problems of Proof of Bank Frauds and Other Financial Malpractices in Bank Frauds and Other Financial Malpractices in Nigeria (Awa Kalu ed.)
• FMJL Review Series, Modalities For The Implementation of The Transition Provisions in The New Constitution in Law Development and Administration (Yemi Osinbajo & Awa Kalu eds.) (1990).
• FMJL Review Series, Legal and Institutional Framework For The Eradication of Drug Trafficking in Nigeria – Narcotics: Laws and Policy in Nigeria (Awa Kalu & Yemi Osinbajo eds.) 1990
• Proof of Customary Law in non-Customary Courts, – Towards a Restatement of Nigerian Customary Laws, (Osinbajo & Awa Kalu eds.) 1991,
• External Debt Management: Case Study of Nigeria – International Finance and External Debt Management, UNDP/UNCTC, 1991,
• Judicial and Quasi-judicial Processing of Economic and organised Crimes: Experiences, Problems etc. Essays in Honour of Judge Bola Ajibola, (Prof. C.O. Okonkwo ed.) 1992,
• Human Rights, Economic Development and the Corruption Factor in Human Rights and the Rule of Law and Development in Africa (Paul T. Zeleza et al. eds) 2004

Articles published in law journals

• Legitimacy and Illegitimacy under Nigerian Law Nig. J. Contemp. Law. (1984–87) pgs. 30–45
• Unraveling Evidence of Spouses in Nigeria, Legal Practitioners Review Vol. 1 No. 2 1987 pgs. 23–28
• Can States Legislate on Rules of Evidence? Nigerian Current Law Review 1985 pgs. 234–242
• Problems of Proof in Declaration of Title to Land, Journal of Private and Property Law Vol. 6 & 7, October 1986, pgs. 47–68
• Interpretation of Section 131(a) of the Evidence Act. Journal of Private and Property Law Vol. 6 & 7 (1986), pgs. 118–122
• Review of Some Decrees of the Structural Adjustment Era (Part 1, 2, 3), (1989) 2 GRBPL No. 2 (Gravitas Review of Business and Property Law) pgs.60–63, (1989) 2 GRBPL No. 3 (Gravitas Review of Business and Property Law) pgs. 51–55, (1989) 2 GRBPL No. 4 (Gravitas Review of Business and Property Law)
• Current Issues in Transnational Lending and Debt Restructuring Agreements part 1 and 2, Autonomy, Academic Freedom and the Laws Establishing Universities in Nigeria (1990) Jus. Vol. 1 No. 2, pgs. 53–64, Admissibility of Computer Generated Evidence. (1990) Jus. Vol. 1 No. 1 pgs. 9–12
• Allegations of Crime in Civil Proceedings, U.I. Law Review 1987;
• Roles, Duties and Liabilities of Collateral Participants and Professional Advisers in Unit Trust Schemes (1991) Jus. Vol. 1 No. 7 pgs. 71–83, Reform of the Criminal Law of Evidence in Nigeria (1991) Jus. 2 No. 4 Pgs. 71–98
• Profit and Loss Sharing Banks – (1990) Jus. Vol. 2 No. 8, Juvenile Justice Administration in Nigeria.
• A review of the Beijing Rules. (1991) Jus. Vol. 2 No. 6. Pgs. 65–73
• Sovereign Immunity in International Commercial Arbitration – The Nigerian experience and emerging state practice- In African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 4 RADIC 1992, page 1-25, Human Rights and Economic Development in The International Lawyer. 1994, Vol. 28, No. 3 pgs. 727–742
• Legality in a Collapsed State: The Somalia Experience 45 ICLQ 1996, pgs. 910–924.

Books published/edited

• Nigerian Media Law, GRAVITAS Publishers 1991
• Cases and Materials on Nigerian Law of Evidence, Macmillan, 1996
• Integration of the African Continent Through Law” (Edward Foakes Publishers, 1989, vol. 7, Federal Ministry of Justice Law Review Series)
• Towards A Better Administration of Justice System in Nigeria” (Edward Foakes Publishers, 1989)
• FMJL Review Series, “Women and Children Under Nigerian Law”
• FMJL Review Series, The Unification and Reform of the Nigerian Criminal Law and Procedure Codes – (Malthouse Press), 1990
• Law Development and Administration (Malthouse Press), 1990
• Narcotics: Law and Policy in Nigeria, FMJL Review Series 1990
• Perspectives on Human Rights in Nigeria FMJL Review Series 1991
• Perspectives on Corruption in Nigeria, FMJL Review Series 1992
• Democracy and the Law, FMJL Review Series, 1991
• The Citizens Report Card on Local Governments (with Omayeli Omatsola 1998)
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – A training Agenda for Nigeria (with Bankole Olubamise and Yinka Balogun, 1998) Legal Research and Resource Development Centre
• Annotated Rules of the Superior Courts of Nigeria (with Ade Ipaye) Lexis-Nexis Butterworths 2004
• Cross Examination: A Trial Lawyer’s Most Potent Weapon (with Fola-Arthur Worrey) Lexis-Nexis Butterworths 2006

See also

• List of Senior Advocates of Nigeria

References

1. "Meet Buhari's running mate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo". Vanguard (Nigeria). 17 December 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
2. "Democracy Day: Kudos, knocks for Nigeria's judiciary – DailyPost Nigeria". DailyPost.ng. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
3. "Biography". profyemiosinbajo.com. 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
4. Ameh Comrade Godwin (February 3, 2015). "Osinbajo vows never to steal public funds if elected". Daily Post.
5. "Professor Yemi Osinbajo's Profile". Vanguardngr.com. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
6. "I'm Still a RCCG Pastor, Says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo". connectnigeria.
7. "APC unveils Manifesto, Code of Ethics – Premium Times Nigeria". Premiumtimesng.com. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
8. "Meet Buhari's running mate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo". Vanguardngr.com. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
9. "Meet Buhari's Running mate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo". All Progressive Congress.
10. "APC is govt in waiting – Tinubu". The Punch – Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
11. NewsPunch. "APC VP Ticket: Tinubu shuns Fashola, Amaechi, others; favours Osinbajo". Newspunch.org. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
12. "One-Meal-A day programme for schools to attract N980bn investment – Osinbajo". Sun News. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at WhosWhoLegal