Ololade Adeyanju & NAN/
Kayode Fasehun, son of late Dr. Frederick Faseun, says the family is devastated by his sudden death.
Fasehun, the founder and leader of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), died in Lagos in the early hours of Saturday after a brief illness.
He was aged 83.
Kayode, who spoke on behalf of the family, told NAN that Fasehun’s death had left members of his family speechless and in pains.
“We still can’t believe that Daddy is gone. He was active on Tuesday, hospitalised on Wednesday and died a few days after.
“We can’t believe this but God knows best. We wish to thank Nigerians for their support and prayers,” he said.
He said the family was consoled by the fact that Fasehun died peacefully.
“We express gratitude for the prayers and good wishes of friends, well-wishers and family,” Kayode said.
Fasehun was educated at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and graduated as a medical professional, after obtaining his first degree.
He was a specialist in four branches of medicine: Anesthesiology, Acupuncture, Medicine and Surgery, thus becoming West Africa’s first acupuncturist.
He worked for many years at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where he rose through the ranks to become an authority in the medical profession. He was later awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.) degree.
Amongst his many other endeavours, Dr. Fasehun was the founder of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Besthope Hospitals and Century Hotels, Lagos.
He later founded Frederick Isiotan Fasehun Foundation (FIFF), a non-governmental organization, which has security, unity and health as its core mandate.
He was active in the Nigerian political space for many years and was one of the founding fathers of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on which platform he became a presidential aspirant.
Fasehun was a renowned freedom fighter and an icon for social justice, a stance that earned him 19 months of solitary confinement at the Intercentre (a prison facility built in the Ikoyi Cemetery) under the former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha in 1996.
He later served in other prison facilities across the country including the Kuje Prison, Abuja, and a few other detention centres.
Shortly before his death, Fasehun, on the platform of FIFF, laid the foundation stone for Africa’s first University of Security, Management and Technology (USMT) in his hometown, Ondo, as a measure against pressing security challenges in the continent.
Fasheun’s Senior Special Adviser on Media, Mr Adeoye Jolaosho, announced his death this morning.
He said the OPC chieftain died at about 1am at the intensive care unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja (LASUTH).
“Baba took ill on Wednesday and was rushed to the intensive care unit of LASUTH.
”He died early hours of today. We are all devastated,” he said.
Fasehun was an active member of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
He was born in Ondo on September 25, 1938 in Ondo, Ondo state.
He began his education late, entering primary school at the age of 13 at Saint Matthews Roman Catholic School, Ondo.
He later moved to Saint Peter’s Teacher’s Training College, Akure, also in Ondo state. But he was expelled from school, because of his non-conformity with Catholicism. Fasehun was then admitted to Ondo Boys High School, where he completed his secondary education in less than three years, with a Grade One distinction.
His brother offered him a scholarship to study science at Blackburn College in the UK. He 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, he studied acupuncture in China under a joint World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Development Scholarship Program.
On his return in 1977, he set up an Acupuncture Unit at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
He resigned in 1978 and immediately set up the Best Hope Hospital and Acupuncture Centre in Lagos.
His Acupuncture Centre once earned a reputation as Africa’s first for the Chinese medical practice.
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