Femi Fani-Kayode Biography and Net Worth, Age, State, Family, Wife, Political Party, Education
Meet Mr. David Oluwafemi Adewunmi Abdulateef Fani-Kayode, who is popularly known as Femi Fani-Kayode. He was a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and later joined the opposition’s All Progressive Congress (APC) but returned to the PDP in June 2014.
He served as Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 to June 2006. He also served as the Minister of Culture and Tourism from June to November 2006 and later as Minister of Aviation from November 2006 to May 2007.
Femi Fani-Kayode Biography
He comes from Osun but is of Yoruba descent and holds the title of Ile-Ife chieftain. Femi Fani-Kayode was born on 16th October 1960 in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a lawyer, poet, essayist, and politician. He has been married to four women: Saratu Atta from 1987 to 1990, Yemisi Olasunbo Adeniji from 1991 to 1995, Regina Amonoo from 1997, and Precious Chikwendu from 2014 to 2020. ((buzznigeria.com)) He has eight children.
Age | Date of Birth
He was born on 16th October 1960 in Lagos, Nigeria, to Chief Remi Fani-Kayode and Chief (Mrs) Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode. He is currently at the age of 62 years old. ((en.wikipedia.org))
State of Origin | Hometown
He was born in Lagos State, Nigeria, his parents are all from Osun State, Yoruba descent in Nigeria.
Parents Background | Family Background
Femi Fani-Kayode’s family has a history of education and political involvement. His great-grandfather, the Rev. Emmanuel Adedapo Kayode, was educated in England and became an Anglican priest.
His grandfather, Victor Adedapo Kayode, studied law at Cambridge University and became a lawyer and a judge.
His father, Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, was also educated at Cambridge and was a prominent lawyer and politician in Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s.
He was a leader of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons Opposition in the Western House of Assembly and helped move the motion for Nigeria’s independence in 1958.
Education Background
Femi Fani-Kayode started his education in the UK at the age of eight and attended several schools, including Harrow School and Kelly College.
He graduated from the University of London with an LL. B law degree in 1983 and then went to Cambridge University, where his family members had also studied law.
After completing his studies, Fani-Kayode returned to Nigeria and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985. In 1993, he became a Pentecostal Christian under the guidance of Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams of Ghana and later studied theology in Accra, Ghana, earning a diploma in 1995.
Net Worth
Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician, writer, and lawyer with a net worth estimated to be between $1 million to $5 million dollars. ((naijauto.com) ((gistflare.com.ng))
Career
Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician who has held various positions in government. In 1989, he became the national youth leader of the Nigerian National Congress (NNC). He later served as Chief Press Secretary to Chief Tom Ikimi and as a Special Assistant to Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi.
Fani-Kayode left Nigeria in 1996 due to his opposition to the military junta of Gen. Sani Abacha and worked with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) abroad to fight against the regime.
He returned to Nigeria in 2001 and joined the presidential campaign team of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003. After Obasanjo won the election, Fani-Kayode became the first ever Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the President.
In 2006, he was appointed as the Honorable Minister of Culture and Tourism, and later redeployed to the Aviation Ministry as the Honourable Minister of Aviation. Fani-Kayode returned to private practice after the end of Obasanjo’s administration in 2007.
Controversies
Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician and lawyer. In 2008, he was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly misusing funds. However, the investigation found no evidence against him.
In 2010, there was speculation of a power struggle in Nigeria, and Fani-Kayode accused the government of trying to silence and intimidate him and other loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo by accusing them of plotting a coup.
Fani-Kayode also alleged that officials from the Yar’Adua administration were involved in the plan. In 2020, Fani-Kayode insulted and denigrated a journalist during a press conference, which drew criticism from press houses and Nigerians on social media. He later issued an apology, but it was considered half-hearted and insincere.
Femi Fani-Kayode Arrested by EFCC
Femi Fani-Kayode, was arrested and investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2008 for allegedly misappropriating a large sum of money. However, the investigation found no evidence against him.
In 2010, Fani-Kayode was accused of plotting a coup by Yar’Adua’s loyalists, who were resisting the suggestion that President Obasanjo should hand over power to his vice-president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
Fani-Kayode alleged that Yar’Adua’s administration officials were involved in the plan to jail and destroy Obasanjo and his loyalists. In August 2020, Fani-Kayode insulted and denigrated a journalist during a press conference, causing widespread disapproval from the press and the public.
He issued an apology, which many considered to be insincere. In 2008, Fani-Kayode was charged with 47 counts of money laundering. He denied the charges and claimed that the funds were received from his private businesses and legitimate sources.
He was acquitted on two counts in 2015 and all remaining charges in 2019 due to the EFCC’s inability to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Poems | Essays
Femi Fani-Kayode has written several articles and poems expressing his views on various political issues in Nigeria. One of his most notable works is a poem titled “I Stand and I Fight” in which he criticized President Yar’Adua, predicting that his end was near, which came true when Yar’Adua fell ill in 2010.
After Yar’Adua was flown to Saudi Arabia on medical grounds, a power vacuum emerged in Nigeria, and there was a constitutional crisis. Fani-Kayode joined other political figures in calling for Yar’Adua’s resignation and the transfer of power to Vice-president Goodluck Jonathan.
In an article titled “Corpsology: Umaru’s Gift to The Modern World,” Fani-Kayode criticized Yar’Adua and his supporters for attempting to rule Nigeria from his sick bed in Saudi Arabia and through his wife. He defined “corpsology” as “the rulership of the living by the dead” and argued that this attempt was unacceptable.
Fani-Kayode also wrote an article titled “Charles Taylor: A Man Betrayed,” in which he accused US President George W. Bush and President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia of reneging on their agreement on the Taylor issue.
He called for the trial of former President George W. Bush and Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair at the International Criminal Court for what he described as “similar crimes against humanity” as the ones that Taylor was being accused of.
Fani-Kayode also expressed his belief that Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Tafawa Balewa, was murdered in two essays titled “Femi Fani-Kayode: Who Killed Sir Tafawa Balewa?” and “The Death of Tafawa Balewa: the Segun Osoba angle.”
In 2011, he called for the “crushing” of the Islamic fundamentalist sect called Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of Nigerians in a campaign of terror and bombing in their quest to establish an Islamic fundamentalist caliphate in the whole of northern Nigeria.
Children | Wife
Femi Fani-Kayode has been married four times. His first marriage to Saratu Atta ended in divorce in 1990 and they have a daughter named Oluwafolake. His second marriage to Yemisi Adeniji ended in 1995, and they have three daughters named Oluwatemitope, Oluwatobiloba, and Oluwatuminu. ((premiumtimesng.com))
Fani-Kayode’s third marriage was to Regina-Hanson Amonoo in 1997, and they have a daughter named Oluwaremilekun. His fourth marriage was to Precious Chikwendu, a beauty queen and winner of the Miss United Nations pageant in 2014.
They have four children together: a son named Joshua and triplets named Ragnar, Aiden, and Liam. Femi Fani-Kayode’s brother, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, was a well-known artist and photographer who founded the Association of Black Photographers. Rotimi died in 1989 due to complications from HIV infection.
You can as well read the Wikipedia biodata of Salma Mumin, she is Ghanaian movie producer and actress. Thank you for reading the full biography and net worth of Femi Fani-Kayode. Follow us on social media (@whoiswriterblog) for social entertainment.
