Citation of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola
Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was born into the royal Oyinlola family, on Saturday, February 3, 1951, in Okuku, Odo Otin Local Government Area of Osun State.
Prince Olagunsoye had his primary education in his home town, and attended Okuku Grammar School for his secondary education. He thereafter joined the Nigerian Army in 1969 as a Private. He, however, continued his formal education as a soldier and attended the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, where he earned a Diploma in International Relations in 1979. He later proceeded to the University of Madras, India, where he graduated M. Sc. in Defence Studies in 1988. He retired from the Army in 1999 as a Brigadier-General.
After he retired from the Army in 1999, he attended the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies. He later attended Buckingham University, in the United Kingdom, where he graduated Bachelor of Laws in 2003. He subsequently attended the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, and was called to the Nigerian Bar.
In the Army, Prince Oyinlola held many command positions, the highest being acting General Officer Commanding (GOC). He was also the Nigerian Contingent's Commander in the United Nations Mission in Somalia in the early 1990s. He served as Military Administrator of Lagos State from December 1993 to August 1996, where he left a legacy of laudable projects, peace and development in that State.
Six years after leaving Lagos, Prince Oyinlola was elected and sworn in as the governor of Osun State on May 29, 2003. He was in office till 26 November 2010. During his tenure as Governor, he turned around the fortunes of the State, stabilised it and executed projects, policies and programmes that positively impacted the lives of every citizen and resident of the state. One of his outstanding legacies as Governor was the establishment of the Osun State University, a multi-campus institution that was the first of its kind in the country.
He was elected National Secretary of the People's Democratic Party and later served as Chairman of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). He resigned from the position on May 10, 2018.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of humanity, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was, in April 2004, conferred with an honourary Doctorate Degree in Civil Laws by the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and a Doctor of Letters Degree of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, in 2006.
Prince Oyinlola was also conferred with a Doctor of Laws Degree (Honoris Causa) by his alma mater, the prestigious Buckingham University, United Kingdom, in February 2007. In 2010, he was honoured with a Doctor of Laws degree, by the Osun State University while Lead City University, Ibadan, followed suit in December 2010 with the award of an honourary Doctorate Degree in Civil Laws. In 2016, he was similarly honoured by Fountain University, Osogbo. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Management. Prince Oyinlola, who has also been the President of the Nigerian Golf Federation twice, is presently a BOT member of the PDP.
