Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has penned a heartfelt tribute to his great-grandfather, Reverend Emmanuel Adebiyi Kayode M.A. (Hons), describing him as a courageous clergyman who made indelible contributions to the spread of Christianity in Nigeria.
In a statement on Sunday, Fani-Kayode recounted that Rev. Kayode was educated at Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, then an external campus of Durham University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a master’s degree in theology in 1892.
Following his graduation, Rev. Kayode dedicated his life to the Anglican Church, founding and pastoring the first church in Ile-Ife, in present-day Osun State. After a decade of service in Ile-Ife, he was transferred to Ondo Province where he ministered for 16 years, and later to Ijebu Province until his retirement.
“He lived and dedicated his entire life for and to the Church and the spreading of the gospel. He was a brave and deeply courageous man. He brought light where there was darkness and joy where there was pain,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
The former minister noted that Rev. Kayode’s legacy extended through his descendants, including his first son, Justice Adedapo Kayode, the third judge to be appointed in Nigeria, and his first grandchild, Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode KC SAN CON, who served as Deputy Premier of the Western Region during the First Republic. Both were Cambridge-trained lawyers who made significant contributions to Nigerian law and politics.
Describing his great-grandfather as “the patriarch and the greatest of us all,” Fani-Kayode said Rev. Kayode’s faith, service, and achievements remain a source of inspiration to the family.
“May God continue to reward you through the noble contributions of your distinguished and illustrious lineage… Not a day passes that we do not remember you and honor you,” he wrote.
Rev. Kayode, Fani-Kayode added, established a noble Christian heritage for his family and played a pioneering role in the Anglican mission in Nigeria.
