27 July 1994) was a Nigerian educator and
author. He established the famous Mayflower
School , Ikenne, Ogun State in 1956. In 1952,
Solarin became the principal of Molusi College,
Ijebu Igbo , a post he held till 1956 when he
became the proprietor and principal of Mayflower
School.
Early life
Solarin was born in Ikenne, Ogun State, in
Western Nigeria on August 20, 1922, the older
of a set of twins. His twin sister, Kehinde
Solarin died in 1991 at about 69 years. He
attended Wesley College Ibadan . Solarin was
inspired by the writings of Nnamdi Azikiwe who
encouraged young people to travel abroad for
study. His initial attempt to gain a passport fell
through but he later enlisted in the British Air
Force and served with the Royal Air Force as a
navigator in the Second World War . He remained
in Britain, studying at University of Manchester,
and then at the University of London . Tai Solarin
married English-born Sheila Mary Tuer in
1951. [2]
Solarin returned to Nigeria and became a tutor at
Molusi College, which was supported by the
community and Christians in Ijebu-Igbo . In 1952,
he was appointed the school's principal
succeeding Stephen Awokoya who had just been
appointed the regional Minister for Education.
Solarin, an humanist had a mission to 're-
educate' the community and decided to make
some changes. He removed morning prayers and
religious studies as a subject in the school.
However, some of the changes found opposition
within the local community where his brother
was a reverend. He decided to quit and found
his own school with the approval of Awokoya the
former Principal. He established Mayflower
school on January 27, 1956. [3]
Mayflower
The Mayflower campus, which he established, is
made up of hundreds of hectares of land, based
in Tai Solarin's birth Place, Ikenne, Ogun State.
Approximately 8,000 students are in attendance .
The campus includes classrooms, administration
buildings, small houses for many of the
teachers, dormitory accommodations for about
2,000 boarders, and a farm. The school is noted
for very high academic achievement.
Post independence
critics
Tai Solarin is one of the post-Independence civil
rights critics and activists in his native Nigeria;
some others were Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (musician)
Beko Ransome-Kuti , Wole Soyinka ( Nobel
Laureate), Ayodele Awojobi , Dele Giwa , Gani
Fawehinmi (lawyer), and Ken Saro-Wiwa . For the
majority of the first forty years after
independence, Nigeria had no effective
opposition to the mostly military government of
the day. These activists acted as an effective
opposition to the ruling government. In 1975,
when the General Gowon Regime delayed
returning power to a civilian regime, Tai
published his "The Beginning of the End"
statement, which he then physically distributed
on the roadside. He was subsequently
imprisoned for this act. Throughout his lifetime
Tai fought running battles with various
governments in a bid to improve the lot of
Nigerians.
As a columnist, Tai was a relentless critic of
Nigerian military rule , as well as of corruption in
the government and the church. He was often
jailed for his public remarks.
Modesty
In a country and an age where dignitaries wore
flowing Agbada to show their wealth and
position, Tai was known to always wear simple
khaki shorts and shirt.
Quotes
'I fight with an indomitable spirit, my back to the
wall, defeat is for those who accept it' 'The
greatest strands of affection are woven in
adversity. Leadership means suffering. The
Leader, who has no marks, indelible marks to
show either on his physical body or in his mind
have never led'. 'How many Socrates did Greece
breed? How many Negro's did India breed? They
have one each but they all had one thing in
common, sense of mission. An unquenchable
thirst to get things done. We need as in this
instance only one courageous Nigerian to take a
stand. But no Nigerian wants to offer his head to
break a coconut'. [5]
Prophet of self-reliance
One of Tai Solarin's basic principles was self-
reliance, a part of the curriculum at Mayflower.
The Peoples Bank
In 1989, The Peoples Bank was founded by the
government, and Tai Solarin became the first
chairman. The bank was created to disburse soft
loans and other forms of credit to the very poor
to start their own businesses.
Humanist
Tai Solarin was also a well known humanist and
atheist who opposed the ownership of the
schools by churches. Tai Solarin once said that
"black(people) hold onto their God just as the
drunken man holds on to the street lamp post—
for physical support only." [6] In 2004, the
Mayflower School played host to an International
Humanist Conference, commemorating the life
and work of Tai Solarin. It was attended by
guests from the United States, Africa and
Europe. [7]
Tai Solarin wrote regularly for the Daily Times ,
the Nigerian Tribune and The Guardian .
Tai Solarin University of
education
In November 1995, the Nigerian National
Universities Commission (NUC) formally
recognised the "Tai Solarin University of
Education " (TASUED) Ogun State, as the first
specialised university of education, the 27th
state university and the 76th university in
Nigeria.
Works
Towards Nigeria's Moral Self-Government , [8]
Thinking with You.
A Message for Young Nigerians .
To Mother With Love.
Mayflower; the story of a school.
Timeless Tai .
References
1. ^ a Columnist of Nigerian Tribune journal
2. ^ "::. Tai Solarin Organization .::.
Welcome" . Taisolarin.org. Archived from the
original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 17
November 2010.
3. ^ Onabule Duro. (1975). Tai Solarin:
Educationist, Reformer, Atheist. Spear Magazine.
P. 12
4. ^ "Tai Solarin, 72, Nigeria Educator And Critic,
Dies – New York Times " . Nytimes.com. 7
August 1994. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
5. ^ http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2003/
oct/070.html
6. ^ "Tai Solarin: His Life, Ideas, and
Accomplishments" . Infidels.org. Retrieved 17
November 2010.
7. ^ Mayflower Legacy. "Mayflower Legacy" .
mayflowerlegacy.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
8. ^ Soyinka, Kayode (4 August 1994).
"Obituary: Tai Solarin – People, News" .
London: The Independent . Retrieved 17
November 2010.
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