Legal icon and politician, Tunji Braithwaite dies at 82

One of Nigeria’s celebrated legal icons and politician, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite has died at the age of 82 at a Lagos hospital.

Tunji Braithwaite was born in 1933, the youngest son of eight children. He was educated at the prestigious C.M.S Grammar School, entering the school’s Preparatory Section in 1946 and completing his education there in 1953. He proceeded to sit for his A Levels at the London  University at Kennington College in 1955 and enrolled in 1957/58 as a Law student at the Council of Legal Education, London. He was admitted into Lincoln’s Inn that same year and graduated as a barrister in 1960.

Tunji Braithwaite has been lawyer and legal advisor to many organisations including trade unions and international companies. Before he diverted his attention to the socio-political malaises plaguing Nigeria, he held the legal retainers of over 20 national and international corporate organisations and foreign missions and embassies in Nigeria. These included Swiss Airline (he got their landing rights increased to 3 during the period 1968-74); BASF; Hoechst; Witt Busch and Co; Universal Co. (Nig) Ltd; The Oro Development Company; Schroeder Electronics; and Julius Berger (he registered the company in Nigeria when they first arrived).

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The late Tunji Braithwaite would be remembered for establishing the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) during the Second Nigerian Republic. The party registered and contested the 1983 elections. NAP was the only new political organization allowed to field candidates for the 1983 elections. The party was composed of southern Nigerian intellectuals favoring a reformist government.

Tunji Braithwaite was a prominent Lagosian who claimed that Nigeria’s potential could be achieved by reform—especially through the eradication of deep-rooted corruption. Notable associates of Tunji Braithwaite include Wole Soyinka, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti, whose mother was murdered by soldiers in a raid on Fela’s Kalakuta Republic under Obasanjo’s Military Regime.

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