Femi David Lasisi Bamigboye//ⓘ(7 December 1940[1] – 21 September 2018) was a Nigerian military commander and politician of Kwara State from May 1967 to July 1975, after it had been split from the old Northern Region during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.[2][3]
David Bamigboye is a member of the Igbomina ethnic group.[4]
His younger brother is Theophilus Bamigboye, another military ruler turned politician.[5]
In 1968 he created the Kwara State Ministry of Education, with a department to handle Scholarship/Bursary matters.[6]
In 1971 he announced a decision to establish the Kwara State Polytechnic, which came into existence in 1972.[7]
In December 1972 he opened the new premises of Ola-Olu Hospital with accommodation for thirty-five beds.[8]
In 1977, some properties he owned in Ilorin were seized, not to be returned until 26 years later in May 2003.[9]
In 2009, his son, Femi David Bamigboye, was appointed special assistant to the Kwara State governor.[10]
Bamigboye was the first military governor posted to Kwara State in 1967. His administration made good use of the highly intelligent, experienced and patriotic civil servants deployed to the state. He and the members of the State Executive Council recorded a number of achievements. These included the building of secretariats to cater for the office accommodation of civil servants in the state capital, as well as all the local government headquarters in the state; the construction of water works across the state for the provision of drinking water for all citizens; the construction of the Oyo Bypass Road (now Ibrahim Taiwo Road), as well as other roads in the state; and the construction of Kwara Hotels, Ilorin.
In response to the people's demand for quality education, the administration also established government secondary schools and technical colleges across the state, while at the same time encouraging communities and religious bodies to establish further secondary schools. The establishment of the Kwara College of Technology (now Kwara State Polytechnic) and the School of Nursing and Midwifery, both in llorin, are also both credited to the Bamigboye administration. The administration also laid a solid foundation for the state in terms of healthcare delivery services by building general hospitals in major towns and healthcare centres in rural areas. Among the parasites established were the Kwara State Printing And Publishing Corporation: Government Printing Press: the Gateway Insurance Company (established in 1970 to serve Kwara State in particular and also the wider state of Nigeria); the Kwara State Investment Corporation, llorin; Kwara Paper Converters; Erin-lle Midland Stores: Nigerian Television(NTV), which later became NTA llorin; Kwara Food Production Company Lid, established in 1973 and which produced Eagle Rice Among other products; Kwara State Council for Arts And Culture, established on 1 September 1970; and the Kwara State Council established in 1969.[11]
Awards
The Outstanding Leadership Award was conferred on Bamigboye by the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, on 27 May 2017.
General Yakubu Gowon was head of state of Nigeria from August 1966 to July 1975. He reorganized the four regions into twelve states in May 1967. Following is a list of military governors during his regime.
