Ernest Shonekan was born on 9 May 1936 in Lagos. At the time, Lagos was part of British Nigeria. He grew up in a family of six children. His father was a civil servant from Abeokuta. He spent his early years in Lagos and went to school there. He attended CMS Grammar School first and later moved on to Igbobi College.
After school, he travelled abroad to study law at the University of London. He qualified as a lawyer and was called to the bar. Much later, he also attended Harvard Business School to learn more about business.
Career at the United Africa Company of Nigeria
In 1964, he began working at the United Africa Company of Nigeria, a very large business that had grown out of companies set up during British rule. He began in a junior legal role but gradually advanced as he gained experience. Over the years, he became an assistant legal adviser, then a deputy adviser, and by the age of 40, he was already a member of the company’s board.
In 1980, he reached the top by becoming chairman and managing director. At that time, the company was the biggest African-owned business in sub-Saharan Africa, and this job helped him build strong links with people in business and politics around the world. In 1981, he also received a traditional title when he was installed as the Abese of Egbaland.
Shonekan’s Entry into Government
Shonekan entered government in January 1993. On 2 January, he became both head of the transitional council and head of government under President Ibrahim Babangida. This council was meant to guide Nigeria from military rule to democracy.
While in this role, Shonekan discovered that the country was in serious financial trouble. Nigeria owed a lot of money to other countries and had to keep negotiating to delay or change its debt payments, but the problems were too big for him to fix.
The 1993 Political Crisis and Interim Government
In August 1993, everything changed. The presidential election held on 12 June was cancelled, which caused anger and unrest across the country. Because of this crisis, Babangida stepped down from power. Before leaving, he created the Interim National Government and chose Shonekan to lead it.
Shonekan was sworn in as head of state on 26 August 1993, making him Nigeria’s ninth head of state. He held this position until 17 November 1993. During this time, General Sani Abacha served as vice chairman of the interim government and also controlled the military as minister of defence and senior minister.
Challenges During His Short Rule
Being interim head of state was not an easy job for Shonekan at all. A lot of people did not believe in his government. Moshood Abiola was one of the loudest critics and said the whole setup was illegal. Shonekan tried to organise a new election and hand power back to civilians. That plan did not go far. Workers went on strike, and the military still held real power.
Ernest Shonekan still managed to do a few important things. He freed political prisoners who had been locked up by the former government. He also pushed a bill to remove three tough military laws. Even with all this, his government stayed weak. Babangida had already made sure the military stayed in control.
Economic Struggles and National Issues
The economy continued to suffer badly. After the election crisis, many Western countries placed sanctions on Nigeria. Prices rose quickly, foreign investors outside the oil sector pulled out, and inflation became difficult to control.
Shonekan asked for Nigeria’s debts to be cancelled and ordered an audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which had many problems in how it operated. At the same time, he was also serving as an executive of Royal Dutch Shell.
His government had to respond to the hijacking of a Nigerian Airways plane in 1993 and attempted to plan when Nigerian soldiers would leave the ECOMOG peacekeeping mission in Liberia, although real power over the army remained with General Abacha.
Removal from Power and Later Activities
On 18 November 1993, just three months after he became head of state, Shonekan was removed from office in a palace coup led by General Sani Abacha, who then took full control of the country.
Later that same year, Shonekan helped set up the Nigerian Economic Summit Group with other well-known Nigerians and foreign partners.
The group was set up to help the economy grow. It focused on businesses, not the government. The idea was simple. Let private companies lead development and create jobs.
Ernest Shonekan’s wife and children:
Ernest Shonekan was married to Margaret. When Ernest became Nigeria’s interim president for a short time in 1993, Margaret was the First Lady.
They had four children together. Their names are Adeboye, Korede, Kemi, and Yele. The family didn’t like to be in the public eye much. So, the children didn’t really appear in politics or on TV like some other famous families.
Net Worth
Ernest Shonekan got rich mostly from business, not from money that was officially tracked. Before he became Nigeria’s interim president, he was a lawyer and a big name in business. He joined the United Africa Company of Nigeria and slowly worked his way up.
Eventually, he became the chairman and managing director of the company, which was one of the biggest African-owned businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. That top job and his business connections are the main reasons he made so much money.
People don’t really agree on how much he was worth. Some sites say his net worth is about $50 million, while others give different numbers. Those estimates come from his investments, property, and business shares, not from official records.
Ernest Shonekan Death
Ernest Shonekan died of natural causes when he was 85. He passed away on 11 January 2022 in Lagos. His family said he had been in the hospital for a while. Nigerian news sources also confirmed it was natural causes, not an accident or anything else.