Funsho Williams
Encyclopedia
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n civil servant
Nigerian Civil Service
The Nigerian Civil Service consists of employees in Nigerian government agencies other than the military.Most employees are career civil servants in the Nigerian ministries, progressing based on qualifications and seniority...
and politician.
Early life
Born Anthony Olufunsho Williams in LagosLagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, he attended the St. Paul's Catholic school at Ebute Metta
Ebute Metta
Ebute Metta is a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria.Ebute Metta is a Yoruba word for a place known as three shores. Ebute means shore and Meta means three. This part of Lagos is mainly residential, and crowdy...
and later St. Gregory's college, Lagos. In 1968 he started at the University of Lagos
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...
, attaining a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. He then went on to attend the New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
for his Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
.http://allafrica.com/stories/200607280718.html
Civil Service career
In 1974 Williams returned to Nigeria and joined the Lagos StateLagos State
Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the...
civil service. He spent the next 17 years working on construction projects in Lagos State. Approximately 70% of the roads and bridges were built under his stewardship. Williams was a Permanent Secretary by the time he left the civil service in 1991.
He went into business for himself, but he shortly returned to public service, as a Lagos state Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
under Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola's Military Administratorship.
Political career
In the mid 1990s, Williams decided to enter into politics for himself. In order that he could formulate policy, rather than just carry it out. He first joined the United Nigeria Congress PartyUnited Nigeria Congress Party
The United Nigeria Congress Party was a Nigerian political party that was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, in which it won many elections, and in parliamentary...
(UNCP), but after the suspicious death of its leader General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
he moved to the Alliance for Democracy
Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria)
The Alliance for Democracy was a progressive opposition political party in Nigeria. It was formed on September 9th 1998. At the 2003 legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party won 8.8 % of the popular vote and 34 out of 360 seats in the Nigerian House of Representatives and six out of...
(AD).
After a short time Williams again switched parties, this time to the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Nigeria. Its policies generally lie towards the right wing of the political spectrum. It has won every single Presidential elections since 1999, namely: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:In...
(PDP).They had won the 2003 elections under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Williams had stood twice before in the Lagos State
Lagos State
Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the...
Governorship (Gubernatorial) election
Elections in Nigeria
Elections in Nigeria are democratic forms of choosing representatives to the Nigerian federal government and the various states in Nigeria.-Background:...
. At the time of his death he was hoping to be nominated as the PDP Gubernatorial candidate for Lagos State. He had vowed to wrest control of the wealthy state from the Alliance for Democracy Party.
Positions
Williams held Directorship's in several companies:- Julius Berger Nigeria PlcJulius Berger Nigeria PLCJulius Berger Nigeria plc is a construction company in Nigeria, a subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger.It is known for constructing most of Nigeria's infrastructure , major expressways, and even some residential buildings for the Chevron Nigeria headquarters in Lagos.-History:In 1895, Julius Berger, the...
- Cappa and D'Alberto Plc
- AjaokutaAjaokutaAjaokuta is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and a town within it on the left bank of the Niger River. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of Egayan in the south of the area at....
Steel Company - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Maritime Authority