By Olurotimi Olabode
FEW NIGERIANS know her name, but nearly every schoolchild has repeated her words. Every morning, in classrooms across the nation, millions recite the lines: “I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest…”
Those immortal words came from the mind of Professor Felicia Adebola Adeyoyin, the woman who wrote the Nigerian National Pledge.
Felicia Adeyoyin was born on November 6, 1938, in Ogbomoso, now Oyo State. From an early age, she showed a deep love for language, culture, and education.
In 1968, she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree (with honours) in Geography from Birkbeck, University of London. She went on to obtain her Diploma in Education from the same institution in 1976.
Her thirst for knowledge and her commitment to teaching took her further, where she earned an M.A. in Social Studies from Columbia University, New York, in 1977, and later obtained her PhD in Education from the University of Lagos in 1981.
Her academic career flourished as she became a respected lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Lagos. Adeyoyin was deeply passionate about national identity and moral development among young Nigerians.
In 1976, during the regime of Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo, she wrote an article titled “Loyalty to the Nation, Pledge,” published in the Daily Times of July 15, 1976.
Her words caught the attention of the government, and not long after, General Obasanjo officially adopted her composition as Nigeria’s National Pledge.
The Pledge became a symbol of patriotism, integrity, and unity, values Adeyoyin herself embodied throughout her life.
She continued to teach, write, and mentor young Nigerians, serving as a professor of education at the University of Lagos. She also contributed to curriculum development and research in social studies and national consciousness.
A deaconess at the Yaba Baptist Church, Lagos, Professor Felicia Adeyoyin passed away on May 1, 2021. She was 82.
Her legacy, however, lives on, not in monuments or medals, but in the voices of millions who daily repeat her heartfelt words of loyalty and love for Nigeria.
