A record can be set or broken. Owolabi Salis, a Nigerian-born lawyer and politician, does not appear to be destined to break any records in law, or politics. The Ikorodu-born politician has run in successive Lagos gubernatorial elections under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Party of Nigeria, and Alliance for Democracy (AD) respectfully, but has never won.
In 2019, he contested for the Lagos gubernatorial race under the platform of AD and earned 3,370 votes, while the victor of the same election, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, garnered 739,445 votes. Aside from his poor political performance, Peoples Gazette, an online news publication, reported that Nigerian-born lawyer Owolabi Salis was indicted and disbarred by the New York State Supreme Court after receiving numerous complaints from clients accusing him of scamming them out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Owolabi, who did not let his problems deter him, became the first Nigerian to travel into space. This incredible feat has gone viral and got several accolades from social media users, notably Nigerians, who praised him for putting the country on the world map.
On Sunday, June 29, Nigerian-born lawyer and politician Salis joined five other passengers aboard Blue Origin’s NS-33 mission, which took off from West Texas. His crew members included Allie Kuehner, Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., and Jim Sitkin.
According to Space in Africa, the 10-minute suborbital flight took the crew beyond the Kármán line, the globally acknowledged border of space, reaching a maximum altitude of 105.2 kilometers.
Here are eight (8) things you probably don’t know about Owolabi Salis, a Nigerian lawyer and politician:
1. He was born in Ikorodu, Lagos.
2. Salis is a chartered accountant and attorney with licenses to practice in both Nigeria and the United States.
3. He is the author of Equitocracy, a book proposing a democratic system rooted in fairness and equity across diverse communities.
4. The lawyer is no stranger to adventure, as his previous expedition included becoming the first Black African to visit both the Arctic and Antarctic within the same season.
5. He ran for Lagos governorship at three different times.
6. He bought the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in 2003 and 2007, ran under the Action Party of Nigeria in 2007, and was the Alliance for Democracy’s flag bearer in the 2019 elections.
7. Following the 2019 poll, he challenged the outcome in court, questioning Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory, but the tribunal ruled against him.
8. He was reportedly indicted and barred by the New York Supreme Court for stealing clients’ funds.
