7 June 2008
Lagos — Alhaji Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, business mogul, philanthropist and the Baba Adinni of Nigeria, died in the early hours of today, family sources told the News Agency of Nigeria..
Folawiyo's death came 10 days to his 80th birthday. Folawiyo was one of the icons of Nigerian industry and a pillar of Islam.
Born in Lagos on June 16, 1928, to a successful Lagos merchant, the young Folawiyo attended Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Lagos (1934 1941) and Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha.
Folawiyo, who was the only African Principal Member of the Baltic Exchange in the City of London, also attended in 1951 the famous North Western Polytechnic, London, where he read Management, specialising in Ship Brokerage.
Back home in 1957, Folawiyo founded Yinka Folawiyo & Sons, an import and export business. Folawiyo's large business empire includes holdings in shipping, banking, construction, agriculture and energy.
The Yinka Folawiyo Group, of which Yinka Folawiyo & Sons Ltd. is the parent body, includes the Maritime Associates (International) Ltd., Nigerian Green Lines Ltd.,
Folawiyo Farms Ltd., Ilora, Oyo State and Folawiyo Fisheries Ltd. Others are Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Ltd., United Property Developers Ltd., the Yinka Folawiyo Electrical & Mechanical Company Ltd., Y.F Power Ltd. and Folawiyo Energy Ltd.
A man of many parts, Folawiyo's achievements in other areas were as monumental as his successes in business.Folawiyo consistently offered support to religious (Islamic) advancement, educational development and sports improvement.
He contributed immensely to the construction of mosques all over the country, including the Lagos Central Mosque and the Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna.
He single handedly financed the construction of the Surulere Central Mosque, Lagos. In sports, Folawiyo was the sole sponsor of the Yinka Folawiyo U 15 Athletics Championships and the National Amateur Wrestling Championships, both annual national events of many years running.
He founded the Bab Es Salam Home which he dedicated to the upbringing and education of orphans.
In the field of education, Folawiyo endowed a professorial chair in Physics at the University of Lagos and contributed to the endowment funds of many Nigerian universities and vigorously supported research into various fields of knowledge, notable among which is the virus research at the University of Ibadan.
In June 1998, Folawiyo became the first private individual to put together a physical structure at the University of Lagos when he upgraded the University's Health Centre to a full fledged hospital complete with an X Ray Unit.
Folawiyo was the recipient of several honours and awards including Doctor of Law by the University of Cross River State, Uyo, 1991, Doctor of Letters by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1992 and Doctor of Science by the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, 1998.
Folawiyo was the Grand Patron of Nigerian Muslim Council; Chairman, Executive Council of the Lagos Central Mosque; Honorary Fellow, Chartered Institute of Transport; Fellow Commonwealth Journalists Association; Chairman, Maize Association of Nigeria and Patron, Institute of Freight Forwarders of Nigeria.
He was also honoured with the key to Dade County, Florida, in the U.S. He was a proud recipient of the national honour of Order of Federal Republic, OFR, conferred on him in 1982, as well as Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, on Nov. 16, 2000.
The University of Lagos also conferred on him the Millennium Award of Doctor of Science. He was appointed Chancellor, Lagos State University on April 17, 1999. He was the Patron of the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce.
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