Bode Akindele
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Bode Akindele | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 29 June 2020 Apapa, Lagos State, Nigeria | (aged 88)
Occupation(s) | Billionaire industrialist, chairman of the Madandola Group and the Fairgate Properties |
Children | Folake Coker[1] |
Parents |
|
Website | www |
Chief Bode Akindele (2 June 1932 – 29 June 2020) was a Nigerian billionaire industrialist and the Parakoyi of Ibadanland,[2] with an estimated net worth of $1.19 billion, according to a survey conducted by Ventures Africa and published in 2013 by The Daily Telegraph.[3][4] He was the owner and Chairman of the Madandola Group, an affiliation of companies headquartered in the United Kingdom,[5] that were involved in the maritime, manufacturing, real estate, financial, and flour milling industries.
Early life and education
Akindele was a Yoruba man from the south-western part of Nigeria. His father, Pa Joshua Laniyan Akindele, was a Chief Tax Clerk for the Western Region while his mother, Rabiatu Adedigba, was a wealthy and politically influential Ibadan trader, and was the first woman to go to Mecca from Ibadan for pilgrimage.[6]
He started his education at Olubi Memorial School, Ibadan, and Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta for his Higher School Certificate (HSC). He had wished to attend Abeokuta Grammar School or Baptist Boys High School just like his friends but he was restricted due to his inability to pass the arm test. After completing his secondary school education, he was to travel to the United Kingdom to study law, but due to his interest in business he used the money given to him to obtain a passport to place an order for a sewing machine which he sold at good profit[7].
In 1952, he got his first paid employment as secretary to an assistant district officer and later became a cadet manager with the United Africa Company (UAC), where he later rose to the rank of an assistant to the expatriate manager. Akindele then left United Africa Company for the Western Nigerian Union of Importers and Exporters[8].
Business career
He registered his first company at the age of 20, sourced for goods from anywhere in the world as he sold everything, including medicine, which he got from a pharmacy in Lagos. He bought land in Agege, a Lagos suburb and constructed a 80ft by 350ft warehouse where he stockpiled and graded cocoa and later he became a shipping agent. He chartered vessels in London using old school connections with the National Bank of Nigeria which had opened a London office in 1956, to finance his transactions[9].
Akindele made his first major venture into business in 1993, when he bought a Swedish match manufacturing company which he later shut down and gained full control of the global match market, making him the single largest controller of over one-third of the world match market. He also owned one of the biggest indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria, known as Madondola Group of companies, which operates across various sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, maritime, and agriculture[10].
He also owned Fairgate Group, a top international company which deals in real estate and property headquartered in Bond Street, London. The company owns several properties across the country currently being rented by some of UK’s foremost retail stores such as Asda Wall Mart and Sainsbury.
Philanthropy
In 1985, he established the Bode Akindele Foundation (BAF) which has been involved on projects for young people. To honour his mother, he decided to build the ARAMED (Alhaja Rabiatu Adedigba Medical Centre) in Ibadan where they provide health solutions.
Each year through Sir Bode Akindele Foundation, he empowered more than 1,000 individuals on entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Good Worker Ministries International, the University of Ibadan and the Federal University of Technology[11].
Death
Akindele died in the early hours of Monday 29th of June 2020 at his residence in Apapa, Lagos, age 87[12].
References
- ^ Segun. "Billionaire businessman, Chief Bode Akindele is dead". The Express NG. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Published. "Buhari, Makinde, Olubadan mourn as business mogul, Bode Akindele, dies". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca (2013-10-07). "Africa boasts 55 billionaires from 10 countries". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Africa's Richest 2014 (Visualization)". African Business Central. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "JUST IN: Ibadan business mogul Bode Akindele dies". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ Oladele, Bisi. "JUST IN: Ibadan business mogul Bode Akindele dies". The Nation. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Arusuraire, Olivia (2018-11-13). "Who Is Nigerian Billionaire Chief Bode Akindele? What Are His Top 3 Achievements?". Olatorera Consultancy Limited. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Biography Of Chief Bode Akindele". Earlyface. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Bode Akindele Dies at 88". THISDAYLIVE. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ Gists, Naija (2011-11-18). "How Chief Bode Akindele Made His Billions". NaijaGists.com - Proudly Nigerian DIY Motivation & Information Blog. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Bode Akindele: His Opulence, Open Heart and Staying Power". THISDAYLIVE. 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Parakoyi Of Ibadanland, Bode Akindele, Dies At 87". Independent.ng. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)