Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has expressed sadness on the death of the Lisa of Ondo Kingdom, Chief Bayo Akinnola.
Fayemi in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode,described Akinnola as one of the greatest philanthropists of his era who used their wealth for the betterment of the less privileged.
The governor noted that though the late chief will be sorely missed, he was consoled by the fact that Akinnola lived a fulfilled life and positively touched lives in his lifetime.
Fayemi said Akinnola’s sojourn in the land of the living was marked by service to mankind in industry, commerce, education, religion, culture and community service.
Describing Akinnola as one of the most colourful chiefs in the Ondo Kingdom, Fayemi said the deceased was equally humble to a fault and ever ready to assist whoever he came across.
He further described Akinnola as a boardroom guru and business wizard who used his acumen to turn around corporate organizations he had the opportunity of leading.
Fayemi also hailed Akinnola for creating jobs for thousands of Nigerians through his business conglomerate. He said the wise counsel of the late chief will be missed in Ondo Kingdom, Ondo State and Nigeria at large.
Fayemi urged the family of the deceased to take solace in the fact that he lived a life worth celebrating and has written his name in gold through the impact he made on his generation.
Bio of High Chief Lisa Bayo Akinnola NPMA, MFR
Born in Ondo Town on August 1st, 1934 by Late Princess Alice Morinola Akinnola (Leyo Royal Ruling House) to the Late Chief Danial Ladapo Akinnola (Baba Ijo All Saints Church, Ogbonkowo, Ondo). High Chief Bayo Akinnola attended Ibadan Grammar School where he later became the Vice-Principal. He was at Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology Ibadan for his ‘A’ level in 1955. He went to the University of Ibadan where he bagged a B.A. (Upper Division) in 1960. He attended the University of Manchester England, for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education.
High Chief Lisa Bayo Akinnola served at the Nigerian Tobacco Company as PRO, Marketing Manager, and later Personal Assistant to the Chairman between 1964 and 1967. He was appointed Commissioner for Information and later that of Industries in the Western Nigerian Government between 1967 to 1976.
Some of his other appointments include: Member of Council of the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti; Chairman, Board of Directors, Oluwa Glass Company Plc; Ondo State Industrialization Committee; Board of Trustees, Ondo State Education Endowment Fund and Metal Packaging Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. He was an elected member of the 1994 Constitutional Conference.
On the business front, High Chief (Dr.) Akinnola is the Director/ Chairman of many business concerns both within and outside Nigeria. These include Atobi Enterprises Limited; Atobi Metal and Paper Industries Limited; Okegun Farming Enterprises; Cutler-Hammer (Nig.) Ltd; Gem Limited; Stanmark Cocoa Processing Company Limited and West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO).
Some of the many awards he won include Wither’s Prize for Professional Teaching of the University of Manchester; Roll of Honour of Ondo State; National Productivity Merit Award; Ondo Town and Community Merit Award; Distinguished Alumnus Merit U.I; Honourary Doctorate Degree in Management Teaching by the Federal University of Technology, Akure and National Award of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR). He was appointed a member of RMAFC in 1999.
He was installed as the Lisa of Ondo Kingdom in the year 2002, the second in command to the Osemawe of Ondo.
Last modified: March 22, 2013