Renowned Industrialist, Philanthropist, Bode Akindele Dies At 87

Buhari, Makinde, Olubadan Mourn the frontline real estate magnate.

Business magnet and humanitarian Chief Bode Akindele is dead.

He died on Monday at the age of 87.

Chief Bode who doubles as the Parakoyi of Ibadanland and the Chairman of Madandola Group, was a successful entrepreneur and a renowned industrialist in Nigeria.

Following the demise of the quintessential entrepreneur, politicians and public figures have begun to pay tribute to him

President Muhammadu Buhari has described Akindele’s death as an irreparable loss to the country.

“Chief Akindele was a man of many parts. He was a creator of jobs who demonstrated untiring love for the downtrodden.

His philanthropic gestures knew no bounds, intervening especially in critical sectors of the economy,” Buhari said in a statement made available to journalists on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, said the late Akindele “contributed in no small measure to the growth of the state and his community.”

About Chief Bode Akindele

Chief Bode Akindele was born 87years ago, precisely on the 2nd of June 1932. His father, Pa Joshua Laniyan Akindele, was a Chief Tax Clerk for the whole of the Western Region and as such his position can be equated to that of the Chairman of the Inland Revenue today and his mother, Rabiatu Adedigba, was a wealthy Ibadan trader who was politically influential. It is interesting to note that Alhaja Rabiatu was the first woman to go to Mecca in Ibadan.

Chief Akindele’s business empire operates under the name Modandola Group Of Companies, named after his mother, which translates to ‘God, if you give me the wealth, give me a child that can take care of it.’ Madandola Group spans from maritime to properties, manufacturing, real estates, investments, finance and flour milling with its headquarters in the United Kingdom.

The Fairgate Group, (a company owned by Chief Akindele, located on Bond Street, London, England), deals mainly in properties. Some of its tenants include giant retail stores like Sainsbury and Asda Wall Mart. As at the last quantification, the Fairgate Group was said to be worth over a billion pounds sterling.

Among the subsidiaries of the Madandola Group making waves in the business world include Standard Breweries, Ibadan, Diamond Foods Ltd, Ibadan, United Beverages Ltd, Ibadan, Associated Match Industry, Ibadan, merged with Ilorin, Port-Harcourt and Lagos to form a company with a large share of the Nigerian market and Standard Flour Mills in Lagos.

Bode Akindele was not born with a Silver spoon. His encounter with schooling was quite an interesting one. He would help his elder brother carry his school bag to Baptist School, Idikan, Ibadan, when they lived in Mapo, trekking the distance. He later enrolled at Olubi Memorial School Ibadan. He attended Lisabi Commercial College, in Abeokuta for his secondary school education. Though he had wished to attend Grammar School or Boys High School just like his friends, he was restricted due to his inability to pass the arm test. However, the business mogul believed that it was God who was preparing him for something great in life.