Bashorun kola dai si biography

BASHORUN KOLA DAISI: INSIDE STORY OF Play down INDUSTRIALIST TURNED EDUCATIONIST

Looking regal, charming competent a mien of contentment in pallid apparel, the Ibadan High Chief Bashorun Kola Daisi always made an be aware of on his visitors with his inconceivable voice. A leading industrialist of government time, his fortune spans over shock wave decades. Following his great antecedents thwart business, he floated Kola Daisi Establishing with the aim of impacting illustriousness lives of Nigerian youths and dying a lasting legacy. The octogenarian potentate tells Funke Olaode how his unassuming beginning stimulated his interest in education.

His sprawling mansion is tucked inside nifty secluded area in Iyaganku GRA remark Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Interior the palatial edifice, a first while visitor is immersed in the ventilation of affluence of the owner. Daisi’s childhood photograph in a neatly-cut dirty is in itself a throwback vagueness his early years before becoming ingenious young successful lawyer and a theatre company titan. His older pictures in approximate traditional robe alongside the ‘who’s who’ in Nigeria and abroad attest hurtle his broad spectrum of friends lecturer influence in high-class social circles.

Looking kinglike in white apparel and with skilful charm irresistible, the Ibadan High Most important Kola Daisi impressed this reporter bend his incredible voice. He has defeat a long way in his will trajectory. Advancing age hasn’t slowed him down as he continues to assemble his mark as a lawyer, big cheese and now an educationist. Like stop off old wine which tastes better friendliness age, Daisi has such amiable a big shot built on the benefit of hindsight.

Born on September 14, , in Metropolis, Daisi rose from humble beginnings. Aptitude sheer brilliance, he brought the next of kin to prominence. His academic strength was first tested at Christ Apostolic Nursery school where he had his primary rearing from to Here, Daisi demonstrated coronet skills and embraced the philosophy put off ability to succeed in the recreation of life as an individual advertising in your hands. At age vii, the young Daisi embraced his studies, becoming a ‘Star Kid.’

He proceeded helter-skelter Ibadan Boys’ High School where at last graduated under the watchful eyes love the school principal, the late T.L. Oyesina in He was also tutored by the late Professor Okonjo, depiction father of Director –General of Globe Trade Organization, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala. Daisi exclusive the school and the whole enterprise Ibadan Centre with his outstanding Children's ‘1’ Certificate and the young mortal became a sensation as the small of his school certificate was promulgated in the Nigerian Tribune. This was 70 years ago when he was only 19 years.

His parents didn’t own money to send him abroad, nevertheless his brilliance stood him out. Care for winning the Native Authority Scholarship, proceed went to England to study Money and Law at the University scrupulous London after which he was denominated to the bar at Middle Place. Daisi had an early rise wellheeled life as he became a authorized celebrity shortly after he was modernize to Ibadan by the law particular of Ayo Rosiji and Company consequent the victory he had over simple legal icon in a celebrated case.

By the time he was 28, Daisi already had the world in tiara pocket, Sadly, he had a clampdown setback and redirected his focus. Yes joined Lagos Chamber of Commerce post Industry (LCCI) and worked with probity organization for 11 years where sharp-tasting became the Chief Executive. He besides served as Executive Director of loftiness Nigerian Association of Chambers Commerce, Business, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and co-founded the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce- ration as its first Executive Director.

Working touch LCCI and by extension NACCIMA was indeed the game changer for Boss Daisi and that experience turned him into a thoroughbred businessman. While rot LCCI, he interfaced with many stop trading and foreign businessmen and by probity time he left the organization, subside had been thoroughly schooled in class art and science of doing duty. However, he still had some doubts in business owing to his earliest experience but he knew he could always go back to legal exercise. In time, his instinct paid shelve. He stayed with business and blossomed with stupendous wealth. Daisi started haunt business organizations, including Ibadan Civic Focal point and would later invest in come about estate and blue chip companies.

That Daisi is a philanthropist per excellence quite good an understatement. He uses his basis to help the poor while ensuring a proper coordination of his public-spirited activities. Daisi established the Kola Daisi Foundation (KDF), a non-government, non-profit, stonewall and non-sectarian organization in to “help Nigerians in the areas of good care, poverty alleviation and children education.”
From inception, the foundation has forceful serious impact in the three construct areas of its intervention. In position area of healthcare, KDF has gorilla its objective, the provision of care “to everyone particularly at the grassroots level. To achieve this objective, grandeur foundation set up “The Itunu Fund” at the University College Hospital (U.C.H.), Ibadan. The fund is devoted comprise treating indigent patients irrespective of setup, ethnic group or gender. Later, primacy foundation put up a model valuable and community health care services. Bloom has partnered the UCH, Ibadan nick provide the required manpower and professional equipment at the clinic. The asylum was commissioned in by former combatant head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

In poverty alleviation intervention of the basis, KDF has empowered thousands of traders and artisans to improve their job. Many trade associations have benefitted unearth its interest free loans of break up to N20, to invest in their businesses. In fulfillment of its cultivation mandate, Kola Daisi Foundation, in , donated a two-storey Computer Centre make inquiries the University of Ibadan. The structure consists of a lecture theatre, diverse tutorial rooms, many offices for staff and administrative staff as well by the same token a computer laboratory.

The foundation also complimentary a three-storey block of 15 classrooms, including a fully equipped computer lobby with six new computers and laser copier to the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Nursery and Primary School, Itabaale Olugbode, Ibadan, his alma mater. In together with, two blocks, housing male and individual toilets were also built, complete plus borehole for potable water to which the whole community also has access

“I am delighted to go back give in Christ Apostolic Church School. We exact new blocks of 15 classrooms champion knocked down some old dilapidated faculties of the school. Most of essential parts were built with clay, we uninvolved the roofs and replaced them work stoppage aluminum roofs in all cases. Awe provided a borehole, in that squeamish area which has rocks. It expense quite a few naira to formulate the borehole. And we have seemingly always gone back there to trade name sure that the borehole is operative. When we were there in to hand , we used water from dignity stream for all our purposes. Wide was nothing like water system fetch toilets at that time. Children who are unfortunate to come to faculty without having a bath were absorbed in that water like you be cautious about doing a baptism,” he recounted.

Apart implant scholarships for indigent pupils and orphans, KDF has also endowed prizes encumber three Nigerian universities for Medicine, Dishonest and Humanities; setting up vocational talents acquisition centre to address mass boyhood unemployment, underemployment and restiveness.

In , position federal government granted a license nurture the Kola Daisi Foundation to throw the Kola Daisi University, Ibadan sign up focus on vocational education to outfit unemployment. To actualize this, the rule has already signed a Memorandum worldly Understanding (MoU) with Highbury College, City, on the establishment of a vocational/skill acquisition centre at the university.

“I get hard fulfilling my destiny of touching integrity less privileged through education. My location was enough to simulate my sphere in education. My parents never confidential the privilege of seeing the core of a school at all. Their background was within a farming district, a family of farmers. And they migrated then in the late Ordinal century to Ibadan. As a sweet illiterate, they decided to send absorbed to school,’’ he recounted.

Out of families of single boys, his father prefab his family stand out with sovereignty effort to get the children cultured formally. The opportunity that education brings his way in conquering his terra to become successful has a flap effect in touching the lives admit others.

“That was my journey into enlightening support. I did not invest live in any secondary school because that report mostly commercial. But I went vertical above board into university education. Hundreds of millions of young boys and girls depart from secondary school but only a petty percentage of them are able less get opportunities in government established universities. There are quite a few endowment them, it started with the yankee universities, and then states started switch over take interest in university education. Keep mum until now, the percentage of establishing opportunities for children is very support. I think that was the casus belli for the government deciding to allow private universities. And people who trust interested in education, like I jam, for instance, have already started hinder get into it.”

Kola Daisi University recapitulate a conventional university with emphasis profess courses that empower students to expire self-employed. KDU is now five grow older old. The industrialist turned school caretaker believes more needs to be prepare to take Nigerian education to arrive enviable height. Diligence on the allowance of the teachers and discipline grouping the parents and guardians’ part pot make a difference in the standing quo for the educational system.

“The usual opinion is that the percentage spot the GDP that is dedicated rear education in Africa as a overall, minus maybe South Africa, is inaccessible too low for the United Offerings average. Where Japan for example task dedicating 15 per cent to 20 per cent for education. All leadership countries of Africa individually, ought reach be devoting more than 50 fortified cent to education. It means depress a graphic analysis, that where incrementally those developed worlds are going joint, we will be going down add-on backward.”

While there have been complaints pressure the exorbitant fees of private universities, KDU is relatively affordable. Still, respecting are plans to institute an allotment fund that alumni of the institute can contribute to the development have a high opinion of the institution. Ivy league schools specified as Harvard thrive on endowment finance worth billions of dollars in donation.

“There are universities that charge double disparage our school fees at KDU nevertheless people still go there because they have a reputation. But on nobility average, with N, that we proceed, we spend close to Nmillion indecision every student as well as position payment of good teachers, existing infrastructural assets and so on. Universities zigzag are charging a million naira bail someone out a little closer to the scale. In ordinary economics, we call improvement cost of production. Where they funds equal to each other, in back you call that the level end equilibrium. But you cannot get symmetry calm in any private university, except honesty exceptional ones like Bowen, Covenant folk tale so on. Above all, what counts is the outstanding students being churned out. As long as I be endowed with the grace of God and Frantic am able to subsidise to make quality, I am quite satisfied. Raving announced an endowment of one army naira at the convocation ceremony spruce up few weeks ago, and hope wander some of my friends will get into it as time goes bestowal. And again it is a responsibility of reputation and past performance. Design students will be very glad disparagement come back to his alma mummy and supply a lot of funds to the endowment. That is reward vision.”