National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Business Courage
Monday, March 4, 2013
A Corporate
Maverick His present status did not come on a platter of gold. They were attained through cheer determination, courage, never-saydie and the typical can-do spirit of most Nigerian entrepreneurs. He did not come from a rich family background. In fact, he along with his other 16 siblings had to engage in street hawking to augment the little their parents could afford. That is the summary of the beginning of Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola, the self-made man, who braced the odds to rise from point zero to attain fame and wealth; building multinational institutions that are today considered the first among equals By Semiu Salami
B
orn in January 1954 to a bank clerk father and petty trading mother, Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola was clearly not born with the proverbial Silver spoon. As the fifth in a large household of 17 children, it was obvious that the earnings of Fola’s parents could not in any way provide the basic necessities of life for the large family. So, right from infancy, he was exposed to the world of survival of the fittest. He had had to learn how to do some little businesses to help the family. In fact, Fola along with his brothers had to hawk wares on the streets of Lagos, the proceeds of which were pulled together to take care of their educational needs. However, despite the initial shortcomings, Fola’s father never lost sight of the need to inculcate the values of hard work and integrity in the children, the attributes which later came in handy as Fola and some of his siblings later in life began to climb to the Continued on pg A10
Adeola
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