The immediate family of late Chief Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, otherwise known as Baba Adini, during the week, hosted members of their social circle to the 15th memorial lecture of the late business mogul. Thereafter, guests were hosted to a private reception at the Folawiyo mansion in Lagos. On hand to play the perfect hosts and hostess were his widow, Abba Folawiyo, his children led by the two eldest, Toyosi and Tunde Folawiyo, extended family members and relatives by marriage such as Segun Awolowo.
Some of the guests who made it to the lecture and reception were Biodun Aisen, Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, Funke Oniru, Hajia Bola Shagaya, Shade Balogun, Lanre Onabanjo, Alhaja Ramdalat Fehintola Muri Okunola, Justice Wonuola Folami, Ireti Asemota, etc.
During his lifetime, the late Folawiyo, who died at the age of 79, was a successful businessman, industrialist and a great philanthropist noted particularly for his numerous support towards Islamic projects. He facilitated the construction of several mosques across the country including the Lagos Central Mosque, the Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna, and the Surulere Central Mosque. He also funded the Bab Es Salam Home for orphans in Lagos. He was and is still the sole sponsor of the Adhan (call to prayer programme) on Radio Lagos thanks to his family who continues to carry-on that legacy.
folawiyo also contributed immensely to educational and sports development. He was solely responsible for the funding of the Yinka Folawiyo U-15 Athletics Championships and the National Amateur Wrestling Championships. In education, he endowed the professorial chair in Physics at the University of Lagos and contributed to virus research at the University of Ibadan. He was the first private individual to put together a physical structure at the University of Lagos when he upgraded the University’s Health Centre to a full-fledged hospital complete with an X-ray unit.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
