OLOYE ABIOLA IYIOLA’S BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Birth and Family Relations
Oloye Abiola Iyiola was born many decades ago in the ancient city of Ibadan to two prominent families. On the paternal side, he was born to the Iyiola Adedeji Odunbaku branch of Anlamole Family at Isale-Ijebu, Oja ‘ba, Ibadan. On the maternal side, he was born to Olupoyi Family of Olupoyi Compound, Oja ‘ba, Ibadan, where his mother hails from.
Oloye Iyiola spent his early childhood in Ibadan where his mother, a staunch Muslim, instilled in him the strong values of Islam characterized by piety, service to God and humanity and discipline. These strong values continue to be his guiding principles till today.
Early Years
Oloye Abiola Iyiola attended Saint David Primary School, Kudeti, Ibadan, the first primary school established in Ibadan by Missionary David Hinderer. He moved to Eleta High School, Ibadan for his secondary school education, and then went on to attend the University of Ibadan and Lagos State University.
Oloye Iyiola was a Chevening scholar in 1999, having been awarded the Chevening Scholarship for a postgraduate study at the prestigious University of Manchester by the British Government. Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship scheme which recognizes and enables students with leadership qualities to have international exposure. In April 2003, Abiola Iyiola moved to United States of America where he furthered his education at the Texas Southern University where he studied to obtain Bachelorrete in Public Administration and University of Houston, Texas where he got his Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
Career and Business
Abiola Iyiola completed an internship program at the Law Centres Federation, London, with a primary assignment at the Plumstead Community Law Centre and Thamesmead Law Centre. He later returned to Nigeria to work at the Legal Resources Consortium headed by a former Attorney General of Ekiti State, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda, SAN.
In 2003, he was selected as a member of a team by the British Council in Lagos in conjunction with the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA) to study Parliamentary sessions at Johannesburg and Cape Town both in South Africa.
In all the foreign assignments he undertook and companies where he worked, Abiola Iyiola left indelible footprint as a dedicated, committed, resourceful and result-oriented individual with a unique mindset for achieving unmatched corporate goals.
Growing up in Nigeria, Abiola Iyiola knew at an early age that he would run a business empire, though uncertain about his choice of enterprise. A visionary man with a strong business acumen, and an appetite to succeed in his own initiatives, he squared up to the challenges and insecurities of the Nigerian business terrain, jettisoning the comfort of paid employment to become an entrepreneur in retail business.
Abiola Iyiola’s venture into private business has been a huge success on the homefront. He founded and leads a diverse group of affiliated companies for Safeway Group. He is the chairman of the Board for Safeway Shipping, Mattox Safeway Limited, Safeway Drilling, Homestead Nigeria Limited, Space Nigeria Limited, Safeway Purelife Water and SpareParts Connect. He has vast interests in oil and gas and real estate investments. His exemplary leadership qualities have earned him key positions on several boards and commissions in Nigeria, South Africa and the United States of America. As the chairman of the Mumineen Relief Projects Inc. based in Houston, Texas, he has played a significant role in establishing and overseeing many of the charity organisation’s aid and development programmes to date. Mumineen Relief Projects Inc. is involved in providing reliefs to Nigerians and Americans in the US in the area of healthcare. The organisation helps to provide free healthcare to Nigerians who have health challenges but who do not have health insurance arrangement.
Public Service and Social Welfare
Abiola Iyiola is highly visible in both Ibadan and Houston communities, dedicating approximately forty percent of his time to public service and social welfare. His passion lies in improving the quality of living among vulnerable groups and ensuring that the less privileged are empowered for financial independence. He regards having opportunity to help others as a call to serve humanity and an opportunity to positively impact the lives of others by elevating their living standards.
In pursuit of these noble objectives, he has established and pioneered credible organisations and institutions through which he has executed some worthy causes. Few of these worthy causes are mentioned here.
* Creation of a mini clinic and provision of access to basic medical care.
* Initiation of Adopt-A-School and Village Water programs.
* Empowerment of youths of different cadres in the society.
* Granting of scholarship awards to indigent students.
* Initiation of Educate a Rural Child Project – providing educational materials to indigent students.
As the Chairman/CEO of Safeway Drilling, he has given technical training and education to numerous students drawn from Petroleum Engineering, Geology, Civil Engineering, and other science related courses from higher institutions of learning such as University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ladoke Akintola University, University of Ilorin and The Polytechnic, Ibadan through deployments from Industrial Training Programs (IT). He has also trained and empowered young minds to start up their own water drilling businesses and become employers of labour, reducing the burgeoning rate of unemployment in the country. He has made similar impacts in the health and the education sectors by delivering functional wells and boreholes to several communities.
One initiative which Abiola Iyiola is immensely passionate about is the provision of free access to clean water for all. His view stems from the realisation that the importance of water in our lives is quite often forgotten, particularly in some parts of the world where access to even tap water is a luxury. One of the key goals he drives at Safeway Drilling is to continue to bring clean, sustainable water supplies to every school and community where clean water is a huge challenge. By making the process of collecting clean water more time-efficient, children are given better opportunities to focus on their education. To this end, Abiola Iyiola set up effective initiatives within the Safeway Group which aim to provide clean running water to disadvantaged schools and communities. From building boreholes, installing hand pumps to setting up solar-powered water filtration plants, he continuously strives to provide the gift of water to the communities which need it most.
Oloye Abiola Iyiola’s Ibadan Heritage and Activities
Abiola Iyiola wears Ibadan with pride. He is extremely passionate about his Ibadan heritage and culture. He has a dedicated sense of unity and belonging within the Ibadan community which affords him the unique ability to identify with others with similar mindsets and backgrounds. He respects the cultures of others without discrimination. In recognition of his sterling leadership qualities and passionate contribution to the growth and development of his immediate homestead of Anlamole Compound in particular and Ibadan as a whole, Abiola Iyiola was conferred with the prestigious traditional title of ‘Mogaji‘ in 2017 to lead the Anlamole community – the very place he originates from.
The traditional title of Mogaji is the bedrock and fulcrum of Ibadan traditional chieftaincy system; the very foundation on which the superstructure of the system rests. The peace and progress that Ibadan traditional chieftaincy system exude stem from the patriotic contribution of every Ibadan household to the sustenance of a system that had become the envy of areas in Yorubaland. In strict interpretation, Mogaji is the first traditional title in Yorubaland. In the case of Ibadan, it is the first step towards embarking on Olubadan Chieftaincy journey.
On June 24, 2022, Abiola Iyiola was elevated to Jagun Olubadan by the late Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Senator Mohood Lekan Balogun. That elevation took him to Olubadan Chieftaincy ladder. Again, on October 7, 2023, he gained another elevation to Ajia Olubadan of Ibadanland, the traditional chieftaincy position he currently occupies.
A socio-cultural association of all Ibadan sons and daughters in the North America is Ibadan Descendants Union, USA. The association involves in charitable and empowerment activities towards the growth and development of Ibadan and its people. Through the national body and its state chapters in the US, IDU continues to intervene in the areas of health, education and social welfare at home in Ibadan. It continues to empower widows, vulnerable children, indigent students, the aged and the youths of Ibadan origin. Abiola Iyiola had been the former president of Houston chapter of IDU, USA. He is currently serving his second term as the National President of the association.
He served as the chairman, Ibadan Palace Fundraising Committee which saw to the immediate raising of funds and prompt completion of the iconic Olubadan Palace at Oke Are in Ibadan. As the chairman of the committee, he worked with other eminent Ibadan sons and daughters as a team to achieve the goal of giving a befitting palace to Olubadan of Ibadanland. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Ibadan, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) gave awards of Omoluabi of Ibadanland in 2023 and Most Patriotic Ibadan Indigene (MPII) in 2024 to Oloye Abiola Iyiola.
Oloye Abiola Iyiola as a Passionate Family Man
Abiola Iyiola is married to his darling wife, Doctor Adetayo Mabadeje-Iyiola, daughter of Professor Saida Mabadeje, former Chancellor, Federal University Oye-Ekiti and Professor Biola Mabadeje, and they are blessed with two children – a daughter and a son. Despite his ever busy schedules on work, philanthropy and public activities, he creates time to give quality attention to his family.
Other Interests
Oloye Iyiola spends his spare time to travel around the world for adventures, cycling, hiking, water sports as well as to explore the different exotic tastes of African cuisine. He is a member of the Ibadan Polo Club, Ibadan Golf Club, and Ibadan Recreational Club.
W: www.abiolaiyiola.com
E: abiola@abiolaiyiola.com
P: +234 9060003480
