•Details Of Late STELLA OLUSOLA’s 80th Birthday, 6 Months Ago
Amiable business mogul and Asiwaju of Ife, Chief Oyekunle Alex-Duduyemi has been hit by a huge tragedy! His wife, Chief Mrs Stella Shola Alex-Duduyemi (nee Da Silva) passed on Tuesday morning, thus throwing the family into mourning. This sudden passage of his lovely wife has surely dealt him a big blow. The woman who has been the supportive pillar of the house for many years succumbed to death 6 months after celebrating her 80th birthday.
For these 2 society giants, their colourful lives have been worthy of emulation as they practically follow each other to any event. At their grand age, they tend to be inseparable for many years. This vacuum is what can not be filled by anyone, not even the children because Chief Duduyemi dots on his wife and never jokes with her. They have lived together for 58 solid years and still waxing stronger. He will truly miss her.
Dubbed as one of the most outstanding grand rich old men in Nigeria, Chief Alex Duduyemi has lived a fulfilled and successful life. Like the book which is the story of his life launched about a few years ago during his 80th birthday, he was referred to as a quintessential colossus and he is absolutely living up to it. Give it up for Chief Alex Duduyemi, a society patriarch and great philanthropist, he is a man of many parts.
He experienced a major expansion in businesses after studying law abroad and in spite of his successes in business he remained cool-headed, adding that Duduyemi is a silent achiever who does not allow the success of his businesses to get to his head. “Instead, he has remained a man of quiet disposition who hates to hurt anybody. His humility and gentility know no bounds. Chief Duduyemi is also a great philanthropist who has brought smiles to the faces of many people in the country. He is also a man who does not believe in making noise about his philanthropic activities”.
Always scoring high in all his endeavors, Chief Oyekunle Henry Alex Duduyemi has proved beyond every reasonable doubt that success is only through determination. He was born not with a silver spoon but he was determined to be great in life.
The story of Aro of the world (as he is called by friends and well-wishers) is one of resilience, commitment, doggedness – and of course, grass to grace. He is a shrewd multi-dimensional personality, industrious with multi-tasking ability. His life is dedicated to humanity. As he has made a success of his life, business so also has he maintained one wife, Yeye Olushola Stella and kept his marriage of 58 years. Hardly will you sight chief Alex Duduyemi and not find his wife beside him. They are an inseparable couple. Chief Duduyemi is 85 years while his wife clocked 80 years last August. Their age difference is 5 years. His sweetheart, Yeye Olushola is the perfect figure that surely fits the Aro of the source, chief Alex Duduyemi. It’s been 58 years and strongly counting. The lovely couple never hesitates to treat themselves despite their age. A few years back, they took the Hyatt restaurant in London by storm when they flew some guests to Great Britain where they both celebrated their birthdays. Their part crossed at a party and ever since then they have been inseparable. Yeye Olusola had a very quiet 80th birthday in their palatial Ikoyi mansion. It was a well-organized private affair that had only family and few friends in attendance. Their house garden area was neatly decorated with her pictures hung around the wall. Guests were treated to light music and everyone enjoyed the evening. Yeye Olusola is from a prominent family in Lagos, The Da Silva family. Very unassuming with impeccable English, she is a lawyer like her husband. When you see them, you will notice an unending bond between them that during Yeye Asiwaju of Ile Ife’s birthday years back, she spoke glowingly about their love, “that she will always choose him as her husband over and over again”. She always gushed that it was love at first sight when they both met. No wonder, 58 years is no joke and definitely, the Aro of the source will greatly miss his lovely wife whom he cherished so much.
Chief Alex Duduyemi was born to a father who was a Chief sanitary superintendent in his community and a mother who was into petty trading. The great son of Ile Ife in Osun State qualified as a lawyer and married a lawyer, Olusola Duduyemi. Some of his children are also lawyers. He worked at a health Department in Lagos Town Council before he proceeded to the UK to study Law. He studied at Lincoln Inn in London. He was called to the bar in England and returned back to Nigeria. He practiced for a while at his late uncle, Remi Fani Kayode’s chamber, the man who inspired him to study Law before he veered into the business. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1964. He was a parliamentary secretary to the then Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa. He was sent to the United Nations in 1965 as a delegate to the 20th session of the assembly in New York. His business spanned commodity trading in Shea nuts, cocoa, pepper, plan produce where he made fortune, he is into oil and Gas and fish trolling. With major companies scattered around Nigeria, He is the CEO of Bolex Holdings Limited’, Manucom Fishing Company, Petroleum Services Nigeria Limited.
Today, he sits on numerous boards of reputed companies, cutting across various sectors of human endeavor, local, national, international; as chairman or member.
He was conferred with the traditional title of the Aro/Aare Asiwaju of Ile-Ife in recognition of his contributions to the development of his people and achievements as an entrepreneur.
He is also a recipient of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
Beyond the symbolic life fulfillment, there is more that engenders fulfillment, as Alex-Duduyemi has impacted different spectrums of society with positive footprints on the sands of time. He has a church in Ife and he is also the founder and proprietor of Henry Alex Duduyemi Memorial College. HAMEC.His children are also running some of his companies.
-TAYO OYEDIJI
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