Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

Molade Alexander Okoya-Thomas FCNA, MFR, OFR, KSS (8 June 1935 – 2 February 2015) was a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. Chief Okoya-Thomas was born in Lagos. He obtained his formal education at Princess School

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Baptist Academy, Lagos Lagos Baptist Academy is a secondary school located in Obanikoro, Lagos, Nigeria. The school was established in 1855 by the American Baptist Missionaries. The school is regarded as a sister school to Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls' Secondary School ...

, Balham & Tooting College of Commerce London and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was given the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

titles of the Asoju Oba of Lagos, Babasuwa of Ijebu-Remo and Odofin of Ife. He was also the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Lagos State University Lagos State University, also known as LASU, is located in Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe both towns in Lagos State, Nigeria. The university was established in 1983 by the enabling law of Lagos State, for the advancement of learning ...

and chairman of

CFAO Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, was and is a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on the Okinawa Island of Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, an ...

Nigeria Limited.

Early life and education

Molade Okoya-Thomas was born in

on June 8, 1935 to Alhaji Hussam Okoya-Thomas (the first Baba Adinni of Furabay Mosque, Olowogbowo, Lagos and the first local staff member of

, who served the company for 52 years) and Alhaja Suwebat Okoya-Thomas (née Gbajabiamila, Otun Iya Adinni of Idita Mosque). Molade Okoya-Thomas had his elementary education at princess school, Lagos, between 1942 and 1946. He subsequently proceeded to

Baptist Academy Lagos Baptist Academy is a secondary school located in Obanikoro, Lagos, Nigeria. The school was established in 1855 by the American Baptist Missionaries. The school is regarded as a sister school to Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls' Secondary Schoo ...

for his high school education and left

in 1956 as the best graduating student, hence earning the honour of his name been listed on the school's DUX BOARD (Honors Board). Immediately after his education at Baptist Academy, he studied accountancy at Balham and Tooting College of Commerce between 1956 and 1959 and a further training in

Accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...

in 1981. He returned to Nigeria the very year he completed his studies at Balham and Tooting College of Commerce 1959 and was instantly employed as an accountant by

. This was the beginning of a meritorious service to

Career

Molade Okoya-Thomas studied at Princess School, Lagos, 1946; Balham and Tooting College of Commerce, London, 1956–1959;

, New York, US, 1981. He was appointed Director, Transcap Nigeria Limited; Director, Niger Motors Industries Limited; Chairman, Studio Press Nigeria Limited and has been the Chairman of CFAO Nigeria Limited since 1987. He served as Chairman of many organisations including CICA (Nigeria) Ltd., Transcap Nigeria Ltd., Oktom Investment Ltd., Itochu Nigeria Ltd., Chiyoda Nigeria Ltd. and Anchoria Investment & Securities Ltd. He also serves as Director of NFI Insurance Company Plc and GatewayBank Plc. He had also contributed to the development of

Lagos state Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

by serving in numerous committees including; member, Lagos City Council between 1971–1975, member Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, Chairman Board of Trustees Glover Memorial Hall and Tom Jones Hall. He was a recipient of the

Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

, the highest national honour given by the French to a foreigner.

Sports and philanthropy

Molade Okoya-Thomas was an active sportsman in his youth, he was a Joint All Nigeria Record Holder of 4 X 220 yards relay race while at Baptist Academy Lagos. He has been the sole sponsor of the annual Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championships for over four decades setting a record as the only Nigerian to have single-handedly and consistently sponsored a competition spanning over four decades. As a philanthropist he had similarly served as vice-chairman, Lagos State Sports Council, President Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Chairman 3rd All-Africa Games Appeal Fund Committee, Chairman National Appeal Fund for Sports Development and chairman Sports Trust Fund. Molade Alexandria Okoya-Thomas built and donated a modern sports hall for students and staff of the Lagos State University (LASU) in 2009. He was also a prominent member of the fund raising committee for the construction of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere. The Commissioner for Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele announced the state government's decision to celebrate Molade Alexandria Okoya-Thomas at the age of 75, taking into consideration his numerous contributions, with the naming of the indoor sports hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium on 8 June 2010 and a State Dinner at the City Hall Lagos Island on the same day. He died on the 2nd of February, 2015, after a brief illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okoya-Thomas, Molade 1935 births 2015 deaths Businesspeople from Lagos Columbia University alumni Yoruba businesspeople Yoruba royalty 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian socialites Lagos State University people Burials in Lagos State Baptist Academy alumni Molade Nigerian chairpersons of corporations