CELEBRATING BOLA SHAGAYA, THE BUSINESS AMAZON AT 55

Hajia Bola Shagaya

-A Special Report By The ELITES

Today, October 10, 2014, Hajia Bola Muinat Shagaya, the prominent business magnate and celebrity matriarch clocks 55. Considering the fact that her life has been characterised by lofty accomplishment, attaining the age of 55 carries much significance for Shagaya. Her life itself is a milestone, in the sense that at the age of 55, she has achieved so much by dint of hard-work, dedication, determination and a belief in herself. She was ready to dare and she dared to fly.

Shagaya does not hesitate in admitting to the fact that she feels ecstatic at turning 55.  And she always attributes all of the credits to God for endowing her with a strong sense of humility and perseverance, which have seen her through the vagaries of life.

Shagaya strongly believes that it takes the grace of God to succeed. 

Shagaya is arguably, one of the most formidable businesswoman in Nigeria. Her tentacle spreads across oil and gas, photography, banking and real estate.

Born into the prominent Salman’s family of Ilorin, Kwara State, Shagaya attended Queens’ School, Ilorin and Ahmadu Bello University, from where she bagged a degree in Economics. Later, she bagged a second degree in Economics and Accountancy from Armstrong College, California. Consumed by a quest to enhance her knowledge of Management Technology, Shagaya also attended Harvard Business School, United States. Shagaya has participated in many local and international seminars and workshop 

Before she ventured into the business world in 1983, Shagaya had worked at the Audit Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria. She started by importing and distributing photographic materials such as roll papers, films and chemicals and operated under the trading name, Bolmus International Nigeria Limited. Shagaya introduced the Konica brand into the Nigeria market and other countries in West Africa. In 1997, she set up Fotofair Limited and opened a photo laboratory service centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, using a 100% Japanese technology under the Konica brand name. Like an octopus, Fotofair has grown with many tentacles of over 40 laboratories spread across the country. Clearly, this places the company in the league of the largest photo laboratory companies in Nigeria.   

 A leading importer of base oil into the country, Shagaya is the Managing Director of Practoil Nigeria Limited. This is set up to meet the needs of some of the local lubricant blending plants in the country. Presently, Practoil has structured a lubricating plant in Lagos, which is expected to produce multi-grade oils and lubricants. Shagaya, who is one of the directors in Unity Bank, also looms large within the real estate sector. She owns a sprawling estate in Abuja and many commercial properties and real estates in Lagos.

Shagaya is a professed Polo enthusiast. And over the years, she has been supportive of the Polo Tournaments in Nigeria. A mother of five boys, and a grandmother of one, Shagaya is regarded as one of the most stylish women in Nigeria. She also invests so much in building friendship with many women from various tribes and class within the society. 

Sheri Williams, a prominent lawyer and younger sister of Keem Bello-Osagie, is one of Shagaya’s closest friends. ‘Bola is a very hard working woman. She has her head on her shoulders and she is focused.  I have known her for almost 25 years. She is humble and gentle and is always willing to assist her friends’’, she says. This fact was further corroborated by Nike Makinde, whose friendship with Shagaya has spanned 30 years. According to Nike, who is the first daughter of General Adeyinka Adebayo(Rtd),’Bola is always active in other people’s lives. She is a good person. I admire her sense of loyalty and humility. 

 In her own assessment, Zainab Waziri Mohammed describes Shagaya as a quintessence of humility. ‘She is just too humble. I really admire her for that. God has placed so much in her hands and she is so unassuming. That is really instructive’, says Zainab, who is the former wife of the late Alhaji Waziri Mohammed, the former Chairman of Nigeria Railway Corporation. However, in the word of Bimbo Alase-Arawole, the Managing Director of Leatherworld, another of Shagaya’s close friend, ‘Bola is very hard working and focused. I have known her for 20 years. At 55, I expect her to start a new life afresh. She has laboured so hard to build what God has placed in her hand. It is the dawning of a new day for her and I believe greater achievement awaits her in future’, she says. This sentiment was also shared by Pelebo Banigo, Shagaya’s close friend. However, Pelebo, who is the wife of King Ebitimi Banigo, the former Minister of Science and Technology, avers that, Shagaya, having worked so hard in build her business empire, should recline and slow down in her pace. "I hope she will slow down a bit and enjoy the fruits of her hard work. Lately, she has been doing a lot of philanthropic works. This gives her a sense of fulfilment and joy. Bola is a woman other women should be proud of. And I am really impressed with what she has been able to achieve in her life. God has been good to her and I believe there are still greater achievements coming her way’, she says.