Background
Chief Ashamu was born on the 14th of August, 1924, to Chief Agbankin Ashamu of Oyo, a Yoruba tribal chief in Western Nigeria.
Chief Ashamu was born on the 14th of August, 1924, to Chief Agbankin Ashamu of Oyo, a Yoruba tribal chief in Western Nigeria.
He attended Durbar School, Oyo, and the Grammar School, Ilesha. He later studied Pharmacy at Yaba Higher College, graduating in 1951.
He was a pharmacist by training and was the owner of Industrial Chemists Limited, Lagos. He rose to become one of most prominent businessmen in Africa, with interests in agriculture, banking, transportation and real estate. He started work with the Nigerian government as a pharmacist at the Orthopaedic Hospital, he later left and joined Lion Chemists as a manager.
In 1954, he became the managing director of Industrial Chemists in Lagos.
Chief Ashamu was a pharmacist by training and was later the owner of Industrial Chemists Limited, Lagos, among many other prosperous businesses. He was board director of Oke-Afa Farms, Oyo Feeds Corporation and the Nigerian Explosives and Plastic Company, all of which he had majority shareholding.
He was also the owner of Igbeti Marbles: there are two types of marble available in Igbeti. The pure white marble and the gray white marble.
Both are of very high quality with about 98% purity.
The Ashamu marble deposit extends up to 25 km square
In the 60s, he delved into the real estate sector and was involved in land development including Ire Akari estate, Alausa Lagos and many areas of the Yoruba land. His landed property spanned across Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Ashamu established Oke Afa farms which was the largest poultry in the country in 1976 and also Oyo Feeds and Premier Farms.
At the height of the business, it employed up to a 1,000 people.
Premier Farms specialized in Maize plantation at its Okaka Farm, Ikoyi, Igbo-Ora, Oyo state, much of the produce is then sold to Oyo feeds which turn it to Animal feed and sell much of it to Oke Afa farms. Oke Afa then sold commercial meat and chicken to eateries and the military.
However, by the late 1970"s, the agro-business ventures were hampered by import restrictions that curtailed the availability of feed ingredients. A devout Christian, Chief Ashamu was the patriarch of a large extended family and known as a revered leader in his community.
Chief Ashamu died on the 20th of August 1992.
At his time of death he had an estimated Netto worth of $50 million United States Dollars.