His Royal Majesty Alh. Dr. Ado Ibrahim was born on Thursday 7th February, 1929 to HRH Alh. Ibrahim Onoruoiza Atta and Hajiya Hauwawu Ozianuva. He is one of the 148 children of his late father and an only child of his Mother.
HRM Ado Ibrahim had a priviledged birth, and a disciplined upbringing with its emphasis on the work ethic. His father, according to him, gave his children
educatiom, the glory of work and high integrity. This disciplined upbringing with its emphasis on the work ethic ensured that, rather than lapse into a
scriptive explotation of the fact of their priviliged birth, the children will strive to achieve excellence in different vocations to meet the demands of a
changing social structure.
His enlightened father was a widely travelled traditional ruler of his time. By the late 1920s, he had toured West Africa, ZEurope, and Asia. He was a devout
Muslim, nonetheless, he believed that the Northern Nigeria of his day needed both Quranic and Western Education.
What he preached, he practised on his own children. So having first ensured that the young Ado Ibrahim completed his Nursery and Quranic education by the age
of eleven at the palace, he enrolled him in the Okene Native Administration (NA) School from 1934 to 1940 for his elementary education. HRM recalls that his
father used to attract pupils to this elementary school by providing two free meal on each school day.
Upon completion of his elementary education, he was admitted to Okene middle school in 1941. After spending two years, he moved to to the famous Ondo Boys
High school for his secondary education from 1943 to 1946. From 1947 to 1949, he moved to Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife where he completed his secondary
education. His favourite subject was Latin. This was not suprising because he hoped to become a lawyer as it was rumoured in those days that latin was the
best preparation for the study of law.
However, a legal career was not to be as he took his father's advice to move into a field not already elected by some of the other children. In 1950, he
accepted employment with the United African Company (UAC) as a special entrant for accelerated management.
Training courses designed by the company for selected secondary school leavers of Northern Nigeria. By 1952, he had successfully gone through the accounting
and Sales Department, and was promoted to the post of Manager at the Kingsway Stores, Kaduna. But this initiation into the world of commerce was too limited
for the restless spirit of the young prince. He could not be confined to the simple buying and selling transaction of a trader. He seemd cut our from a more
entrepreneual career of industrialist and investor; two domains of economic activity which have consequences for the advancement of the productive basis of
the fledgling national economy.
In January 1953, he quit the Kingsway stores and moved to Jos as Personnel Manager of Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria Limited (ATMN) in charge of the
maintaining operation area of Bukuru, Barkin Ladi and the Ropps.
In the same year, he attended the first Minning School in Jos and qualified as a Mining Prospector and Area Manager. Letr in the year, he was sent by the
company on a further technical training course, organized by the Anglo-American Mining Corporation, in Johannesburg, South Africa. On his return, he was
immediately promoted to Area manager and assigned the responsibility to excavate the Lead/Zinc Ore deposits at Izom in Abuja district, and to lead a team
prospecting for gold and base materials in the location.
Meanwhile, he had enrolled in 1952 as an external candidate for a degree of the London School of Economics, by utilizing the extra mural study facilities
organized by the British council in Jos. He combined his mining and prospecting duties successfully with the undergratduaate study programme and earned the
Bachelor of Science degree in statistics of the London School of Economics in 1954.
The following year, he won a Ford Foundation Sponsorship to undertake a six month course in marketing and business strategy at the business school of Harvard
University. On the strength of his performance, he was later readmitted into the Master's Programme of the school as a full time student. He thus earned the
celebrated Harvard MBA in 1959.
Having thus fortified himself with practical industrial experience and a sound academic training, this fellow Harvardman, on November 1st 1959, settled into
marriage with Miss Abimbola Solomon.
His entrepreneurial concerns have also been diverse and eminently successful. Some of the companies he has successfully established between 1962 and 1986
includes Ado Ibrahim and co Ltd (AICO) which is a mining company, Ado Ibrahim Investment and Properties Limited (AIIP), Bolado Limited, Veritas Insurance
Company Ltd and Nigus Petroleum Ltd in the Oil Industry. Prince Ado Ibrahim's Nigus petroleum Ventures has the distinction of being the first wholly owned
indigenous company to win international bids for direct concessions and the right, through merit, to lift crude oil. As a result of its involvement in its
own oil exploration and exploitation, Nigus was quietly being responsible for the training and development of indigenous manpower in the various areas of
petroleum engineering, technology and the like. some of the other business concerns in which he had involved as Chairman, Chief Executive includes the Ado
Ibrahim Organization 9comprising twelve active companies). Atlas Nigeria Ltd and Food Specialties (NIG) Ltd (one of the largest food and beverage manufacture
in Nigeria).
He was also the first Chairman of Kwara state Manufacturing Industry. As he grew in wealth, this devout Muslim has continued to give financial support to worthy causes. Higher education occupies pride of place among the worthy causes that have attracted University of Jos graduands philantrophy. In this regard, he systematyzed his altruistic activities in this area by establishing the Ado Ibrahim foundation awards of University Scholarships tenable within and outside Nigeria in a variety of disciplines.
..to be continued.
Culled with slight modifications from a book by Ebira Youth Peace Congress (EYPC) youth in diaspora (Abuja chapter) on His Majesty's 13th Year celebration as the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.
I salute His royal majesty for his good deeds in the past. With due respect what has he done to unify Ebira descendants as whole s/p throne?
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