Industrialist, Politician and Philanthropist Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola (1902- 1995),the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu-Ode, with visitors at his Palatial Home ‘Onibudo House’ in Ijebu-Ode in the 70s

Together with Alhassan Dantata and Sir Louis Ojukwu, Odutola belonged to the first generation of Nigerian industrialists. He attended St Saviours Primary School Italope and Ijebu-Ode Grammar School.

He started work in the Colonial service and later went into business selling damask and fish. He became a Produce buyer opening large storage units and transportation lines.

In 1938 he served as chairman of the Nigerian Youth Movement in the Ijebu Division. In 1945 he represented the Ijebu province on the Legislative Council of Nigeria. In 1948 he was part of the Nigerian delegation to the Africa conference in London.

By 1960 he had created a multimillion-dollar conglomerate including three factories, a retail franchise, a cattle ranch, a 5,000-acre rubber and palm oil plantation, a sawmill, and an export business. He also had a gold exploration business in Ilesha.

Odutola was awarded an OBE in 1948 and later became the first President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. A great philanthropist, he set up schools, built a church and endowed Chairs at the Universities of Lagos and Ibadan.