Ex-Lagos Governor’s son, Olaolu Mudashiru’s sad exit

Without warning, the most promising members of the society are being tapped on the shoulder, seemingly at random, by a grim reaper. Of course, the skeletal figure, who is often shrouded in a dark, hooded robe, shows deference to no one, irrespective of class or social clout, as it carries a scythe to “reap” human souls. That’s what it did last Sunday morning when it took the life of Dr. Olaolu Mudashiru, Co-Founder/Deputy Managing Director of VETIVA, one of Nigeria’s leading Capital Management firms.

Laolu, consummate businessman and eldest son of former Military Governor of Lagos State, the late Air Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru, was killed following a freak accident —hit by a car driven by unknown person— on Gerrard Road in the upscale neighbourhood of Ikoyi, Lagos, that Sunday morning, doing what he loved most: riding his bicycle. The charismatic and bubbling businessman was fond of cycling, leaving his posh Banana Island apartment early in the morning and cycling all over Lagos.  On the unfortunate day, he was with two other professional cyclists when a supposedly drunk driver allegedly rammed into their bicycles and sped off, leaving them with very serious injuries. Laolu and the two other cyclists were rushed to the Lagoon Hospital on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, where Laolu eventually died from injuries to the head. The news of his painful passing sent shock waves across the country with a slew of his celebrity friends pouring a string of emotional tributes just as they expressed deep concern on the gradual withering of the country’s intelligentsia and upper social class.

Laolu’s journey home to mother earth started Monday with a wake and night of tributes at The Harbour Point in Victoria Island, Lagos. It was well attended by family members and friends including Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Ibijoke. The deceased was committed to mother earth after a funeral service was held at the Anglican Church of Nativity inside Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday December 20 and followed by a private interment with strictly family members and close friends.

A UNILAG-trained medical doctor with an MBA from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, the late Laolu, fondly called Dr. Bob, runs Vetiva Capital Management and was a top member of the Pitstop Community before his untimely death.