Adedayo Isaac Akinrele: Life and Times of Nigeria’s Glorious Diplomat, Researcher

Bayo Akinloye

Dr (Chief) Adedayo Isaac Akinrele, MA (Cantab), FNIFST, was born in Ondo on May 19, 1934, to illustrious parents, the Venerable Archdeacon J.F. Akinrele, MA Classics (Durham), who was the second principal of Ondo Boys High School and founder of Independence Grammar school, Oka, Ondo.

His mother, Mrs. Victoria Akinrele, was born a princess from the Akinkugbe royal lineage. He had three siblings: Mr. Olufemi Akinrele, MA (Finance), Chief Frank Akinrele, (LLM) (SAN), and Chief Marshall

Akinrele, MA (Cantab), were all high achievers and highly regarded members of society.

He began his primary school education at St. Stephen’s School, Ondo, after which he transferred to the preparatory class of the Ondo Boys High School. In 1947 he was admitted to Kings’ College Lagos, where he was the college organist and conductor of the school choir, amongst other honours. He won many honours at the school’s festival of arts.

After passing the Cambridge Higher School Certificate in 1953, he was admitted to Cambridge University’s Selwyn College, where he graduated with honours in Natural Sciences and subsequently undertook Sciences Tripos in 1957. He excelled in sports and

was a long jump champion winning college competitions.

Following his graduation from Cambridge University, he completed a postgraduate course in food chemistry at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, which led to employment as an Analytical Chemist at J. Lyons and Co. in England.

Following his English Chapter, Dr Akinrele returned to Lagos to work for the Federal Institute for Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO). He started as a Research Officer in 1959 and became Deputy Director in 1968 before being named the first Indigenous Director in 1970, a position he held until 1976.

In addition to the degrees obtained at Cambridge and Imperial College, Dr Akinrele also obtained a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan whilst working at FIIRO.

At FIIRO, he initiated and led research into using Nigerian raw materials for local industries. An example of this is using hardwood trees from Ondo as raw materials for pulping paper at Iwopin. He also worked with his staff to investigate the malting characteristics of Nigerian grains, sorghum, millet and maise for the beverage industry.

This enabled breweries in Nigeria to substitute imported barley malt with Nigerian sorghum malt. The creation of the food product Soy-Ogi through soya bean fermentation helped create an alternative to the expensive imported Nestle products like Cerelac, which at the time dominated the baby food market.

Other successful research projects conducted during his directorship at FIIRO resulted in using cocoa butter for cosmetic creams, the moulding of local laterite earth into bricks and blocks for buildings and the mechanisation of cassava processing into garri.

Dr Akinrele’s projects whilst being a Director of FIIRO saved the Nigerian economy an immeasurable amount of money.

His achievements at FIIRO led to his European chapter as a diplomat. Starting in 1976, he was elected as the deputy director of the Centre for Development of Industry (CDI), signing the first Lomé Convention, which was a joint project between the European Union and the group of African Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP), aimed at the industrial development of underdeveloped regions, including areas of Europe.

After completing two terms as deputy director, he was elected director in 1985, a position he held until 1990. During his period at CDI, he helped in the establishment and strengthening of industrial enterprises and oversaw the identification of viable development projects, mainly focusing on the processing of local raw materials and optimising their factors of production.

He promoted joint ventures and all forms of cooperation between ACP and European Union economic operators, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises. Under his guidance, CDI gathered and disseminated information on the industrial

potential of ACP states and the economic trends of their industrial sectors.

He advocated for an economic environment that would stimulate foreign investment in the African Caribbean and Pacific countries.

CDI was also able to organise contacts and meetings between industrial promoters, economic and financial operators in the EU and Enterprises in the 66 ACP states. They identified possible funding sources and assisted in their mobilisation for industrial projects in the ACP states. In all, during his period as deputy director and director at CDI, he assisted in creating 191 industrial enterprises in the ACP states with funds sourced from European Union partners.

During his tenure at CDI, the institution’s name was changed to CDE, Centre for Development of Enterprise. This was to reflect the global economic shift from a production economy to a service economy. In 2016, CDE was incorporated into the European Union’s development framework ceasing to exist as an entity. On a professional level, Dr Akinrele’s election as Director of CDI made him at the time Nigeria’s highest-ranking diplomat.

Dr Akinrele received a number of honours for his work towards international development. In November 1988, he was conferred with the title of ‘Commander of the

Order of Merit’ in Senegal for his contributions to the development of agriculture and industry in Senegal. There is the Akinrele Auditorium in Lagos dedicated to him by FIIRO in honour of his achievements during his tenure as director.

He is cited in Africa’s ‘Who is Who?’ and also in the ‘Who is Who?’ of Western Europe.

Amongst other professional achievements and accolades at various institutions, he was president of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology and acted as the Nigerian delegate at the Assembly of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (1976-1978). He was a founding Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (1977); a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1976); fellow of the Institute of Biology, U.K. (1978-1990) and member of the Faculty Board of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, University of Ibadan (1972-1976).

He was an editorial board member of ‘Engineering and Technology’ published by the Institute of Scientific Information, Philadelphia from 1976 onwards and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, Oxford from 1989 onwards.

He published 62 scientific and techno-economic papers, inventor four industrial patents and contributed to two books on indigenous fermentation technologies. His national and international assignments were manifold. He was a member of the Council for Science and Technology (1970-1975), chairman of the National Expert Committee on Protein Rich Foods (1972-1975), and chairman of the UNIDO preparatory global consultation meeting on food processing in 1979.

After completing his mandate in Brussels, he returned to Nigeria and retired from the civil service. He spent his retirement working on projects, consulting for Nigerian and international firms and institutions. He enjoyed travelling, spending time with his family, and pursuing his hobbies. He was a member of the Cambridge Society in Brussels and the Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria.

He enjoyed his membership of the Lagos Motor-Boat Club, where he was an active sailor in his younger years. In his later years, he treasured the company of friends, his elder brother, Chief Frank Akinrele (SAN) and cousin, Ambassador Omotayo Ogunsulire. On Wednesdays, he could be found enjoying the breeze and regaling themselves with rib-cracking jokes in Ondo dialect.

He was known to be very fond of his cigars and had a passion for acquiring Jaguars. In his younger years, he could be seen driving himself along the boulevards of Brussels and the bustle of Lagos.

Dr Akinrele was also a keen musician and played the piano masterfully. Chopin and Beethoven’s classics were among the musical pieces he played. He was an avid sportsman and a member of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club as well as Chateau St. Anne International Club in Brussels. He enjoyed continuous academic pursuits and learnt to speak French fluently in his forties. He was a hard worker who also knew how to enjoy life. He fostered long-lasting relationships and was one of the most dependable and honest of men. His word was his bond.

He was a very charitable Christian who attended The Cathedral Church in Lagos. Along with his brothers Chief Frank Akinrele (SAN), Chief Marshall Akinrele and friends, he pioneered the Ondo Boys Club 75 to aid their hometown’s development. The project was very

dear to him in his final years.

His dedication to his birthplace was reciprocated with a chieftaincy award of ‘Babajoko of Ondo Land’ by the king of Ondo.

He was survived by his wife Funmilayo; children Lolade, Kayode, Bisola, Yewande, Kikelomo and Rotimi; and grandchildren Angela, Arin, Alex, Olaotan, Olamipo, Akorede and Akolade.

He will truly be missed.