Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin
Shyllon, is a Prince of Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State of Nigeria. He hails from
the Sogbulu and Ogunfayo lineage of the Laarun ruling house of Ake in Egbaland.
He graduated with Second
(2nd) Class Upper division in Engineering from the University of
Ibadan, Second (2nd) Class Upper division in law from the University
of Lagos, Second (2nd) Class Upper division from the Nigerian law
school and the overall best, in his MBA class at the University of Ife (now
Obafemi Awolowo University).
Prince Yemisi Adedoyin
Shyllon is a legal practitioner, chartered member and fellow of professional bodies, such as
the Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Directors, the Institute of
Management, the Institute of Stock Brokers, the body of Engineers, and others,
including patron of visual art within and outside Nigeria. He holds a
honorary Doctor of Letters degree (D.Litt), of the University of Port Harcourt,
Nigeria.
He has participated in
conferences, workshops, trainings, delivered lectures and presentations in many
notable educational and corporate institutions in technical, law, management
and marketing functions across the globe.
In 1981, immediately
after graduation with an MBA, Prince Shyllon worked as marketing research and
market development manager and later as marketing manager with Tractor and
Equipment (division of UACN PLC). In 1983, at 31years of age, he was
appointed executive director (marketing) of Nigerite Ltd, a subsidiary of ETEX
group and introduced policies that influenced the marketing strategies applied by
many subsidiaries of this global conglomerate in thirty (30) countries of the
world. He served
for twenty four (24) years in that position and during which
for some years, he combined this position with being the legal adviser of the
company. Within his years as executive director of Nigerite Ltd, he served as
chairman of Ogun State radio and television stations,
where he left some significant landmarks at establishing Nigeria’s first state
owned FM radio station (OGBC FM Stereo) and introduced benefiting policies with
observable lasting legacies. He was also at different times, the chairman of Ogun
State Investment Corporation and Gateway Tourism Corporation. Notably as
chairman of Gateway Tourism Corporation, his board facilitated the
redevelopment of the Olumo rock into its current state as a major tourism site in
Nigeria.
He served as a member of
the 1989/90 UNIDO sponsored strategic industrial development committee for
Nigeria under, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi as chairman, that fashioned out some strategic
economic development plans for Nigeria and was also a member of the 1994 Chief
Chris Ogunbanjo led committee for fashioning out a development plan for Ogun
state of Nigeria. He has served as member of the transition committees of
incoming governments of Lagos state (1999) and Ogun State (2003) for fashioning
out working blueprints for their incoming administrations. He is a member of
the board of the University of Ibadan Advancement Center.
Prince Shyllon is
currently a non-executive director of the Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac, among
others. He combines his boardroom, law practice and management engagements with
a committed devotion to showcasing and promoting Nigerian art and culture to
the world and has served as a member of the National Heritage Council and
Endowment for the Arts in Nigeria.
He is currently
establishing Nigeria’s first privately funded public museum for the
benefit of Nigeria, at the Pan Atlantic University in Ibeju, Lekki, Lagos,
Nigeria, which construction is at its finishing stage.
Prince Shyllon is widely
acknowledged and globally ranked, to hold in his foundation, Nigeria’s largest
and most balanced private art collection, with well over 7,000 artworks of
sculptures, paintings and other media, as well as over 55,000 photographic
shots of Nigeria’s fast disappearing cultural festivals. His foundation
annually, sponsors scholars, curators, artists and art historians from outside
Nigeria to visit and study his collection, interact with the Nigerian people
and environment, and promote researches into Nigerian
culture through this. So far, his art foundation by the name of “Omooba Yemisi
Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF)”, has sponsored some twenty five (25)
fellows and artists in Nigeria and from the USA, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana,
Germany, Switzerland and Austria to work in Nigeria on their artistic and
scholarly projects.
In 2012, a Professorial
chair in visual art was endowed by Prince Shyllon, at the University of
Port-Harcourt, Nigeria and his foundation is the sole sponsor of the global
on-line journal of African art, titled, “The OYASAF Journal of Art (TOJA)”, for
global intellectual discuss of African art with its editors and trustees drawn
from frontline academic institutions around the world.
In June 2016, “The
Yemisi Shyllon Professorial Chair” for fine art and design, sponsored a one week
exhibition of the over 2000years old Chinese sculptures and photo diary of the
Chinese Qin dynasty, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Prince Shyllon is the
joint author of a 200 page art coffee table book among other
publications. His foundation has donated some notable life size sculptural
monuments to public places and institutions in Nigeria, notably among which,
are the eighteen (18) life size sculptures, at the Freedom Park in Lagos,
Nigeria and huge & prestigious monuments at the Universities of Lagos and
Ibadan of Nigeria.
Prince Shyllon is a
recipient of numerous awards and recognitions and is widely travelled. He has
made presentations about African art in major art fairs in some different parts
of the world.
Prince Yemisi Adedoyin
Shyllon D.Litt.
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