About two years ago, Prince Bolu Akin-Olugbade, the Aare Onakakanfo of Owuland, took delivery of his brand new Rolls Royce Cullinan, which at the time was the latest from the stable of the British Automaker, Rolls-Royce.
The Rolls-Royce collector was the first African to book the high-riding SUV and also the first to receive it. The exclusive but very glamorous ceremony to unveil and present the car to him held at the residence of the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria at Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Before taking delivery of the super-luxury SUV that looks every bit as rich as the select few who can afford it, Prince Akin-Olugbade had other models of the Rolls Royce including the Phantom, Wraith and Ghost amongst others, all with customised number plates “BOLU 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…”
A successful lawyer with a doctorate in Company Law from Cambridge University and an unabashed lover of high-end Rolls Royce cars, Dr Akin-Olugbade is globally reputed as one of the largest collectors of Rolls Royce.
He disclosed in an interview some years back; “I bought my first Rolls Royce in 1984 and now, I am on my ninth Rolls Royce. I believe in dressing well and I travel a lot.” His 10th, the 2019 Rolls Royce SUV called the Cullinan was among the first to roll out of the Factory in December 2018 and was the first to be made for Africa.
In January 2021, the flamboyant man of means died from COVID-19 complications. His death shook the social establishment to its fabrics. Had death requested money, the Ogun State-born Prince would have wilfully doled out millions of dollars. Even though he is a certified billionaire, he doesn’t like to be called one.
As he said in a dated interview, having only $250 million in cash and a few more millions in other currencies should not qualify one for such appellation. But death did not enter into any negotiations with him or his loved ones; it just snatched him from an isolation facility where he was being treated for the global pandemic.
With his death came the challenge of managing his mouth-watering and expensive fleet.
