By Mikail Mumuni
Alhaji Chief Ibrahim Isola Tairu, father of Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, was installed as Olori of Ilugun Muslims, Baba Isale of Okeona Muslims and Otun Alhajis in Egbaland in 1975.
After installation, he was flanked in this iconic picture by the staff of office of the Alake, Kabiyesi Oba Gbadebo 11 and the Osile, Oba Adedamola and the staff bearers (akoda Oba), on 26th of July 1975.
Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola OFR, a 15-year young boy at that time, was the bearer of the sword inherited from his grandfather, Chief Buraimoh Tairu, the Otun Egba.
Chief Buraimoh Olaleye Tairu : Balogun Ilugun – (1906 – 1913), Otun Egba – (1907 – 1913) (11th in the picture above) was a member of Egba United Government under Kabiyesi Oba Gbadebo 1, and Grandfather of Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola OFR , the Tayese Okeona-Egba and Tayese Egba from year 2005 to date.
*Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola *
Sarafa Tunji Isola was born into the family of Chief Ibrahim Isola Tairu and Hajiya Amudalat Ajiun Isola of Abeokuta.
He graduated from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, England in 1981. He attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, USA, and the University of Ilorin. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Sarafa started his working career as a Lecturer in Marketing, Statistics & Economics at the Federal College of Education, Katsina in 1983.
In 1997, he was elected the Chairman of Abeokuta North LGA, at the fourth attempt, and was subsequently elected the Chairman of the Conference of Local Government Chairmen in Ogun State. He later became the Coordinator of South-west Local Government Chairmen.
In 1999, Sarafa was the Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of State for Finance.
In 2002, Ambassador Isola was invited by the USA Department of State on a study tour of the USA financial systems through the International Visitors Programme. The tour took him to the Department of State, Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Bank – New York, New Jersey, University of Texas, Commodity Exchange – Chicago, Bank of America – Arizona, Silicon Valley/San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
In 2003, he was appointed the Secretary to Ogun State Government.
In 2007, Ambassador Isola was appointed Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In 2021, Sarafa was appointed the High Commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom. He recently became the Chairman of the Accreditation Committee of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth.
Ambassador Isola has represented Nigeria in bilateral and multilateral engagements in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Malta, Czech Republic, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Senegal, Togo, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Rwanda, Mali, Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’ Ivoire.
Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola is happily married with children.