Public Recognition and Honor does not come in a vacuum, when given, they are testament and acknowledgment of the contributions of the recipient a worthy cause.
Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola is one of whose life has continued to exemplify excellence and valour, he has continued to make obvious of the fact that he is a worthy role model, an icon of right living who embodies qualities which ranks him special and unique among his peers.
Also, he comes as a special breed with amiable interpersonal communication skills with endears many to him, not quite often would you see a man who can be objectively considered a perfect gentleman like him.
While his personal ethics and philosophy are ones which has continued to help him set the pace for excellence, with admirable results in any given assignment, he has also successful made himself a national treasure given success which he has been able to achieve as the nation’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Going by his records, his profile reads a brilliant story of a true classics.
As the son of Abeokuta’s Chief Ibrahim Isola Tairu and Hajiya Amudalat Ajiun Isola, Sarafa Tunji Isola grew up in a powerful household.
In 1981, he received his diploma from England’s Chartered Institute of Marketing. He got his education at both the University of Ilorin and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States. His academic background is in business, as he has an MBA.
First entering the workforce in 1983, Sarafa taught marketing, statistics, and economics at the Federal College of Education in Katsina.
After four failed attempts, he finally became the Chairman of the Abeokuta North Local Government Area in 1997, and he went on to lead the Conference of Local Government Chairmen in Ogun State. After that, he was put in charge of coordinating the chairs of local governments in the southwest.
Sarafa served as the Honourable Minister of State for Finance’s Special Assistant back in 1999.
Through the International Visitors Programme established by the United States Department of State in 2002, Ambassador Isola was granted access to the United States financial systems for the purpose of research. The tour stopped at the State Department, Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court.
New York, New Jersey, The University of Texas, The Commodity Exchange in Chicago, The Bank of America in Arizona, Silicon Valley/San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
He started working as Ogun State Government’s Secretary in 2003.
Ambassador Isola was given the position of Minister of Mines and Steel Development for Nigeria’s Federal Government in 2007.
On January 1, 2021, Sarafa assumed his position as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. His most recent position is as head of the Accreditation Committee for the Commonwealth Board of Governors.
Ambassador Isola has represented Nigeria in the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Malta, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Senegal, Togo, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Rwanda, Mali, Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’Ivoire at both bilateral and multilateral events.
Given his impressive profile, it’s no surprise to see the President, Mohammadu Buhari confer on him the “Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR)”, this indeed is a one well deserved given his salient contributions to the development and growth of the Nation.
