Omooba Yemisi Shyllon

Member, Board of Trustees

Omooba Yemisi Shyllon is a Nigerian art and culture enthusiast, art collector, philanthropist, and lawyer. He is also a chartered engineer, chartered marketer, and chartered stockbroker.

Shyllon is a prince of the Ake dynasty of Abeokuta, Ogun State. He is from the Sogbulu and Ogunfayo lineage of the Lararun ruling house of Ake in Egbaland. Omooba Shyllon is an alumnus of Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Engineering. After several years of practice as a professional engineer, his passion for legal studies drove him to the prestigious University of Lagos, where he earned his Bachelor of Law. He subsequently proceeded to the Nigeria Law School, Lagos, where he was certified as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He also holds an MBA from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Omooba Shyllon started his career as a sales engineer with Tractor and Equipment, a division of United Africa Company of Nigeria. He was later promoted to the position of Marketing Manager. Thereafter, he was appointed to the Board of Nigerite Limited as Marketing Director. He also served as Legal Adviser to the company.

Perhaps influenced by his royal background, Omooba Shyllon has a great love for the arts. This is well displayed in the zeal with which he appreciated and collected diverse forms of Yoruba and African works of art. Shyllon started collecting art as an undergraduate in 1975, using savings from his scholarship. Today, he is widely acknowledged to own the most balanced art collection, with over 7,000 artworks of sculpture, painting, and other media, as well as over 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s fast-disappearing cultural festivals.

Omooba Shyllon is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF), an organisation through which he manages his business or art collections. This organisation’s collection is put at well over 6,000 pieces of artworks encompassing all the five areas of Nigerian/African art, ranging from traditional and neo-traditional African art to contemporary painting and sculptures. He also annually sponsors scholars, curators, and art historians from outside Nigeria to visit and study his collection, interact with Nigerian artists and other art collectors, and promote research into Nigerian culture, including other art forms of interest to scholars. He is widely recognised as the leading advocate of Nigerian art and culture.

No matter the metrics with which success is measured, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon is indeed a very successful entrepreneur. In terms of wealth and affluence, he has made a fortune through his art. Also, in terms of brand recognition, Yemisi Shyllon is a household name among contemporary artists and art enthusiasts in Nigeria and Africa. Essentially, he remains one of the few art collectors with holdings of the oldest Nigerian and African art. The artworks in his collection are dated from as early as the 9th century and as late as the 21st century. He has within his vast estate works of such reputable artists as Aina Onabolu, Akinola Lasekan, Ben Enwonwu, Okaybulu Eke, Nike Davis Okundaye, Charles Shainumi, Okpu Eze, Clary Nelson Cole, Kolade Osinowo, David Dale, Simon Okeke, Isiaka Osunde, Abayomi Barber, Olu Amoda, El Anatsui, Ben Osawe, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Lara Ige-Jacks, Susanne Wenger, Theresa Akinwale, Uzo Egonu, Jimoh Akolo, Lamidi Fakeye, Uche Okeke, Erhabor Emopkae, Kunle Filani, Tola Wewe, Yusuf Grillo, Adeola Balogun, Olawunmi Banjo and Oresegun Olumide. His large contribution to the growth of art, endowment of Yemisi Shyllon Professorial Chair in Arts and Graphics, training of contemporary African artists, and invaluable contributions to the growth of the art community are pointers to the fact that he is a successful entrepreneur.

Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon is a cultural icon and a great promoter of African art. His interest in art as a tool for promoting African identity and relevance to global civilisation singles him out in the art community. This has, in no small measure, carved a position of reference for Africa in the global art community. Thus, while the world is fixated on Western arts and artists in the calibre of Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Michelangelo Buonarrotti, and Johannes Vermeer, Shyllon has discreetly pointed the world's attention to the error of neglect of African art and the great works of African artists across times and ages.

Moreover, Shyllon has contributed greatly to the empowerment of young African artists. Through his training workshop organised in partnership with the University of Lagos, Shyllon has discovered, nurtured, and empowered many artists, some of whom have become well established in their respective chosen art careers. This has provided a solution to one of Nigeria's greatest problems – unemployment. Besides, he has successfully launched several Nigerian artists into global prominence by providing them with a platform to showcase their works to a global audience. For these artists, nothing can be more fulfilling.

In addition, Omooba Shyllon is a lover of education. This has been conspicuously displayed through his invaluable contributions to the development of universities across Nigeria. A good instance is the case of the University of Port Harcourt, where he endowed a professorial Chair at the Faculty of Humanities. Also, his establishment and funding of Nigeria's first privately-funded museum at Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, that is worth over N3 billion is a unique gesture and a testament to his love for university education. This is not to mention his donation of sculptures to public places in some universities in Nigeria.

As an art collector, culture enthusiast, and investment expert, Shyllon has reiterated his position on the place of tourism in economic development. As Chairman of Gateway Tourism Corporation, he made indelible marks in the tourism sector of the state. One of his lasting legacies is the redevelopment of Olumo Rock as one of the best and most patronised tourist attractions in Nigeria. At different forums, he has advised Nigerian leaders and called on investors to look in the direction of tourism as a means of sustainable economic development in Nigeria.

Omooba Shyllon holds an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from the University of Port Harcourt. On December 3, 2022, he was also conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Pan-Atlantic University.