Alabukun, one of the oldest drugs in Nigeria and even is still very relevant and popular today. However, not many know the Jacob Odulate aka Blessed Jacob, a Nigerian pharmacist, inventor and entrepreneur and the brain behind the brand that has remained relevant selling in all parts of Nigeria, Benin republic, Cameroon, Ghana and some parts of Europe.
1. Jacob Sogboyega Odulate aka Blessed Jacob was born into a polygamous family in 1884.
2. He was originally from Ikorodu in Lagos State but later moved to the neighbouring Ogun State.
3. At age 14, he trekked for three months from Ikorodu before reaching Abeokuta to establish himself.
4. Blessed Jacob managed to create a brand from what served as his consulting room and workshop in Abeokuta. His modest headquarters was at the Sapon Area, not far from where he later built his famous three-storey building in Ijemo Agbadu.
5. In 1918, he invented the legendary Alabukun powder which is now a hit in the world’s most populous nation and in other West African nations.
6. He sent his children to study at some of the best universities in Durham, Newcastle, United States of America and London. e.g Mrs. Folake Odulate (later to become Chief. Mrs. Folake Solanke) who is the first female lawyer in Nigeria to wear the silk and she also became the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In 1966, she established the first law firm by a Nigerian female at Ibadan, Oyo State and named it Alabukun Chambers in honour of her great father.
7. Apart from making the drugs, the energetic Blessed Jacob also produced other brands like Alabukun mentholine, other preparations and an annual journal called Alabukun Almanac which was widely distributed in Abeokuta and eventually all over Nigeria between the 1920s and 1950s.
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