It takes time and effort to build up a huge and respectable position in the society; it takes only a swift series of unfortunate events to destroy it. Chief Stephen Olakunle Bakare, the former billionaire auto dealer is dealing with this reality as he shields himself from the public glare.

The father of Lagos big boy, Muyiwa Bakare and owner of the moribund Oluwalogbon Motors is currently out of circulation. Those close to the one-time darling of high society intimate that he couldn’t bear to look at the ruins of his business empire; hence, he retreated into his anonymous cocoon.

Tunde Bakare

Recall that in his heyday, not only was he one of the top auto dealers around, he also owned a thriving Metropolitan Bank where most of the big boys used to keep their wealth. He was very close to former president Olusegun Obasanjo and spent a gazillion bucks on the latter’s campaign to become president.

But soon after OBJ’s ascension, things turned sour between them as Stephen was cast away to lick his wounds in private. Undaunted, he made a big comeback and splurged serious money on his wife Remi’s ill-fated bid to replace Bola Tinubu as Lagos governor in 2007.

All these spending without returns finally made his tap of wealth run almost dry. To add insult to injury, his businesses fell on hard times. Metropolitan Bank died at the altar of the CBN’s recapitalization exercise while Oluwalogbon Motors became an aged relic that could no longer keep up with younger, faster and more modern rivals.

Hence, Chief Stephen has packed his bags, bid the social scene adieu and reportedly retired to the ancient city of Ibadan. Not even his son, Muyiwa, the former MD of the moribund Metropolitan bank, can help restore his father’s former glory. He is playing his own game of cat and mouse with angry banks over alleged debt running into millions of Naira.