The tragic death of Dr Ameyo Stella Shade Adadevoh from the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Lagos on Tuesday, August 19 is still a fresh wound in the heart of those close to her. One of those hurting most is Bankole Cardoso, the only son of the physician who died aged 57. So serious is his grief that the young man is presently on a leave of absence from work.
Twenty-six-year-old Cardoso is the founder and chief executive officer of Easy Taxi Nigeria, a mobile service which allows users to hail a licensed taxi in just one click. So distraught is he at his mother’s death that he has not been to his office in Lekki, Lagos since her passing.
Trouble actually began shortly after it was confirmed that Dr Adadevoh had tested positive for the Ebola virus on August 4. Some colleagues and friends of Mr Cardoso suddenly became cold towards him because of fear that he might have contracted the virus from his mum. The fear soon spread among staff of Rocket Internet, the parent company of Easy Taxi due to the general ignorance about the disease in the country.
Such fears have since given way to compassion. It has been established that Cardoso did not contract the virus from his mother, who has since taken on the character of a modern day saint. People close to the Easy Taxi boss informed QED that in addition to the goodwill of his company, the son of the deceased now has more people who come around to commiserate with him. A team led by Rocket Internet executives in Nigeria is scheduled to pay him a condolence visit at home preparatory to his resumption at the office.
Bankole is the product of Dr Adadevoh’s marriage to Afolabi Cardoso, a successful chemical engineer and brother of Yemi Cardoso, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Bola Tinubu’s administration. He celebrated his 26th birthday few days before his mother’s death.
Born in Lagos, the young Cardosos attended Corona, Ikoyi for his primary education. He also studied at Grange Secondary School before leaving to the UK for High School (GCSE & A-Level). He moved to the United States of America for his university education, attending Boston College (BC) –to study Accounting and Business Management. After his graduation in 2010, he moved to New York to work as an associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where he earned his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) credentials.
After PWC, he made the switch into Private Equity, joining the Global Market Strategies Group at The Carlyle Group – the biggest Private Equity firm in the world. He was at Carlyle for about 18 months and then moved back home to establish Easy Taxi Nigeria.
He was listed in Forbes 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs earlier this year and featured on CNN’s Startup.
