Nigeria’s immediate past High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola OFR, has mourned the passing of Gopichand P. Hinduja.

Gopichand Hinduja, listed at his death, aged 85, as the richest man in Britain, was one of four brothers who took their father’s Indo-Iranian trading business and turned it into a vast international conglomerate. It spread across everything from motor manufacturing to their own banks and Bollywood film-making, and had a value put on it by this year’s Sunday Times Rich List of more than £35bn.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ambassador Isola said “I received with deep sadness the news of the passing of Gopichand P. Hinduja, an extraordinary global industrialist and a man of uncommon humility. His death is a profound personal loss to me.

“Our friendship began when he invited me to Diwali and expressed a remarkable confidence in Nigeria’s potential. He told me that, although he had never engaged closely with any Nigerian commissioner before, he had studied my work and believed that with my leadership, he could finally explore meaningful business with Nigeria.

“That conversation opened the door to discussions about establishing an assembly plant in our country, an initiative he pursued with genuine interest and commitment.

“Gopichand was a visionary leader whose warmth and sincerity transcended borders. He believed in partnerships rooted in integrity, and he saw the possibilities in Nigeria with clarity and hope.

“I will remember him as a friend, a statesman of industry, and a man who extended to me an uncommon level of personal regard. His legacy will endure, and the seeds of cooperation he planted will continue to inspire future engagement between our nations.

“May his soul rest in perfect peace.