OPINION: CHIEF EMMANUEL OLATUNJI ADESOYE (1938 - 2017). By Suraj Tunji Oyewale

Date: 2017-12-04

I opened Facebook today to read about the passage of Chief Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye, Asiwaju of Offaland, Founder of Okin Group of Companies (Okin Biscuits, Okin Malt etc) and Proprietor of Adesoye College, Offa.

Although I was aware he had been battling health challenges in the last few years, I was shocked at the news of his death that filtered into Offa-sphere today.

We all grew up knowing Chief Adesoye as the richest man in Offa. Almost everyone agreed he was the richest man in the community. He was the poster boy of wealth in the community. He was the example on the lips of everyone when it came to wealth. I'm talking about the 1980s through the 1990s, and probably earlier for those that knew the era.

In fact, some school of thought - which I was part of as a curious kid with imaginary knowledge of the men of timber and calibre in Kwara state - used to rank him as the second richest man in Kwara state after Prince Samuel Adedoyin (Doyin Agbamu) of Doyin Group.

I formed that opinion after reading in 1997 a 1986 edition of Herald Newspaper when Kwara State did its own edition of what was called Industrial Development Fund, where each of the 19 states gathered then who-is-who in their states to pool funds together to fund industrial development. Chairman of the Kwara edition was Chief Adesoye while Prince Adedoyin was the Chief Launcher. Adesoye donated N150,000 while Adedoyin donated N160,000, the two biggest donors. In Bendel state edition, Esama Gabriel Igbinedion donated N1m and it made the front page the next day. Of course, MKO Abiola, at Ogun state version, was the national highest donor.

Reding about this event 11 years later made me form the opinion that Adedoyin and Adesoye were the richest Kwarans of the era because each state put its best feet forward for this event organised by the military government. I was a naive 15-year-old when I read old newspapers on this 1986 event, but I think the basis of that opinion had merit.

In classes, we would spend hours arguing on who is richer between X and Y, who was the richest man in Kwara and other childhood fantasies.

I would later outgrow such arguments starting from the early 2000s. If you ask me who is the richest man in Offa or Kwara today, I will just tell you I have no idea. I don't know anyone's bank account or net assets. We have Forbes to reference now, even if Forbes doesn't do local ranking.

That was during the days of innocence.

Adesoye was well-schooled. He finished from OGS (my alma mater too) in 1958 before proceeding to England to study Quantity surveying, making him the first qualified Quantity Surveyor in Northern Nigeria and the second in Nigeria.

He was Kaduna-based for the better part of his youthful years before relocating home to Offa in the 1990s.

He owned the famous Okin Biscuits and Adesoye College. Okin Biscuit was unarguably the most popular biscuit in West Africa in the 80s through early 90s. His Adesoye College, which he founded in 1987, arguably redefined private secondary education in Nigeria. Before the Lekki British Schools and the Dowen Colleges of this world came, Adesoye College had made a name for itself as the secondary school of choice for the richest Nigerians. No less a person than then-President Babangida had children in that school then.

He put Offa on the map of Nigeria.

He sited most of his businesses in Offa, more for social than economic reasons.

When his wife died at 57 in 1997, Offa was practically shut down with dignitaries from all over Nigeria attending the burial. I personally witnessed the event (his church was just beside our secondary school, so we went to feed our eyes). TY Danjuma was there.

I remember Herald Newspaper cast their reportage of that event in the next day's edition: Exit of a Virtuous Woman.

After the death of Chief J.S Olawoyin (one of Awo's disciples) in 2000, the title of Asiwaju (usually given to the most important personality in a town) was, deservedly, given to him.

He also replaced Professor M.O Oyawoye (Africa's first professor of Geology) as National president of ODU (grand body of all Offa indigenes) around the same time.

I had the opportunity of meeting him one-on-one and interviewing him in, I think, 2002 when as the first president of my set of OGS Old students (2000 set), we the excess paid him a visit in his sprawling mansion in Offa.

That house, which he named Olohunkuse (Thank God for a job well done) House, is another fairy tale house. When he opened the house in the mid-1990s, it was (and probably still) the most palatial edifice in the community.

Like many other businessmen of his generation, most of his businesses, Okin Biscuits inclusive, experienced bad fortunes as he grew old.

Chief Adesoye died today.

There goeth the pride of Offa.

Offa mourns.

 


Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

AbdulFatai Adeniyi Dan-Kazeem     Taibat Ayinke Ahmed     Oyedepo     Orire     Agboola Babatunde     Olawuyi     Mohammed Haruna     Dasuki Belgore     SARS     Kazeem Adekanye     Sheikh Hamzat Yusuf Ariyibi     Amina El-Imam     Isaac Aderemi Kolawole     Kayode Ogunlowo     Ajakaye     Nagode     Ethical College     Ayo Salami     Afonja     Onilorin Of Ilorin     Dorcas Afeniforo     Oloruntoyosi Thomas     Justina Oha     Jeunkunu-Malete-Bani     Summit University     Henry Makinwa     Kwasu     Salmon Babatunde Salmon     IF-K     Damilola Yusuf Adelodun     COVID     Kwara North     Binta Sulyman     Sarah Jubril     Afin Descendants Union Of Odo-Owa     Olupako Of Share     Olayinka Oladapo Jogunola     Yeketi     Bilikis Oladimeji     Aliyu Alhassan     Awodun     Lawal Olohungbebe     Facemasks     Bayer AG     Umar Danladi Shero     Shola Odetundun     Labour Party     Femi Gbajabiamila     SUBEB     Bolaji Nagode     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants Ltd     Abdulquawiy Olododo     Federal Allocation     Read With Me     Agbarere     John Mayokun Dada     HICA     Saka Abimbola Isau     Abdulquowiyu Olododo     Makama Of Kaiama     Valsolar Consortium     Fareedah Dankaka     Kwara Consultative Forum     Dan-Kazeem     Kola Adesina     Mohammed Danjuma     Tunde Akanbi     Olohungbebe     Kwara TV     Gbenga Adebayo     Halimah Perogi     Abiodun Abdulkareem     Kemi Adeosun     Ilorin Emirate     Kwara State Government     Ilorin International Airport     Idris Amosa Saidu    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Ibrahim Gambari     Vasolar-Kwara Company Ltd     Sherif Shagaya     Gwanara     Funmilayo Zubair     Atiku     Durbar     Kwara State Council Of Chiefs     Adamu Jemilat-Baki     Isiaq Khadeejah     Rex Olawoye     A.G.F Abdulrasaq     Mohammed Yahaya Barki     Joseph Bamigboye     Titus Suberu-Ajibola     Okin Malt     Fatai Garuba Labaka     Minimum Wage     Kpotum Mohammed Baba     Obasanjo     NaAllah     Raliat Islamic Foundation     Facemasks     Mohammed Danjuma     Shaykh Luqman Jimoh     Saba Jibril     Laboratory-to-Product     Societe Generale Bank Of Nigeria     Aminat Ahmed     Abdulmalik Bashir Mopelola Risikatullahi     New Naira Notes     Ilorin East     Sidikat Akaje     Tunde Kazeem     Bello John Olanrewaju     Daud Adeshola     Alfa Yahaya Road     Abdulkadir Bolakale Sakariyah     April 11     Isiaka Alikinla     Shuaib Jawondo     3MTT     Olateju Lukman     Code Of Conduct     Mahfouz Adedimeji     Dauda Adesola     Samuel Elizabeth Keatswa     Pategi     Kuliyan Geri     Sa\'adu Gambari     Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund     Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu     Kisira     Edret Sabi Abel     Senior Staff Union Of Colleges Of Education     Garment Factory     Playing Host     Atunwa     Nigerian Army     Ilorin Central Mosque     Kwara Central     Toyin Falola     Ganmo     Kazeem Oladepo     Patigi Regatta     Mutawali     ASMAU PLAZA     Umar Gunu     Kwarareports     REO CAKES     Al-Ilory     Dunmade     Fatimoh Lawal     Kola Adesina     Abiodun Abdulkareem     Peter Obi     Aisha Ahman-Pategi