Men of immense wealth and substance don’t like to be kept waiting. Every minute wasted is precious to them, it’s like money wasted. They are a stickler for keeping to time. I was running late for a big interview with Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu, a man widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential billionaires. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Traffic was not expected to be heavy, but, somehow, the gentleman who was supposed to lead me to Baba’s Banana Island home was caught up in traffic on Ikorodu road and that impacted badly on our schedule. By the time we stepped inside the incredibly breath-taking home of Baba Adebutu, we were well over an hour behind schedule.
With slightly wobbly legs, we were ushered into his presence. I braced myself for possibly the fiercest tongue-lashing I would ever receive from an upset interviewee. I was also half-expecting that, out of anger, he would promptly reschedule the interview before dismissing us. But it turned out I were wrong about this amazing man.
Looking incredibly young for a man his age and dressed in a sparkling cream coloured Agbada with his trade mark long gold chain dangling on his neck, he was the coolest Octogenarian I had ever met. The man fondly called ‘Baba Ijebu’ by millions of Nigerians who adore him to no end, responded with a slight nod of the head when we greeted him. He was relaxing alone in the exotic looking living room with a couple of fruits placed in front of him. I couldn’t help but notice how resplendent he looked in his nice looking traditional outfit. And his skin? It glowed and sparkled like the body of a well nourished infant. He had the most beautiful skin I had ever seen on an eighty seven year old man.
“Why are you coming so late, you people kept me waiting?” he asked us. His voice was not harsh. It was soft, yet firm. For a fleeting moment, I was nervous. I feared the worst could happen. A reschedule or outright cancellation of the interview would shatter me to no end. This was a life time opportunity I didn’t want to miss. It was my partner, whose fault it was that we came late, that began to explain that he had been held up in traffic. Baba Ijebu simply took one look at us as we apologized profusely and then said, “You should’ve taken the traffic into consideration, you know this is Lagos,” he paused for a moment and then said, “sit down, who is doing the interview?” I said it was me. He said, “I will give you just 20 minutes.”
And that was all. No display of anger. No rescheduled appointment. I couldn’t believe my luck. The man is an enigma. Though I had heard so many people say wonderful things about him, I still didn’t expect to meet a man so absolutely pleasant. By the time I was done with the interview, we had struck an unbelievable chemistry together. And needless to say, I didn’t spend 20 minutes talking to Baba Ijebu, he ended up giving me well over one and half hours of his time! That was how much he enjoyed the interview. That short spell I spent in his presence remains one that I will personally cherish for the rest of my days. Baba Ijebu made the interview so much fun. For an 87 year old grandpa, his memory still remains extremely sharp. His ability to dig deep into his memory, retrieve significant moments of his past and recollect vividly places, people, dates and events was uncanny. But most astonishing of all, I found this quiet billionaire to be exceptionally humble and warm. And also very intelligent and articulate too. Little wonder he was top of his class while he was in school. By the time I had exhausted well over one and half hours engaging this fascinating man with an intimidating personality, I had extracted from him a master piece of an interview that can only best be described as a collector’s item! Baba told me everything about himself, no holds barred. His story is one many young people will find inspiring.
To many, Kesington Adebutu represents several things. For some, he is like a constant rock of support. He represents hope for a better life. And indeed, he has transformed millions of lives through his flourishing lottery business, Premier Lotto. His legacies, his philanthropic efforts, largely through his foundation, the Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation (KAAF) will certainly be talked about for very many years to come. In this very engaging interview, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) reveals the many parts of Kesington Adebutu a.k.a Baba Ijebu, many don’t know.
Not so long ago, sir, you clocked 87. How do you feel having spent 87 glorious years on the face of the earth?
I feel very grateful to God for sparing my life up till this very moment. I feel so grateful because when I look back and I remember my school mates, my town mates back home, many of whom are no more, for that reason, I have every reason to be thankful to God for His mercies upon my life, for sparing my life to this day. I shall always be grateful to God for that.
What are some of the lessons that life has taught you, sir? What are some of the principles of life that you hold so dear to your heart?
The lesson life has taught me is that one should be satisfied at all times. It’s unlike these days that the younger ones are too much in a hurry. They don’t want to crawl before they walk and it’s practically impossible. If you have a baby today, the baby must crawl before walking. But that’s the exact opposite with our children these days. They don’t want to crawl before they walk, they are too much in a haste. And it shouldn’t be so.
There is no doubt, sir, that at 87 years of age, a man with such immense means and status as yourself must’ve faced a lot of storms in life. Looking back, what would you say was that big challenge that you faced at some point and you overcame and today you are pleased with how you handled the situation back then?
When I was in the working class, I stumbled onto a book that said, whichever job you do, you would have to leave it one day, either because of old age or be cause of a sack by your employer, or for one reason or the other. Somehow, you just have to leave it. In conclusion it says, but in a small business that you own, even when you leave it, you leave it to yourself. Which means, in a small business that’s your own, when you leave it, you leave it in the hands of your children. This is what gingered me to decide to be on my own. But of course the problem was the capital, it was not there. However, after a lot of deliberation with myself, soliloquizing a lot of times in my private moments, it came to my mind that the only business you could do at that time without much capital outlay is pools agency. As a pool agent, all you require is your table and your pen, and of course you have to put the table somewhere. Luckily, I had enough money to hire a shop at that time. It was just about three pounds then. That was all the capital I needed, along with the table and my biro. And luckily again, the shop being close to my house, the shop was at Bada Street, I was living at Olodeokuta Street at the time. If you know Alakara area of Idioro very well you will understand better. I got the shop at Bada street, they know me very well in the area, so the patronage was enormous.
That was how I started. And human beings being what we are, we always want more. Within a short time, I got a second shop at 42 Fashoro street. I still remember very well, almost opposite Ola-Olu supermarket. Not too long after, I got the third one at Ijaiye Street close to WAEC office. And that was how I continued to open more and more branches. So, that was the first challenge I faced in my life. I wanted to go into business but I didn’t have the capital, but luckily I discovered a business which didn’t require too much capital outlay. Now, for the pools agents, most of them were not really educated. I took advantage of my little knowledge to take statistics and records of how much sales I made, how much is the money, how much is the balance, and I realized it’s a very good business. So, soon enough, I changed from being a pools agent to a promoter. Back then, the pools business was dominated by Lebanese and with my little knowledge, I started to put up advertisements which the others didn’t do and one particular advert helped me a great deal and the advert says, “Winner or loser, your money remains in Nigeria.’ My company was named Face to Face Million Dollar Pools Limited. So, we are saying, when you play Face to Face Million Dollar Pools, win or lose, your money remains in Nigeria, which was telling them that if you play the Lebanese coupon, they will take your money to Lebanon. That was the breakthrough.
How long did it take you to successfully break into that sector, especially as it was dominated by Lebanese? Did it take just a few months or a year or thereabout?
Not too long. It didn’t take long because, believe me, Nigerians were happy that at last, there was somebody, a Nigerian, who could compete with the Lebanese. So, they took me as a messiah and they gave me good patronage.
When you first came to Lagos back then, sir, what were your initial dreams? What were your initial aspirations?
I wanted to study Law but unfortunately the opportunity was not there for me. When I was in school, I mingled with a lot with politicians. TOS Benson was my mentor back then. Anytime I was suspended in school because of politics, I would run to him at Thurbon Avenue at Yaba, that’s where he was living then at Yaba. So, I wanted to study Law but I didn’t have the opportunity. But politics excited me. I’m talking about the days of Action Group and the others of that time.
I have read your profile and several stories in the media that revealed you were a brilliant young man when you were in school, you must’ve felt quite bad that you couldn’t fulfill your aspiration to read Law, how difficult was it for you to abandon your dream and dive fully into business?
Well, the means wasn’t there, so there was nothing I could do. I was in school, I couldn’t sell myself to send myself to school. My parents couldn’t send me to England.
How did that make you feel at the time as a young man who wanted to be a lawyer and had no plans of going into business?
I didn’t really feel bad because by the standard of my town, which is Iperu, my parents were not poor. But of course, when you now compare them to folks living in the city, where the standard is high, it wasn’t quite the same. By Iperu standards, my parents were not poor. My mother was a distributor of John Holt in those days, UAC, selling cigarettes, kerosene, beer, etc. So, they were not really poor, but of course, it wasn’t easy to send a child overseas in those days, so I don’t blame them for anything. They really took care of me and I’m very, very grateful to them.
You mentioned a while that TOS Benson was one of your mentors. I was wondering, who were those role models you were looking up to at the time you were going into business? Who were those billionaires of that time that had some positive influence on you?
There are quite a number of them. In those days you are looking at Ayo Shasanya, you’re looking at the Ajidahuns, there were quite a number of them making waves at that time.
What kind of young man were you, sir, back then? Were you like any other young man who had fun, played pranks or you were always keeping to yourself, staying focused on your dreams?
As a young man, I was free. I did everything too. I did everything most young men did but of course in moderation.
Who were the musicians at that time that you really liked?
The musicians? Oh, my God! (Laughs) in those days, we liked and thoroughly enjoyed the music of Tunde Nightingale, Ayinde Bakare, Barrister, while the likes of Sunny Ade and Obey came on board later.
What about foreign music, who were those ones that you really liked then?
Yes, there was James Brown, but then, we were mostly listening to Ghanaian musicians. Later we had the likes of Victor Uwaifo, Victor Olaiya. Those were the people reigning in those days. It was later the Bobby Bensons and others started to reign.
Let me put you on the spot here, sir. I have seen pictures of your younger days and even at 87 years of age, one can easily tell that you must’ve been one very handsome young man back then. And coupled with the fact that you were a brilliant young man too, you must’ve had lots of ladies flocking around you. So, daddy, did you like girls a little at that time when you were young?
(Laughs) Of course, now! I would be surprised if there is any man who doesn’t like women. Yes, I had fun, but like isaid, in moderation.
And I’m sure the ladies liked you too, sir, because you were intelligent, handsome and very sociable..
(Smiles) Listen, my mother spoilt me silly. My mother bought me a new Raleigh bicycle which I rode to school every day. I am not sure you would understand what it is to own a Raleigh bicycle in those days. I’m talking about the early 50s. Raleigh bicycle then is like a car. And Raleigh was the best brand of all bicycles. In my school, I was the only one who had a bicycle, so you can see how jealous the guys must’ve been about me. And I attended a mixed school, Remo Secondary School.
How would you compare the Lagos of those days to the Lagos that we have now?
Lagos was a good place in those days. We played football on the streets. What is Marina of today, we played football there every day. I don’t know if you still recall Royal Exchange close to the Cathedral Church at Marina, there was a public tap there. Whenever we played football and we were tired, we opened the tap and drink. There was school bus. Not these days when you have to struggle to get a bus to school. Back then, we get to school with our uniforms still looking as clean and as fresh as it was when we left home. Lagos was a really good place. During our younger days, there was discipline. We ate rice only once a week. Now, I see kids eating rice two, three times a day. In fact, from Monday to Saturday, you have only two pence to buy ‘ewa agoin’. Then, Sunday is like a festival, you take either yam or bread. And when you talk of bread in those days, I’m talking about the late 40s, early 50s, you’re talking about Sharkleyford bread, that was the most popular bread in those days. I could go out any time of the day, any time of the night without any hindrance or disturbances.
Who were some of your friends that you grew up with and are still with you today?
At Iperu, which is my home town, I will talk of people like Kunle Ope- Idowu, he’s now late. I will talk of Phillip Shomade. In actual fact, at school, you know people used to bring food to the school to sell, only three of us used to eat meat with our food; myself, Kunle Ope-Idowu and Phillip Shomade, any other student who ate meat then, we bought it for them! Because our mothers, as I said, by Iperu standard, we were very okay. And you know we had different way of getting money from our mothers then (winks as he beams with smile) Then, in Lagos, you can talk of Molade Thomas of blessed memory, George Akin-Holloway, the Johnsons, the Onigbanjos, and so on and so forth. But I think I’ve lost not less than 95 percent of them. I’ve lost a whole lot of them and this is a big worry for me.
Do you miss them sometime?
Of course, I do. I miss them all the time. You know, your old time friends, you have to miss them. We have nicknames for each other back in school, but nobody can call me my nicknames anymore because they don’t know my nickname. But my school mates, they know these nicknames. I miss them so very much.
Can you share with us some of those funny nicknames that your friends called you in school?
(Breaks into laughter) You want to know?
Yes, sir.
(Still laughing) They called me Chop life. Some others called me Kessy Bobo. I saw an advert on my birthday by Apostle Salako, he took a full page advert and called me Kessy Bobo. But I’m sure he learnt about that name from somewhere because he is a much younger person, he couldn’t have known about the nickname unless he heard it from someone. So, only few people who are close to you will call you by your nicknames.
I will like to know, sir, what part of your childhood prepared you for the humongous success you have achieved today and enabled you to carry it so well such that you can hardly hear anyone say anything negative about you being arrogant or snobbish, all you hear is that Baba Ijebu is an incredibly compassionate and humble human being?
Again, it is the grace of God. Up till now, I still have friends who quarrel with me when I show respect to people younger than me by according them respect in the Yoruba way of speaking. They will tell me, don’t you know he is your junior? And I tell them this is my way of life. You see, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I thank God today, I have much more than a silver spoon in my mouth. But I never forget where I am coming from. I remember those days when I would collect my salary and use it to pay for foodstuff I had taken on credit before the month ended. And the same thing will be repeated the following month, eating on credit. And from the first day of another month, you start paying your debt all over again. That is why I always sympathise with those people who are in that position today because I know where the shoe pinches. That is what gave birth to my foundation. I found it very necessary that I give a helping hand o the less privileged. What do I want to do with the money? Apart from eat, take care of my family and make myself comfortable, what do I want to do with the money? Do I keep it somewhere and when I pass on the children will start using it to pay lawyers bill? So, the need to reach out to the less privileged can never be over-emphasized.
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