High Chief Adewunmi Ogunsanya, the Odofin of Ikorodu Kingdom, is a mystery; a mystery in the sense that unless you are close to him, it will be difficult to know who the real man is in terms of his personal philosophy.
He is a mystery in the sense of his humility, affluence, brilliance, comportment and has a large heart for his community.
Dewunmi’s humility is beyond description. For many decades this enigma has lived in our community, not until July 29, 2022, that the Oriwu Sun press crew, led by Chief Monzor Olowosago, met with him, no one imagined how humble and principled High Chief Dewunmi Ogunsanya is. When Dewunmi was billed to become the Odofin Erujeje of Ikordu, the questions on the lips of many was; will he have the time to perform the traditional duties?
Would he mingle and get along with traditional chiefs? What was his motive for accepting the Odofin title, the fourth to the Oba in hierarchical order- the Oba, the Olisa, the Aro and the Odofin? But many were proved wrong since High Chief Dewunmi ascended the throne of the Odofin of Ikorodu. He has not only being active, Dewunmi has immersed himself in the duties of the Odofinship, with everything he has.
Today, he has upgraded the traditional title to the highest level and has made the status of Odofin rise to a higher peak where anyone who aspires to occupy the traditional office would have extreme high expectations to meet.
Dewunmi Ogunsanya has redefined the office of the Odofin and raised the bar so high that only few people in the society would be able to fill the chasm, a rare precedence that has recorded a new dynamics. In this engaging interview with the enigmatic High Chief Dewunmi Ogunsanya in his penthouse office at Ikoyi, Chief Monzor Olowosago, Publisher of Oriwu Sun; Alhaji Mufutau Jimoh, Editor of Oriwu Sun and Ramson Acheme, News Editor, took on the philanthropic first class traditional chief where he shared his bigger plans for his Ikorodu homeland. In this rare exclusive interview with the publisher, Chief Dewunmi spoke about his likes, motivation, recent development projects in Ikorodu and other ongoing projects he is currently executing for the people of Ikorodu.
Spoke on his daily routine, personal philosophy and dream for his Ikorodu hometown. Below is the transcription as recorded.
Enjoy it!
Q: Can we meet you sir?
A: My name is Odofin Adewunmi Adedeji Ogunsanya Abdulwakil. I don’t have initials like my brother (referring to Chief Monzor) who goes by the initials MKO. All laugh
Q: What motivated you to accept the title of Odofin of Ikorodu?
A: It is a family title; the Odofinship goes to designated families in Ikorodu. It is not a ceremonial title, it is a traditional title.
The Lasunwon and Redemo ruling houses are the two families who have birthright to the title and my father and great grand fathers have occupied the office during their time. For me Ikorodu comes first in everything I do, I have to take up the responsibility. My family is very important and comes first, I see Ikorodu as very important.
Q: Ever since your assumption of the throne as the Odofin Erujeje of Ikorodu, what have been your challenges?
A: A lot. Like in every other situation there are challenges. It is a set of new challenges for me, leaving my comfort zone, shuttling between Ikorodu and Lagos and foreign trips, are all new scope to handle at the same time.
Ever since I became the Odofin, I became a triad, juggling all three areas of my duties together (businesses in Lagos, Chieftaincy affairs in Ikorodu and Foreign activities). I have moved from one aspect of life to another where I have to strike a balance between all three. It is a transition into another aspect of life to another aspect of life. It is very demanding, unlike political office where you can leave after a short while, this traditional title is permanent and I have to girdle up and continue working for my community.
I have resolved to serve Ikorodu, and that I will do. You must realise that whenever you are committed to a job, you will enjoy doing it. The challenges of the traditional title are things I have to do.
Q: Was there any point you were fed up with the Odofin duties and felt like throwing in the towel?
A: That is a very delicate question. Well, let me tell you this, if you are on a mission, you have to be focus. I know what I am required to do as the Odofin of Ikorodu and I am determined to endure any challenge that comes with it. These are some of the hazards of the title, retiring, giving to the communities, sharing my time, attending meeting on community affairs and many demanding activities.
Q: As a successful lawyer of great repute and a busy businessman, one would expect that you would not have time for the traditional office, how do you manage the whole distinct duties?
A: You have to create time for what you want to do. This is my hometown and the traditional duties are pertinent for me. I create time for it. Yes, it is very tough; sometimes, you don’t have time for yourself, as every time is work. The Odofinship title retired me, yet I work a lot. My sleep depends on the time I have to sleep in a day. I don’t have the luxury of counting the hours I sleep in a day. Now that I am officially retired from some of my business ventures, I work from home mostly. I delegate duties to responsible deputies and assistants. Interestingly, my children have come off age and they are prepared and competent, so they help manage my businesses. I have raised three lawyers and an architect who are now helping me oversee my business ventures.
Q: You are so humble and approach people with humility, is that a kind of gimmick to curry good public image, or would you say it is part of your personality?
A: I am not a politician, why would I want to impress people. You should have met my parents and you should meet my children; you will be shocked by their humility. My children for in stance, they are very unassuming and don’t appear like children from affluent home. They don’t live extravagant lifestyle and they work hard to forge their own paths. Humility is a trait that runs in the family.
Q: Being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an international business mogul, your traditional role requires that you work with other traditional chiefs who are not as educated and exposed as you are, how would describe your relationship with them so far?
A: When you are on a mission you have to be focused and not allow people distract you. Before I accepted the title, I knew what I was getting into. It is what I have chosen to do, and I am prepared for the duties. Hurting people and getting hurt is one of the hazards of the title. We may offend someone during discussion and all of that, we will resolve and continue with the community affairs.
Q: Presently, you are building an academy in Ikorodu, How much do you plan to invest on the public institution?
A: We are building a massive vocational centre for indigent students in Ikorodu. The facility is in progress and can admit about eight hundred students where they can learn arts and craft, printing, fashion designing, ICT, etc., and keep them gainfully occupied. As part of the programme, we shall give twenty million naira worth of scholarship to students on annual basis.
We are preparing to launch the first edition of the scholarship this year and commission the vocational centre at the same time. I entrusted the organisation of the vocational center and scholarship board selection to the Ikorodu Development Resources Group (IDRG), because they have reputable people in the division who can handle such a delicate affair.
The programme shall feature in the entire Ikorodu Division; from Igbogbo, Ijede, Ibeshe, Ishawo, Imota and the six local council areas. We lay emphasis on primary health centres where we will teach people the art of good living such as preventive measures against diseases.
People must learn how to safeguard their health by purifying their drinking water, personal hygiene, and sharing health tips. This is our next chapter after we would have commissioned the vocational centre.
Q: How much does the vocational center cost you?
A: Building the facility alone cost a fortune. We are investing huge some in the infrastructure and we still have more to do. (Called on the project manager for actual cost estimate of the ongoing building in Ikorodu). Contract value of the vocational academy costs about 1.3 to 1.4 billion naira. We have a hostel that currently has gulped over four hundred million naira and yet the building is still at the wet stage, we have not begun installing other accessories and appliances in the hostel.
Q: Where is the vocational centre/academy located in Ikorodu?
A: It is situated along Gbagidan-Mowo-Nla Road, Ikorodu. Built on a 15 hectares of land I bought 22 years ago.
Q: What inspired you to embark on building the academy?
A: There are security challenges in the society and we have made moves to sanitize the society, but how do you do this without providing support for them. That is why I have to provide the vocational centre to help train the youths in arts and craft, IT, and many other vocations, to keep them gainfully busy.
Q: Before your ascension of the office of the Odofin, you promised to rehabilitate the bike/okada riders around the Ikorodu, Ajina and other areas in Ikorodu, have you taken steps in that direction?
A: This is one of my greatest challenges in Ikorodu and I am going to overcome it by the grace of God. It is one of the greatest challenges of Ikorodu, today. It is high time we clear the Ikorodu Roundabout and bring some sanity to traffic in the community, safeguard people’s safety and lives. The plan to rid the round about is in place, but we have to approach it carefully. You have to understand the plights of the bike riders and roadside sellers before clamping down on them. Most of the roadside sellers don’t have money to rent a shop, that is why they resorted to encroaching on the roadside. We can’t deny them their livelihood, we have to plan how to set them up before taking action. We have to create for them alternative means of livelihood before we clear the place. Some of the women who sell by the roadside hawk items worth so little, that their entire wares may not worth more than five thousand naira, yet this money play a huge role in their life. They are not robbers and they are not endangering the society, they are trying to make decent living for themselves. Hence, we are making necessary plans to settle them before moving to the next stage of clearing the place.
Q: You are a member of the Exclusives Club and once showed interest in joining Oriwu Club, is that correct?
A: Exclusives Club would always be Exclusives, and Oriwu Club will always be a junior to Exclusives. I am a member of Exclusives Club and we are considering merging with the Prestige Club. They have what we want and we have what they need.
Q: What can people do to get on your nerve?
A: I am a very different person; I don’t allow such things bother me. It is hard to find me keeping malice with someone or bearing grudges. Nothing borders me about what people do. Lies from others don’t bother me because that doesn’t add value to me. Whoever does right will reap the consequences of his actions. I focus on my personal issues, whoever lie to me is hurting himself, because it doesn’t affect my life.
Q: How many staff do you have?
A: Now that I am retired, I can barely know the number of staff. Those working in my law chamber are my immediate staff, but for staff of the franchise firms like Heritage Bank, Multichoice Nigeria and many others, I can’t tell their population. My son who is now in charge, can give a more accurate figure.
Q: What is your best food sir?
A: Egusi! I can eat Egusi soup with any kind of food. Nobody should be asking that can of question in this age (what is your best food?). People are prone to illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and many related sicknesses. However, we all have to be conscious of the choice of food and how we eat these days. Moderate intake of food is sufficient each day. With the rate of highly processed and chemically grown crops, we have to eat healthy and moderately. I may be considered slightly overweight by contemporary standards, so I select my food and choose what I eat.
Q: How did you become the chairman of DSTV, a South African company in Nigeria?
A: There is this misconception by many Nigerians that DSTV is a South African company. That is not true. DTSV Nigeria Limited is a Nigerian firm, just as South Africans own DSTV South Africa Limited. By standards of our indigenization laws, Nigerians must have the highest stake. Nigerians own DSTV Nigeria, we have the largest shares. DTSV Nigeria, has its roots as a joint venture in Nigeria. Multichoice Nigeria is a full-fledged Nigerian firm, just like PZ Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria and many others; they are all quoted in the Nigerian Stock Exchange as Nigeria Limited.
We met by accident in 1993, 29 years ago, when I was in the business of selling satellite dishes. I was the chairman until recently when I retired and my son, Fouad is now in charge and vice chairman of Multichoice Nigeria.
Q: You once owned a bank as well, what happened? What are your other investments today?
A: Yes, I owned Midas Bank until we merged with First City Monument Bank during the CBN merger policy. Now, I am diversifying into agriculture. We have plans on building the largest farm in the country where we will grow cash crops like vegetables and other essential crops and livestock. I have five hundred hectares of land in Agbowa where we are building the farm facilities. Hopefully by next year, we will commence production in the farm.
Q: You are now investing more in Agriculture, how large is this?
A: In terms of Agriculture, it is multidimensional. We have farms all over the place; we have cows, sheep, goats, poultry, and vegetable farms in Agbowa. Our new poultry farm will, hopefully, be the biggest in the country come next year, where egg outputs will be at over three million a day. The poultry is established on five hundred hectares of land.
Q: Who are your mentors and role models?
A: God is my mentor and role model. If I want to follow the cliché, I would say my father, mother or mention other notable people, but the fact is every human has his limitation, only God is the ultimate.
Q: You are a powerful dresser, how much do you spend on your clothing and cars?
A: I am not; people like you, MKO Monzor, give me cloths. (Both laughing). I don’t know how much I spend on cloth. I don’t count material things. I have lovely cars but I don’t make them priority.
Q: You seem not to be interested in politics, why?
A: Politics is a no-no for me. I am not cut for politics. Politicians are there to serve the people; I don’t have to be a politician to serve the society. Everyone can serve the society through their profession, be it journalists, imams, bishops, teachers, senators, etc., everyone contributes to the growth of the society through their services. You (referring Chief Monzor) are a community journalist and you have been on the vanguard of our community, that is service to the people, and that is what matters.
Q: Are we right to describe you a multi billionaire?
A: No! To me, wealth is not measured in dollars and pounds, I don’t count money in the amount I have in the bank, it is the number of hearts I touch that matters. If you cannot touch people’s life in the way people would say this man helped me, you are not wealthy. So, I am not a billionaire.
Q: Can we describe you as a ladies’ man?
A: Of course, every Ikorodu man is a ladies’ man. We are following your example (referring to Chief Monzor), are you not a ladies’ man? I can’t even follow up with your standards. If I follow the footstep of my egbon like you, that will be something else.
Q: How is a day with you like, what time of the day do you work?
A: I don’t have fixed itinerary, I work based on the time zone of the country I am dealing with. The time zone for America, England, South Africa and other places where I have business dealings are not the same as Nigeria. Our night here maybe working hours over their and I may be on call attending to business any time of the day.
Q: It was gathered that you once owned a football club in Ikorodu, what has become of the club?
A: (Laughs). Yes, that was true. I founded the defunct Ikorodu United Football Club, also christened Adewunmi Ogunsanya United. The club used to cost me over three hundred million naira per annum, but the players and those who ran it were not serious. I built a 16 flats of four-bed room bungalow estate for the staff at Parafa. The 70 staff comprised of two expatriates, ex-Super Eagle stars like Peter Rufai and some of his colleagues, permanent doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and other supporting staff. They were the highest paid football club in Nigeria as at then. I bought brand new coaster buses for them and did everything possible to make their jobs easy. I really pushed for the Ikorodu stadium and the LASPOTECH stadium to be built by the sports commission so that the team would have access to standard playground. But all that went down the drain.
Q: How has being your relationship with Oba Shotobi since you ascend the throne?
A: The Kabiesi is my brother, we are family. We are related on both paternal and maternal sides and we get along very well. Our relationship is like a Catholic marriage, we can’t be divorced. At the palace, I join other chiefs to advice the Kabiesi for the development of the society.
Q: You have read Oriwu Sun newspaper for some time, what is your impression of the newspaper and the publisher?
A: I will not say much about the publisher than that women love him. (All laugh). I have always read Oriwu Sun. Whenever I come to Ikorodu, I will always request that they get me copies of Oriwu Sun so I could get update of things in town. The paper is a trailblazer, which have been consistent for decades. I am not saying this because I am with the publisher right now, Oriwu Sun has been consistent, it is of good quality. Where the publisher is not doing right is that he is not taking the younger ones along, he has created a big shoe to fill. He has set standards and the quality is great in Ikorodu Division. He needs to show the younger ones how he has done this feat.
Inside High Chief Dewunmi Ogunsanya’s king-like, palatial mansion
For some time now, I have been requesting for a personality interview with High Odofin Dewunmi Ogunsanya and he always, politely, turned me down. He would always say that he has never granted press interview for personal reasons and I really understand and respect his decision.
However, as an aggressive journalist, I have to keep knocking until I have access to him, especially now that he is a notable man in the affairs of things and has continued to play key role in the development of Ikorodu Division. I tried to convince the High Chief that this is a community media and the kind of interview we will have with him is about the grassroots development, which he is passionate about.
He agreed to grant us the interview but never approve any date. While I was still exploring ways to make it happen, just few weeks before the 2022 Sallah (Eid Kabir) in June, he promised to grant the interview after his return from London.
I kept my fingers crossed and looked on in anticipation. Things turned out positively when I met him recently and on Wednesday June 28, 2022 he asked if I would come to his residence in Ikoyi for the interview. Unknown to me, the invitation was a test of my patience. I later found out during the interview at his Ikoyi residence.
I alerted my reporters that we are leaving for Ikoyi and made them got ready. Early the next day, we set out for the trip to Ikoyi, we tried to work on our previous schedule and reworked our itinerary for the day.
It was a sudden invite but a very important one I can’t afford to miss, so, we worked around the events of the day and left Ikorodu at about 11 a.m. the Lagos Island epic traffic is a condition one would always prepare against. Hence we have to leave the venue of one of the events of the day for Ikoyi.
The agreed time of meeting with Odofin Dewunmi was 2 p.m. and we had less than three hours to navigate through the traffic.
While my driver snaked through the heavy traffic through to Ikoyi, I reviewed some of my questions and briefed my reporters. We made it to Ikoyi 2:30 p.m. in the day and were received by the heavy security guards at the gate. After a security clearance, we drove in and parked. Lo and behold, the sight of the palatial mansion was breathtaking. My reporters were mesmerized as they saw fleets of exotic cars ranging from Porsche, Ferrari, Royce Roys, Range Rover Discovery, Land Rover, Mercedes Benzes, and some rare brand of cars. There were armed security men patrolling the premises and the place was amply safeguarded with modern security gadgets like digitized electronic door locks and circuit cameras.
The butler of the mansion, Alhaji Abdulwasiu Animasaun, courtly welcomed us and ushered us through the massive door, into the reception. The interior of the palatial mansion indicated that the structure could only be built by British architects, as the spacious parlour and reception area echo sound from any corner one speaks from. A well-read personality like Dewunmi Ogunsanya who was schooled in the United Kingdom surely has taste for sublime art works.
The high collections of artwork are testaments of his erudition and royalty. There were pottery artefacts vases of special origin under the two giant twin staircases in the massive sitting area.
The foyer holds life-size mirror, reflecting a giant size painting of a Nigerian top artiste. On the floor is a clean, vacuumed Persian rug and exotic translucent chandeliers hung from the top. There were different sections of seating arrangements in the ground floor; the reception has many areas furnished with exquisite upholstery chairs, dining sets, couches and art works.
His king-like mansion is a treasure trove just like the ones seen in the houses of royalties in Britain, collections of Asian pottery, African elephant tusks, oriental treasures and occidental pieces, litter the place. Between the twins ornate staircases laid a hide of Zebra serving as a foot mat to a large piano. In a section of the waiting room were photo gallery of the billionaire and his immediate family members. The gallery hosts more than one hundred portraits of our host and his family members.
The butler took us around for sightseeing in the backyard, where we saw beautiful settings of large swimming pool, playground for kids, manicured lawn and beautiful trees. Odofin Dewunmi is also a lover of nature; he has over fifty species of flowers and other floral plants, well cared for in his compound. Flowers could be found in every corner of the interior as well. Living plants of rare species are fond in every section of the mansion, all tucked in glass verses, ornate jugs and pots. While savouring the beauties of the mansion, the Odofin Erujeje of Ikorodu appeared from the first floor in his impeccably white attire.
We were treated to choice food as caterers prepared assorted food for my reporters and me. The industrial size kitchen is equipped with modern gadgets, utensils, silver cutleries, paintings, flowery curtains, two cushion chairs, window curtains, bar chairs, television set, and an inbuilt dispensary. We had lunch on the dinning table, a massive dinning set large enough to host a banquet. Everyone had choice food, as the cook took orders and prepared the request with her kitchen assistant. After the sumptuous meal, we set out for his office. Odofin was gracious to invite me to ride with him in his Range Rover Discovery while my staff rode behind with heavy armed escorts. We drove to his penthouse office at the business district of Ikoyi.
The four-storey penthouse is the exclusive office building for his staff and franchise firms. His law office with team of his legal officers occupies the fourth floor while other floors are offices to his business lieutenants and associates.
We rode through the elevator to the fourth floor and he showed us around the various units and departments. His personal office had the taste of American glasshouse office, tastefully furnished with postmodernist luxuries.
We chatted for a while as he spoke about his business, retirement, the Odofinship in Ikorodu and his aspiration for the town. His level of humility and hospitality towards my staff and me amazed me. Odofin Dewunmi was prepared to host us for the day and he made sure we had warm reception. It was during our conversation he disclosed to me that his sudden invitation to Ikoyi was a test of how resolve I was to having the interview. “I thought you would find it difficult to come down to the Island, that’s why I fixed the meeting here, to my surprise, you agreed to come and made it here on time,” he confided in me.
I was surprised that the Odofin always read our paper, Oriwu Sun, and has observations to make. He said good things about my service to the division and by setting the pace for grassroots journalism.
While sharing his thoughts on the development of Ikorodu, I became convinced that we are going to see more developmental projects in the division as Dewunmi cleared his table and even retired just to have time for his Ikorodu homeland. The roughly four hours spent with the Odofin Erujeje were exciting and remarkable. It is one of the most memorable personality interviews I had in my carrier as a community journalist.
After our interview, his son Fouad came to the office and was courtly. Fouad is a darling. The unassuming young man is a workaholic like his father and thoroughly bred in Yoruba tradition. He bowed when greeting and spoke like the gentlemen he is.
My encounter with High Chief Dewunmi Ogunsanya was symbolical in many ways. It shows how the mighty with the heart of kindness would treat people and that affluent folks can be humane and live with others, irrespective of their social statuses. Dewunmi Ogunsanya was generous to my staff while we where leaving his office and he personally saw us off to the car park to bid us farewell.