On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, at about 10:00am a phone call came from the palace of the Oba of Ikorodu that myself, Otunba Ayodele Elesho and Chief Kaoli Olusanya would be among the delegation to visit a noble daughter of Ikorodu, Dr. (Mrs.) Folorunsho Alakija, acclaimed as the richest woman in Africa.
The phone call named others in the delegation which consist Kabiyesi, His Majesty, Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi, his wife, Kudirat, Aremo Adeniyi Ogunsanya, his wife, Modupe and Olotu Lasunwon ruling house, Chief Sunday Ogede.
I was told that the visit was to Dr. (Mrs.) Alakija’s office at Victoria Island and that the meeting time was 1p.m on that day.
I was excited by this invitation, for the fact that it would be an opportunity for me to meet a distinguished daughter of Ikorodu, whom I have written so much about in my newspaper, Oriwu Sun, but haven’t met her one on one. Quickly, I accepted the palace invitation and began to get ready for the visit the next day.
On Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at about 11am, the Kabiyesi’s delegation left Ikorodu for Victoria Island, Lagos.
Trust the Ikorodu monarch, Oba Kabir Shotobi, who keeps to time on appointments, we stepped into the magnificent premises of Mrs. Alakija’s office by 1:00pm on the dot.
The first thing that struck me was this mighty office complex in front of us. It is so huge that you would think you are in the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA. The mighty office sits on a vast expanse of land electronically guarded in terms of security. Call it a highly wired or highly secured environment, it is a place everyone aspiring for success would dream of and wish for.
We soon observed that the entire twelve (12) storey building is electronically monitored and controlled like the Energy House we visited in North Carolina in January/February 2016, during a business trip to the United States of America. You cannot enter any portion of such a building without an electronic card or pass.
The delegation was welcomed by a team of polite, intelligent, well cultured, handsome/pretty young men and women, each of who was well dressed. They were already waiting for us before our arrival and knew exactly what to do at every moment to attend to every one of us.
The protocol officers were as efficient as those in a presidential palace. Their dressing was exquisite.
We were ushered into the electronically operated lift and taken to the 6th floor of the giant building, where we were welcomed to the conference room, another extraordinarily beautiful place to behold.
This reporter has been to different parts of the world and attended various conferences, but this was the first time I would see a ‘Vee’ shaped conference table with classically designed chairs.
As we sat down to await our host, the magnitude of God’s kindness to this woman was what kept flashing in my mind. I ruminated on how mysterious God is in His distribution of gifts, talents and resources to mankind and how stupendously rich a woman could be, without being proud or arrogant with her wealth. I silently offered a short prayer in my heart, thanking God for her life and asking Him to bestow me with a similar kind of favour.
On the conference table were tea/coffee cups for each of us as the waiters/protocol officer stood around, eager to serve us before the arrival of our host.
As we settled down, each of us glanced out of the glass windows to see the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean far off while we could also see an exotic swimming pool at the basement of the building enveloped by the massive structures.
Soon, Mrs. Alakija walked in and all of us, except the Kabiyesi, stood up to welcome her. The Kabiyesi did not stand up to greet Mrs. Alakija because it is against the royal tradition and protocol and such gesture could belittle his position/office.
In all humility, Mrs. Alakija knelt down before the Kabiyesi and went round to shake hands with members of the Oba’s entourage. She never displayed any iota of pride or any snobbish tendency. Her wealth and nobility were set aside as she spoke and interacted with us`. Her body language portrayed modesty and simplicity.
Not long after she came in, her husband, Mr. Alakija, a man this wealthy woman adores, stepped in and greeted the delegation from Ikorodu. He did not stay long before he politely excused himself to allow us discuss freely with our daughter, Folorunsho.
When the meeting kicked off, Mrs. Alakija requested to speak in English. This was after Chief Ayodele Elesho had introduced members of the Kabiyesi’s entourage.
In between the session, this writer kept an eye on this woman of great substance, noting her beauty, her education and intelligence, her comportment, her powerful dressing, her vision, her oratorical skill, etc. She seemed to be a lady blessed all round by God; yet, unlike some wealthy people, who are pompous, saucy or arrogant, Mrs. Alakija is polite and does not carry her shoulder too high.
The business session began with an address by kabiyesi Shotobi, a humble, unassuming but brilliant monarch. He painstakingly told Mrs. Alakija the purpose of the visit.
The monarch passionately presented the request/expectations of Ikorodu people from their daughter to promote the development of the community. The Oba presented four options for Mrs. Alakija to choose from. They are: Folorunsho Alakija Leadership Academy in Ikorodu just like one built by Opral Winfrey in South Africa for Girls Education; Civic Centre; King’s Library and Completion of Ayangbure Palace Extension. Each of these options would further facilitate development of Ikorodu and environ.
Noting that Mrs. Alakija has been promoting education across the globe and helping people in need, the Kabiyesi stressed the area of educational development.
The monarch thanked Mrs. Alakija for the warm reception she gave the delegation and praised her global achievements, which have brought reputation to Nigeria and Ikorodu town.
After a lengthy session/deliberation, Mrs. Alakija responded to the requests in impeccable English. She looked at the four option given to her and when it seemed that she would favour education, the Oba chipped in that Ikorodu also desires the kind of girls academy, which popular US TV star, Opral Winfred built in South Africa.
Mrs. Alakija did not give a straight response. It was neither yes nor no but her body language suggested she would oblige the request. She told the delegation that it was the tradition of her Alakija family to table any issue before the rest of the family for decision taking and promised to give Kabiyesi a feed back after consulting with them.
This pretty, brilliant and wealthy lady, who has bagged many awards including honourary doctorate degrees from several quarters, did not leave anyone in doubt that she supports promoting education, especially of the girl child.
As the meeting drew to a close, her polished aides began to serve the delegation with all kinds of delicacies – cakes, snacks, etc. Mrs. Alakija told her kinsmen and women that special treats would be packaged for each person to take home since there was not much time for lunch on that day.
During the interludes, the trio of Monzor, Elesho and Kaoli injected jokes and stimulated humour that pleased the small gathering. Mrs. Alakija enjoyed in the jokes, but whereas the men laughed loudly, she mused and smiled in the typical princely and royal fashion.
After the two hour meeting, it was time to go and the Publisher of Oriwu Sun, Chief Monzor Olowosago, gave the vote of thanks.
The eloquent Monzor told Mrs. Alakija that it was a pleasant opportunity for him, who had written a lot about her, to meet her in person and to be received warmly by her. He said that Ikorodu people are proud of this daughter.
Jokingly, he remarked that if the delegation had got a lesser reception, he (Monzor) would have excused himself to the rest room (toilet) and go to his car to wait for the rest to come out. He thanked Mrs. Alakija for being a humble and polite daughter and prayed for her continued success in life. He noted that though both he (Monzor) and Mrs. Alakija are age mates, she looks far younger and well blessed by God and prayed that this divine favour will rub on others, including himself.
Chief Kaoli Olusanya, Proprietor of Kith and Kin Educational Schools and a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, offered the closing prayer asking God to endow Mrs. Alakija with long life, good health and more achievements.
At the sidelines of the meeting, Chief Monzr made a formal presentation of a copy of Oriwu Sun to Mrs. Alakija, after which the delegation boarded the lifts (they are two) to the ground floor, where a thirty (30) minute photo session took place amidst banters, joke and pleasantries.
This session enabled us to take a better and closer view of this massive office structure. We learnt that Mrs. Alakija lives somewhere else but that some high profile people are also housed in the complex. Only God knows how many dollars they will be paying as rent.
What is certain is that here is a world class environment, where security is the watchword and where decency and orderliness are paramount.
We cannot but doff our hats for Mrs. Alakija for raising the bar so high in terms of achievements and conduct.