Akeem Ogunkoya: The Incredible Life Journey of a Telecoms Giant

The story of Akeem Ogunkoya reads like a movie script. Yet, he tells it with a calm humility, delivering lessons from his past with a timely wisdom that captivates his listeners.

A native of Ijebu Ife, Ogun State, Ogunkoya is a top player in the telecommunications industry, making an incredible impact in a space of 20 years.

He is a Chartered I.T. Professional accredited by the British Computer Society. He was among the 50 individuals recognised as critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s digital space at the 2024 edition of the Most Valuable Personalities of Nigeria’s digital economy, organised by ITedge Africa.

His journey, marked by a rare combination of grit and grace, began long before his professional success.

From a young age, his mother, a shrewd cement merchant, instilled in him the spirit of entrepreneurship. He spent his early years as a boy helping to wheel bags of cement to clients, earning a small income that taught him the value of hard work.

This early hustle continued until he was in junior high school, but it was a moment of paternal discipline that truly set him on his academic path.

Life in secondary school

While at Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School, Ogunkoya was an average student. When his JSS 3 report card for the first term showed he ranked 14th in his class, his teacher commented that he could do better.

For young Akeem, this was a decent result. And he felt proud of it. But his father, a military man, saw it differently. He couldn’t understand why his son was content with mediocrity.

Rather than praise him, he administered a spanking so profound that, as Akeem recalls, it “reset my brain.” “That beating changed my entire orientation,” he says. “When I went back to school, I became intensely serious. From that day on, I consistently took one of the top positions in my class.”

Grandfather’s impact

While his father’s discipline instilled academic focus, it was his maternal grandfather who nurtured Akeem’s most profound values. The old man took a special interest in his grandson, believing he was destined for greatness.

Akeem watched his grandfather’s generous lifestyle up close. “We used to go to the farm together and talk for hours. On our way back, he would give away almost half of what he harvested to people in need. He was the one who taught me how to give. He’d always say that giving comes with a lot of blessings. That is what influenced the social intervention work I’m involved in today.”

So deep was his grandfather’s belief that he wanted Akeem to travel abroad for his tertiary education. He even cleared his life savings to hire an agent for the trip. Unfortunately, the agent was a fraudster who capitalised on the old man’s ignorance and disappeared with the money.

Ironically, the opportunity to travel abroad presented itself years later, just three months after his grandfather passed away. This was just one of the many intriguing turns in a life shaped by the constant support of his parents and grandfather.

Career path

A relentless work ethic and an iron will have defined Akeem’s journey. He initially planned to study Building Technology at Ilaro Polytechnic, but a visit to a family friend, a professor, changed his course. The professor bluntly told his father that the programme was a waste of time and money, suggesting Akeem would be better off training as a mason.

The advice was jarring, but it made Akeem reconsider. For his next JAMB exam, he chose Computer Science, a field that was beginning to evolve. The professor approved, and Akeem was off to Kwara State Polytechnic.

NYSC

He truly began to apply the lessons he learned from his entrepreneurial mother and generous grandfather during his NYSC days. While many of his peers complained about the meagre N3,800 allowance from the government, Akeem was consistently saving money.

He was already monetising his computer skills, offering his services to local organisations and teaching computer literacy. He often earned more than his allowance from a one-day training session. By the end of his service year, the computer education institute where he served in Jos, Plateau State, offered him a job.

Excelling in the workplace

He initially turned down the offer, finding the pay too low. But his grandfather’s wisdom echoed in his mind, and he took the job while continuing to seek other opportunities. After a few years, he moved to Lagos, acquired more certifications to enhance his computer skills and eventually relocated to Abuja.

In the workplace, his secret was simple: “Study your boss and learn everything you can about the business’s technical operations.” At a firm in Abuja, he did exactly that, becoming a technical reference point for his boss. When the General Manager resigned, Akeem was the obvious choice for the role. However, the company brought in an expatriate instead.

Off to the UK

Frustrated and feeling undervalued, Akeem resigned. His career took another turn when he secured a visa to the UK. While there, his friends tried to convince him to take on menial jobs instead of pursuing further education. He refused to be swayed and enrolled for a Master’s programme in Computer Networks at the University of Derby in the UK.

He dedicated himself completely to his studies, and his single-minded focus paid off. After graduation, he was offered a job at a UK computer firm called Simple Call UK. The basis for his employment was his ability to solve a complex, long-standing problem that had stumped the company for years. “They had been battling this issue for a couple of years before I was interviewed,” he recalls. “I was challenged to solve it. In less than three weeks, I found the solution. The owner of the company was so excited, he hired me on the spot and made sure I got a permanent stay in the UK.”

Akeem, however, had a different plan. He agreed to work for no more than five years. When his time was up, he resigned. The owner, reluctant to let him go, kept him on as a consultant. By then, Akeem had already started his firm, Imbil Consultancy UK. Six years later, he bought the company from the white man. Today, he runs his high-level IT firms alongside numerous other business ventures. He is also deeply involved in the oil and gas industry.

The road to success

But the road to success was far from smooth. He remembers times of great hardship and lack. “No one gave me a chance,” he recalls with a tone of pain. “When I was trying to travel, I reached out to people I knew could help, and they all turned me down.”

He recalls trekking long distances due to a lack of funds and going to newspaper stands just to join the “free readers club” because he couldn’t afford to buy papers. “All I wanted was information on computer and phone accessories,” he says. “That was when phones were new, and there were so many opportunities.

I also remember struggling in the UK to pay my school fees, doing all kinds of menial jobs just to get by. It was so tough that I couldn’t reach out to my parents in the early days because everyone assumed things were easy since I was abroad.”

When the tide turned, his parents both late now were stunned. “my father would say.in the Ijebu dialect, le mo fo omo awun ma la” meaning, whoever thought my son will succeed without a godfather. Indeed, God was the one who stepped in for me. And he is still supporting me.”

Giving Back

Today, the story has changed. His early sacrifice is paying off. He owns an Internet Service Provider that services numerous organisations and has become a beacon of philanthropy. He has lost count of the scholarships he has funded in both Nigeria and the UK and has invested heavily in his hometown, supporting worthy causes and lifting people out of poverty..

He also runs a charity called Yesid Charity Organisation that provides for widows and the less privileged. Despite living in the UK, he maintains strong ties with his country home.

He dismisses the superstition that getting close to one’s community will bring harm. “That is not true,” he says. “I relate so well with the Kabiyesi of my town, His Royal Highness, Oba Afolorunso Oguntayo treats me like his own son. I’ve found there is so much wisdom to glean from him.”

For people to maximise what they do, he believes they must learn the business aspect of their profession. “It is not enough to be brilliant in school, you must learn the business end of your profession. That is what will put food on your table. That has helped me in my career.”

Today, Akeem has not only proved naysayers wrong. He has carved a niche for himself in the telecoms industry. His success is not just measured by the companies he owns but by the lives he uplifts, fulfilling the core lesson he learned as a young boy: “The more you lift people, the higher you get. That is the reality of life.”