He is true definition of an all-rounder. He is an engineer, an accountant, a financial and energy consultant. If he is not practising any of those professions, Mr Kunle Adelaja, who runs a financial advisory firm, would have become a celebrity of sorts, making waves in Nollywood.
Love for arts
From his early days at St. Peter’s Primary School Faji, Lagos, Adelaja had always loved the arts and entertainment. He was an active member of the school’s cultural group and had participated in numerous dramas.
His love for music is top-notch. As a lad, he could sing by heart almost all the songs of King Sunny Ade and several other popular musicians.
Even now, his penchant for hymns is unparalleled. Every Lenten season, he takes time out to inspire his Facebook followers with soul-lifting hymns in Yoruba language. He could also beat the drum with the dexterity of a professional. He attributed his drumming skill to his early involvement with the Cherubim and Seraphim Church.
Gate to wealth
But despite his romance with arts and entertainment, he never thought one could make a reasonable living from them. Rather, he was stuck to the old notion that formal education, especially in engineering and medicine, is the gateway to wealth.
Thus, rather than look in those areas, he simply paid attention to his books and was determined to make a mark in the academics.
An indigene of Owu Ijebu in Ogun State, Adelaja, who was born to a goldsmith father and a trader mother, said the place where he grew up was not so inspiring.
“I grew up in Lagos Island with the sight of young people who were into alcohol and illicit drugs. But somehow those odd lifestyles did not take a toll on me. God made me behave differently.” he said.
By the time he got to Ijebu-Ife Community Grammar School, where he had his secondary education, it was clear he was set for stardom in life.
L to R. Boye Aina, Owolabi Taiwo, Raseed Oyeranmi, Kunle Adelaja, Sunday Olusanya, Wale Lukan and Raseed Onasanya
Experience at IICGS
But life played a joke on him in his first year in secondary school. First, it took the influence of one of the founding fathers of the school, Chief Olajide Adebanjo, for him to be allowed to stay in the school hostel. By the time it was getting close to first-term exams, another drama played out.
This time, it was a case of mistaken identity. The principal, Mr Segun Sosanya, had just reabsorbed an erring student, Bamidele Adelaja, back into school. That was when Kunle Adelaja fell into his trap.
“It was during the preparatory class. We were supposed to be seated reading in the class. But I was chatting with a classmate. Unknown to me, the principal was just around the classroom at that time. He was furious because it was unthinkable that a student would stand up during such a critical time of reading. He sent me to his house to join other students caught in the raid. He asked for my name. I told him.
“The moment he heard Adelaja, he concluded I was Bamidele Adelaja, who had just been pardoned and asked, are you not the boy we just pardoned? I said no.
He was not convinced. He descended on me with a deafening slap. By the time he asked again if I was the one that had just been pardoned, I didn’t know when I said yes. Without wasting time, he gave instructions that I should leave the school hostel the following morning.”
Life outside school hostel
Adelaja was distraught but he was resolute. Fortunately, he had a place to stay; her maternal grandmother’s place, who is an indigene of Ijebu-Ife. It was from there that he went to school and eventually wrote the exams.
By the time the result came out, he had taken the first position. That feat endeared him again to the principal, who insisted he must return to the hostel. That was to be the beginning of ever rolling outstanding performances for Adelaja.
JETS competition
He maintained the leading position all through his time in school. While in class five, he brought fame and glory to the hitherto unknown school in the Junior Engineers and Technicians Quiz competition.
“That day, the principal, this time, Mr Mathew Adedeji, sent for me and said since I was the best student in my class, I was going to represent the school in the JETS quiz competition. I really did not have time to prepare for it. He asked the school driver to take me to the competition the following day. It was done at the zonal level for a start.
‘I won the competition and represented our zone in Abeokuta. At the state level, I also won. It was a big deal because it was absurd that a school which was not among the leading schools in Ogun State could top the competition. So, our school represented the whole of Ogun State at the national level of the competition in Lagos. The news was everywhere. My performance in the competition made the school popular.”
Not all about books
But Adelaja was not all about books. Despite maintaining a leading position while in academics he was actively involved in drama and entertainment.
He formed a group of three actors, including himself, Bamidele Adelaja and Segun Oyefeso. They replicated the trio of Papalolo, Jacob and Aderupoko, who were known comedians of the Yoruba Nollywood extraction then.
Kunle Adelaja was the Papalolo in school then. Bamidele Adelaja, his friend, often acted as Jacob while Segun Oyefeso was the Aderupoko. They regaled students every Saturday night with their performances.
Adelaja’s outstanding performance at the JET quiz competition, however, made Chief Adebanjo award him a scholarship and backdated it to cover his form four school fees.
At the University of Ibadan
He was to maintain his leading performance in academics even at the university. He was the best graduating student in the 1988 set of Civil Engineering department at the University of Ibadan with a comfortable second-class upper division. He had a CPGA of 6.12, just about .8 to attain a first class.
He served in the old Bendel State. It was during his service year that it began to dawn on him that engineering may not be the Eldorado after all.
He discovered that the accountant at the place where he served was earning far more than the engineers in the organisation. “The accountant was earning N1500 monthly because he was Chartered , and the others who read engineering were earning N500. That was when I was beginning to rethink the engineering course.”
Job market
By the time he returned to Lagos, it was difficult to secure a job with his engineering certificate. Though the university wanted him back in the academics he was not keen.
In the course of looking for employment, he ran into the current governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, also an old student of Ijebu-Ife Community Grammar School on Broad Street.
He was the one who advised him to apply to a financial consulting firm since he was brilliant. He assured that they will employ him.
As God would have it, he secured his first job in a foreign firm, Panell Kerr Forster. He met Otunba Kamoru Owode also an alumnus of IICGS in the firm as an intern too. That was where he began his journey into the accounting world. He started writing the exams and became a chartered accountant in less than three years.
Since then, the field has continued to be green on all sides. He soon became the darling of many engineering and energy companies because of his engineering and financial pedigree.
Work life
He worked in a couple of engineering firms and rose to the peak of his career in those firms.
His last major place of employment before he veered into private practice was Negris Limited, an engineering firm with a vast portfolio that had handled massive projects like the Shell Power Station in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Transamadi Power plant, Ewekoro Power Limited and so many others
Consolidation
Today, Adelaja, 59, is consolidating his many years of hard labour. He is quick to let this reporter know that “the hand of God has been so strong upon my life. I think God has been faithful right from day one of my life. He has been the one guiding my steps and giving me direction.”
He said life has taught him not to despise the days of little beginnings and never to disregard one”s background.
“I am proud of Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School. That school offered me the foundation I am building on, today. That is why I take delight in giving back to the school. We had expatriate teachers then, and they did a lot to make many of us who we are today.”
Adelaja, whose firm is heavy in financial advisory services says his Lagos Island background was not enough to discourage him from pursuing excellence, while stating that one’s background is not enough to put one’s back on the ground.
“I just made up my mind to be different. And God answered my prayers. I remember after my first degree, and we were having a graduation party, a man came around and wondered if any good thing could come out of where I grew up on the Island. But I had proved him wrong. “Your background has little to do with your success in life.” He quipped.
Family life
Married to Tinuade Adelaja a business woman with three wonderful children, Adelaja expressed great appreciation to God for a great wife. “I want to thank God for my wife, who has been a great support. I think meeting my wife was one of the best things that happened to me. I am forever grateful for this.”
Now a member of the Redeemed Christian.Church of God, Adelaja says, ‘ It is impossible for me to leave music. I am currently the choir lead of the RCCG parish where we worship.. I will always cherish good music. ‘ He said.