For Otunba Kamar Owode, hard work and success are two sides of the same coin. He believes that to achieve your goals, you must be willing to go the extra mile. While he recognises the importance of divine grace and prayers, he cherishes the place of hard work. And his life is a testimony that hard work pays.
If the average person studies for one hour to pass an exam, he would study for four. This determined mindset, cultivated during his upbringing in Ibadan, has brought him a lifetime of excellence.
He’s not only a land surveyor, accountant, and educationist but also a successful entrepreneur who sits on the board of a mortgage bank and a couple of other companies.
The beginning
But attaining such heights wasn’t easy; it came with grit and perseverance. His father died when he was just seven, leaving him and his siblings to be raised by a trader mother who travelled across the Southwest to make a living. With no other choice, young Kamar had to face life’s challenges head-on. By the time he gained admission to Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School, Ogun State, he was staring poverty in the face.
Rather than complain, he chose to work.
During holidays, he took on menial jobs to make ends meet, carrying blocks and sand at construction sites to earn money. He found refuge in the school’s boarding house, which he preferred to going home. “I was always looking forward to staying with my friends in the hostel,” he recalled. “It was better than going home because the conditions at home were not palatable.” This went on for the five years he spent in school.
All the while, he was determined to break free from the grip of poverty. He considered becoming an aeronautics engineer or a pilot, but soon discarded the idea.
His elder brother, a quantity surveyor, however, influenced his career choice. He remembered visiting Oshopey Plaza in Ikeja, Lagos, while it was being constructed and learning that the project’s owner was an electrical appliance dealer. A thought crossed his mind: he wanted to be just like him. All he wanted was something that would change his story, and it became ingrained in his subconscious that the way to make it was to study and work hard.
Excellence at UNILAG
This dream was his driving force. He was admitted to the University of Lagos to study land surveying and graduated with a first-class degree. As the best graduating student in his department, he received several awards and a scholarship for a second degree in the same field, which he also completed with a distinction.
One might have assumed he would settle for a career in academia, but a new realisation changed his path. “By the time I was through with my second degree, I discovered that as a land surveyor, my salary in 1987 was about N870, while trainee accountants were earning N1,800. The difference was too much. I suddenly realised I was in the wrong place if I wanted to make money and live a good life.”
Job market
Without hesitation, he sought a job at Pannell Kerr Forster, which he described as the fourth largest audit firm in the world. It was there that he started a new career in accounting.
The company’s policy was that employees had to work for two years before they could write the three stages of exams to qualify as a chartered accountant. Young Kamar wasn’t that patient; he wanted to qualify as soon as possible.
Rather than wait for the company to sponsor his dream, he sourced the funds himself and qualified as a chartered accountant in just 18 months. That was a monumental feat.
“Back then, the company would not allow us to write the exams as soon as we started work because they feared it would affect our performance at work,” he said. “So, what I did was stay back in the office and sleep over to study and prepare for the exams.”
To stay awake at work the following day after reading, he would drink coffee. But the pressure was immense. He sometimes sleepwalked while on official assignments. “Many of my colleagues didn’t know I was studying hard for the ICAN exams. When I qualified as a chartered accountant, my colleagues were shocked and asked me how I did it.”
Once qualified, Owode became a hot commodity in the job market, moving from one position to another and often serving as a pioneer staff member. He worked at a mortgage bank, Industrial and General Insurance, and Indemnity Finance. His years of hard work and sleepless nights had paid off.
Private concern
By the year 2000, his dream of owning a school materialized with a Montessori primary school. The following year, the secondary school, Tower Gate College, came to life. After a few years in the finance industry, he resigned to manage the schools with his wife.
Since that humble beginning, Kamar has expanded his ventures into real estate and a number of other businesses.
He operates in the farming sector of the economy. “I have an integrated farm- Towergate Integrated Farm, a Poultry, piggery and fish farm. And I also have a feed milling company, Towergate Feed mill and Agro allied company.” He disclosed.
He has also been invited to sit on the board of a community bank and several other companies.
Reflections
Looking back, he says the mindset he developed in secondary school motivated him throughout his academic and professional life.
“Back then, we believed the only way to succeed in life was to study hard and get good grades in school. We didn’t have many other options open to us, so we had to just be serious.” He also credits the late Otunba Olajide Adebanjo for his influence.
“He was always coming to motivate us at school. He would ask questions, and if you got it right, he would give us N5. That was a lot of money at the time, so we dreamed of becoming like him. Those factors motivated us to put our best into everything we did.”
His background could have broken him if he hadn’t resolved to fight hard. He recalls feeling a sense of inferiority complex at the University of Lagos when he saw some of his classmates spending money and living lavishly. “But instead of getting carried away, I knew it was only a matter of time before I overcame my challenges. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Lessons
On the lessons he’s learned, Owode, the Otun Balogun of Ijebu Ife, says the three core principles of hard work, perseverance, and prayer have helped him reach the enviable height he’s at today.
He notes that many young people today want to cut corners to make money. “And technology is somehow not encouraging hard work,” he adds. “Today, you don’t have to put in the effort to learn many things through rigorous reading when the answer is just a click away on your phone.”
A member and leader of many religious and social organizations, Owode believes in giving back to his community.
He has supported many community efforts over the years and is currently the president of his alma mater’s 1976/81 set, the national vice president of the school’s Alumni Association, and a member of the local organizing committee for the school’s 50th anniversary coming up in September.
Married to Funmilayo Owode, an accountant by profession, he believes a good home is crucial to success. “My wife gives me the peace of mind I need to excel,” he affirmed.