Odeyemi, the Ile-Ife born accountant grew up with tall ambition. He cherishes virtues of hardworking, honesty and optimism, while he abhors procrastination, laziness, deceit, shyness and habitual persons who do not take responsibility serious.
His credentials as an accomplished accountant, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist and quintessential entrepreneur are no doubt quite intimidating. Born about 74 years ago in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Odeyemi’s journey from obscurity to limelight is quite edifying as the Obasewa of Ife and Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, once described his life as a testimony to the fulfi lment of possibility.
As a son of a poor cocoa farmer, the late Pa Martin Aworinlewo Odeyemi and petty trading mother, Alice Aralola, John Agboola’s early life was quite challenging as he, during his elementary education days had to trek three to four kilometres from home to school on bare foot everyday for years. On his return from school, the tired-looking little Odeyemi would still have to attend to the father’s job and hawk kerosene for his mother before the fi nal lap, which was the ‘rigorous’ evening house chore.
Odeyemi’s elementary education was rather very staggered. He at Okemesi Primary School, Ife between 1956 and 1959, moved to St. Leo’s College, Abeokuta and later to SS Peter where he later got promoted back to Paul Catholic School, Ife and St. Paul’s Anglican School, Ayegbaju, Ile-Ife.
Thereafter, he proceeded to Wednesbury-Staffordshire, England for his Commerce and Technology education in 1966-1967. He qualifi ed with the Chartered Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (CIMA) U.K. in 1966 and Chartered Association of Certifi ed Accountant (ACCA) UK in 1967.
Like most successful business persons, the journey to the top was indeed not a rosy one for Odeyemi. “The journey was not a perfect one though and it wasn’t originally designed to be so. There were ups and downs but we thank God for where we are today. I could remember that sometimes when there seemed to be no hope in the air, we still persisted in the determination to excel,” he recalled recently.
The youthful Odeyemi’s dream of becoming somebody in life almost got thwarted at a time when he was affl icted by a strange ailment, with many people not given him any chance of survival. About four years ago, when he celebrated his 70th birthday, Odeyemi noted that the occasion afforded him the opportunity to recount his experience. “It’s a time to look back, appreciate God’s grace, parents and guardian’s contributions in moulding one’s life into shape,” he said then.
As a student on Sandwich course in Accounting at The College of Commerce & Technology, Wednesbury, Staffordshire England, Odeyemi won the Rubbery Owen Prize, for the “Most Distinguished Student of the Year”; and “Outstanding Performance of the Year” In 1965 and 1966 respectively.
He started his working career as Audit Senior at Cooper & Lybrand, Birmingham between 1967 and 1969 before joining JKN Limited same year as an Accountant/Admin manager.
However, through a dint of hard work, determination and unwillingness to succumb to any obstacles, he was able to get to the top hierarchy of the company and he is currently the Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of the company.
JKN Limited is a multi-services engineering company incorporated in 1962 and formerly known as “James Kilpatrick & Sons Limited”. The company specializes in electrical, mechanical, telecommunications and infrastructural development services. Over the years, its track record has seen it execute projects in the power and telecommunications sectors as well as public, commercial and hotel buildings. JKN is also noted to have executed projects for the military, government parastatals, public institutions, fi nancial institutions, oil and gas, etc.
JKN Limited specializes in electrical designs and installation. It designs, constructs, installs, commissions, maintains and repairs and has since 1962 carried out specialized electrical services such as High Voltage Electrical Power Reticulations, Rural Electrifi cation, Extra Low Voltage Systems, Fire Alarm, CCTV, BMS, Lightning Protection throughout the federation. JKN Limited also provides overhead power transmission and distribution systems such as Transmission Lines, Distribution (Overhead and Underground) 33KV, 11KV, 415V as well as Substations (132/33KV, 33/11KV abd 11/0.415KV). JKN also a Training School arm established in 1978 basically to meet the manpower needs of the company in electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and air-conditioning engineering relevant to its operations. Over the years, the brief of the school has expanded to include providing these services to other students willing to learn various trades as well as assist the government in its youth empowerment programme such as the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
The school currently runs programmes in three engineering and one catering departments thus; electrical, mechanical, computer and catering departments. With these departments, JKN Training School has the infrastructure and specializes in training students in electrical installations and maintenance practice, electrical control panel building, plumbing and pipe fi tting, refrigeration and air-conditioning practice, welding craft practice, computer craft practice and catering craft practice. Each of the courses runs for a period of eight months to three years depending on the course of choice and they can be offered as full-time or part-time courses.
While the school has facility to train between 200 and 300 students conveniently, it has been accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) as a Vocational Enterprises Institution, National Business & Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) as an examination centre, and National Common Entrance for Technical/ Vocational Schools as an examination centre and college.
Odeyemi is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce of commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), an umbrella organisation for all City/State and bilateral Chambers of Commerce with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Since inception, NACCIMA has grown into a colossus and acquired signifi cance within and outside the country. It has become the most effective and effi cient organ through which the Nigerian business class infl uences government decisions on a wide range of issues affecting commerce and Industry.
During the military era, when Odeyemi held sway as the president, the association was at the vanguard of the struggle for the restoration of democracy in the country. In order to take advantage of the opportunities which the new democratic dispensation offers, the NACCIMA has improved on its services to provide prospective investors with the latest information on the variety of investment opportunities in Nigeria. He was also the President and Chairman of Council of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry between February 2002 and December 2003.
Being an astute businessman, Odeyemi has been on the board of many companies across banking, manufacturing and construction industry for years. Between September 15, 2006 and March 2010, he served as the Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria Plc where his wealth of brilliance and banking experience were clearly put to test. Prior to his becoming Ecobank’s chairman, he had served as its director from 1998 to 2004. Aside Ecobank, he was also on the board of the defunct Leadbank Plc and the Federal Savings Bank. He was the chairman of Refuge Insurance Company Limited before it was acquired by Crusader General Insurance Limited in the wake of the consolidation exercise in the Insurance Industry.
Presently, he serves as a Director of Oasis Insurance Plc; Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Plc, Sowsco Well Services Limited and Kinley Securities Limited.
He was a delegate to the National Political Reform Conference 2005, and Chairman of Nigerian Accounting Standards Board. Odeyemi is a Member of Metropolitan Club, Lagos, Christian Friends Society, Archbishop Vinning Memorial Church Cathedral, Lagos and Patron of some other Christian and social clubs. He is a Rotarian (and a Paul Harris Fellow) and holds the chieftaincy title of the Obasewa of Ife (the source).
The former NACCIMA president presently serves as the chairman, JAO Investment Company Limited as well as the Obafemi Awolowo University Investment Company Limited. Others are UNO Foods Limited and Multimalt Limited.
He is one of the directors of Fleet Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of Enterprise Bank Plc (formerly Spring Bank) and a full fl edge Information and Communications Technology Company. Fleet Technology evolved from the Electronic Banking Group of the former Fountain Trust Bank Plc.
In recognition of his extraordinary brilliance, he was given a Merit Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in 2005; awarded Doctor of Science in Business Administration (Honoris Causa) by Obafemi Awolowo University Ife in December, 2007 while he was also given a special award by the Federation of Construction Industry for his contributions to the infrastructural development in Nigeria in June 2009 and appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, Osun State in September 2009.
The business magnate and lover of culture is noted as being one of the living Africans with extreme passions for the promotion of African and especially Yoruba culture. Being a philanthropist, Odeyemi at various times had offered scholarships to many and donated well-equipped museums to many institutions of learning in the country.
One of the benefi ciaries of this gesture is the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he donated a well-equipped Museum of Antiquities and Contemporary Art to the school as a form of giving back to his society and to mark his 70th birthday. According to Odeyemi, giving back to the society is a thing he has grown to enjoy as he sees life as mere “Vanity upon vanity!”
“The only thing that keeps life going is the quantities of good things that mankind does. Religiously, culturally and whatever, we all know that helping others to achieve greatness in life and being an apostle of the truth makes us feel proud internally and could be substantially rewarded here and hereafter. So, why don’t we rather devote our wealth and resources to individual development, which in turn would trigger national growth and international understanding?” he submitted.
At a distance, Odeyemi’s identity might not be properly captured. But with a closer look, one would grab vividly his unrelenting spirit and high level of discipline. And why not, he said that to become meaningful and relevant in life, one must design a particular identity for oneself. “Life at this age has taught me to be straightforward as though no one can tell of tomorrow. It equally pointed out to me that good works end with good rewards. I may be a strict person but I take solace in helping others achieve their dreams.”
Comparing Nigeria of his dream to what is obtainable at present, there seems to be a gulf. “As a young man and as a member of the National Youth Movement (NYM), we wanted common good for all (socialist philosophy). There were big dreams, a Nigeria that would bring good opportunities to citizens including free education, good health as well as making them sustainable. Getting scholarships were not diffi cult. But our hopes were shattered by various military interventions during the civil war and post war activities. Hitherto, our problem was not money but how to spend it. Today, our approach to governance is regrettable whether civilian or military. Uncontrolled governance has shattered the nation’s developmental process and the earlier we adjust the better,” he refl ected recently.
As an arts and culture enthusiast, Odeyemi is particularly worried over the dwindling fortunes of the African culture. He warns of imminent danger if culture, which he described as “our unique identifi cation” is allowed to perish. For example, “my children have grown up with their own independent minds. While I prefer Yoruba attire most times, they would wear western dresses. The situation is so pathetic that some parents are even encouraging their children to dump their local language for English. They don’t bother about whether such a child speaks his or her local language and the consequence of this is that our cultural and social values are being eroded. This has thus affected our behaviour, relationship, and our perspective about existence.
“There is danger ahead if we continue to discourage the preservation and promotion of our culture. What that means is that sooner or later, Africans might end up losing their cultural identity to foreign culture that is alien to our system and unique ways of life.”
Married to Cecilia Olateju and Kofoworola Oyinade, Odeyemi was in 2005 conferred with Member Of The Order Of The Federal Republic (MFR) in 2005, while Osun State Government also awarded him the state distinguished merit award for philanthropy and community development in 2007.
He was a member of the National Privatization Council (Bureau of Public Enterprise) between October 2004 and 2006; Member of the Committee on the Assessment and Monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals from June 2005 to October 2006 and currently, he is a member of the Governing Board of UNESCO Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation Centre in KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia.
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