........As he Speaks on his political interest
........His NGO on women empowerment
Dr. (Engr.) Adeleke Adedipe, retired as the Chief Operating Officer of LEKOIL, an African-Focused Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company, for good measure, and today he is the Executive Chairman Fehintola Adedipe Foundation. Dr. Adeleke Adedipe is a man of shinning dignity.
A scion of the famous Adedipe family of Akure kingdom, a family with a strong dose of nobility and excellence of folkloric proportion, whose branches have broken the glass ceiling in various professions of human endeavor. Leke Adedipe eminently conveys the same warmth and intelligence which give texture to the wholesome aura of the family.
Known for his large scale philanthropy, but he insists he would rather not make any noise about it. Not unexpectedly, this philanthropy part of him is an essential DNA he inherited from his father, the late legendary Chief Josiah Orisabinu Adedipe, (member, Federal House of Representatives, from 1954 to 1959), the Maiyegun of Osogbo and Elemo of Akure, from 1959 – 1972. The position of Elemo is the third ranking kingmaker in the Deji of Akure in Council. Last year he was installed Boboguwa of Ilara Mokin and named Ondo state Man of the year.
Recently, the Ondo State Man of the Year spoke with Adeola Shittu on his life, humanity, among other things.
For the benefit of our readers, can you briefly tell us about yourself?
Thank you very much, I am Adeleke Adedipe, I was born into the Adedipe Elemo dynasty of Akure about 63 years ago in Osogbo, in the present day Osun State, where my father worked at the time, he was a businessman and a politician. We came back to Akure in 1959 when he became the Elemo of Akure Kingdom. He was the 13th Elemo of Akure. My late father, Chief Josiah Orisabinu Adedipe, reigned between 1959 and 1972. I am his 19th. I am a Petroleum Engineer by training.
Put us through your educational background?
I attended St. Stephen’s Primary School, Ijomu Akure, from 1964 to 1968, and I gained admission into Oyemekun Grammar School, on my birthday, 17th January, 1969. We were the first set of students who took the West African School Certificate examination in June in Oyemekun Grammar School. I did my HSC also in Oyemekun Grammar School from 1973 to 1975. I proceeded to the prestigious University of Ibadan between 1976 and 1980, where I bagged a B.Sc Degree in Petroleum Engineering. I hold a Masters Degree in International Management from the University of Liverpool, and I also have a Doctorate in Engineering Project Management from the European American University Commonwealth of Dominica.
I started my career as a Petroleum Engineer in two international oil companies in Nigeria. I started first with Nigeria AGIP Oil Company then, and in 1990, Shell approached me to work for them. So I worked for Shell from 1990 to 2010 when I retired voluntarily. And I was the Chief Operating Officer of LEKOIL Nigeria Limited until March 31st this year. I am a trained Petroleum Engineer by profession but yet I am a writer. I wrote my first article in Sunday Sketch in 1972 then, when I was in form 4 student at Oyemekun Grammar School. The article was published without correction. I wrote several articles as a secondary school student then. My best author today is my brother-in-law, Professor Femi Osofisan. I still read books on Philosophy.
Let us into your growing up days, how fun or challenging were they?
My growing up days were fun. Fun from many angles. My father was a millionaire, a chief and a politician. He was in the House of Representatives, between 1954 and 1959, he was one of the financiers of the Action Group (AG), from 1951 to 1962. I started reading at the age of 4, and I was not reading just any book. I was reading in my father’s library about Aristotle and other philosophers of this world. In my primary school days, I was one of the foremost pupils in St. Stephen’s Primary School, Ijomu, Akure. It will interest you to know that unlike other children, I spent just 4 years in primary school (1964 to 1968), because I had double promotion twice. In my father’s lifetime, I was very close to him, so due to this, I know much about Akure’s history, tradition and culture that many people of my age don’t know. One of my early wish in life was to become an Elemo but things changed along the line, though when my late cousin, High Chief Bolanle Adedipe, the Elemo of Akure passed on in 2012. Many people approached me to become the Elemo but I turned the offer down because things had happened along the line, but the fact remains that I know the history of Akure very well, and I also know the origin of Elemo in Akure, courtesy of my late father, but I told them no! That my calling is different now. During my secondary days, it was also fun at Oyemekun Grammar School, but unfortunate my father died when I was in form 4, though his death didn’t change anything because he prepared for his family after death. So, as far back as 1972 when he died, he had his will which was not that common back then and in it, he stipulated how things will be run, and his younger brother and nephew stood by the will, so we children had no problem. While at Oyemekun Grammar School, I was a student activist, together with my late elderly friend, Banji Adegboro. We were all in what we called, Africa Society Culture of Oyemekun Grammar School then. I will say that was where many politicians in our society came from. When I got to the University of Ibadan, I was a member of the Black Nationalist Movement, I was also actively involved in student politics. So, for me, I will say growing up was fun. From the day I was born till now, it has been fun.
In the history of Akure, the position of Elemo is one of the high ranking positions in Deji of Akure Council. Elemo is the third position among the kingmakers, and they are very influential. But having said that, while growing up, lots of things changed. At first, many thought I was going to be a lawyer, due to my view on issues, coupled with the fact that I did Pure Art and Pure Science in secondary school, but I later chose to study Engineering. Back to the issue of Elemo, when my late cousin, High Chief Elemo Bolanle Adedipe passed on in 2012, I was approached in 2013 to come and step into my father’s shoes, and become the Elemo, but in all fairness, I didn’t have the passion again or better still, I was already a born again Christian and having studied gospel, I realized that for anyone in Christ to take any step, such person needs God’s instruction. And as we speak, God has not instructed me to go there. So, while I wait for God’s instruction, my prayer is that the current Elemo, who happens to be my cousin, will live long on the throne and we shall continue to support the development of Akure community. Though I was installed the Boboguwa of Ilara Mokin alongside Ekiti state first lady, Her Excellency, Erelu Bisi Fayemi who was installed Oluomo of Ilara Mokin.
What inspired you to study Engineering and not Law as everyone had assumed?
You see, the truth of the matter is that, I was good in Art as well as in Science class. My been good in Art class, can be attributed to my early reading. Like I said earlier, I started reading books at the age of 4 in my father’s library, because he was a politician and a philosopher who reads a lot, I picked that from him. So I will say in terms of intellect for Science, I was also good. As a matter of fact, in Oyemekun Grammar School, I was the only student who did Physics and History during the WAEC examination. Normally, it’s not done, it’s either you take pure Science or pure Art, but I took both together. So, I chose Engineering because I have an inquisitive mind and Engineering is all about been inquisitive (to do things differently). If I had studied law, which I believe also has some level of inquisitiveness, though lawyers’ inquisitiveness is not as high as that of Engineers.
The fact that you learnt a lot from your late father, who is also your role model, will you say you took after him?
How I wish I took after him, he was indeed a special person, a man who was specially created by God and I don’t think anyone can be like him. At times, when I want to practice some of the things I learnt from him, it isn’t an easy task because my father was a man who lived 100 years ahead of his time, most of the things he said to us 50 to 55 years ago, we see them manifest now. He was indeed a prophet of sort, though he was not a man of God, but he saw the future. He was a philanthropist, and I am yet to see anyone like him, though I am trying to take after him but …….(smiles).
The truth of the matter is, about 5 years ago, a group of people approached me to become ‘Ondo State Personality of the Year’, I said no, but after 18 months of saying no, my friends told me that it’s in recognition of some of the silent things I was doing. So I accepted the award, and last year I was approached again, and I said no, because the award, ‘Ondo State Man of the Year’, looked more like the ‘Ondo State Personality of the Year’. I was convinced again by my friends to accept it, and here we are today. I am happy that despite keeping my philanthropy low key, because I am a private person, some organizations still find it worthy to celebrate my humanitarian services. It is an honour for me.
As the 19th child, how were you able to cope with other siblings?
My father had 30 children, and I am the 19th, though we are 23 that remain. The issue of coping does not exist, in the sense that my father was caring, and we all bond together, so not coping is non-issue. From our first born, who is 85 years, to our last born, who is 51 years, we just live our life as our late father planned it. As a family, we don’t ‘cope’, rather, we live.
You have an NGO that empowers women and traders in Akure, what influenced this gesture?
I was born by two great people, my father and my mother. My mother was also a philanthropist and when she died in 2008, we decided to immortalize her by helping widows, women, without making noise about it. We decided to use the church and the larger society to achieve that. Luckily, my elder sister, Erelu Adefunmilayo Adekanye, happens to be Erelu Iya Oloja of Akure, so we used that platform to help the market women and traders. We give them what we call a ‘revolving loan’ (with zero interest). They organize themselves, and once they are done, the money will be released to them. Today, we have a foundation, Fehintola Adedipe Foundation, named after my late mom. On my part, I have been involved in training youths to school, but like I said, it’s a private arrangement between me and them.
Aside the Fehintola Adedipe Foundation, what other effort are you making for the development of Akure, and to see to it that youths are not left out?
On that, I have been supporting the development of my community and assisting people in my own little way without any form of publicity. Apart from that, we do meet behind the scene to see what can be done to develop as well as eradicate social vices in our society. Like the popular adage: ‘an idle hand is a devil’s workshop’. The highest employer of labour in Ondo State is the government, the resources for government are dwindling, and therefore, there is not much government can do in providing employment for the teeming population of our people. So, there is concerted effort being done behind the scene, and until it concretizes, one will not like to talk about it. Cottage industries will spring up in Akure. And when I say Akure, I am not talking about Akure Township alone. In my younger days, we used to have Akure Divisional Students’ Union, but I don’t know if it still exist today. One of the Presidents of the Union then was Oga Kolawole Ojo from Iju. Also, my sister’s husband, Chief Adefemi Adekanye, was President of the Union, as well as Oga Sola Adegoke. I know people from Ilara who were officers of the Union. So in those days, when you are talking about Akure Divisional Union, you are talking as far as Igbara-Oke, Ero, Ilara, Ipinsa, Ogbese, Oba-Ile. When Ita Ogbolu Grammar School was established, one of the officers of Akure Divisional Students Union, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, was the first principal of the school. The current Alayede of Ogbese was among the people fully involved in the Union. So when we are talking about Akure, we are talking about Akure speaking people that cut across three local governments. That is what we are trying to rebuild. But it is too early to start talking about that now.
You are a child of two great politicians, you have a brother each in the PDP and APC respectively, do you see yourself going into partisan politics?
Hmmmm…… Yes, my father was a great politician, no doubt about that, and I have brothers who are into politics. My father’s first son, Adesian Adedipe used to be the Sunday Concord Editor, and a one-time Chairman of Akure South Local Government. It is not by chance that his second son, late Chief Adeyemi Adedipe was Ondo State Publicity Secretary of PDP, and my younger brother, Adegboyega Adedipe, who is the current State Vice Chairman (Central Senatorial District) of APC in Ondo State, former State Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and former Deputy National Auditor of the defunct Action Congress (AC). Truly speaking, my two brothers who are in different political parties, my love for them is equal. I don’t have a flair for PDP or APC but truth of the matter is, I am a card carrying member of APC, and it’s not because my brother is stalwart of APC but because I believe in some of the manifestoes of the party, and I also have respect for some people in the party, whom I think discussing with them can help change Nigeria.
How do you relax?
I play tennis, though I don’t play it much like before. Also, I do a lot of mission work at home and abroad, I love reading, I am more relaxed when I am reading. I am always with a book
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 Adeleke Adedipe, Chairman Fehintola Adedipe Foundation){kind=link}
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