By Eric Elezuo
He is a household name, not because his father was the popular magician, Professor Peller, but because like a chip off the proverbial old block, he has carved a niche for himself, creating a life larger than most people his age could only dream. He is Shina Peller, the distinguished honourable representing Iseyin Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Born Shina Abiola Peller on May 14, 1976 to Alhaja Silifat and Professor Moshood Abiola Peller of Iseyin, in Oyo State, the very handsome incontrovertible and quintessential entrepreneur grew up in a Muslim home, where the tenets of purposeful living were inculcated into him.
With a sound primary and secondary education in his kitty, Shina was admitted into the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, in 1997 where he studied Chemical Engineering and obtained his first degree in 2002. He served in Abia State in 2003 to fulfill the mandatory one-year service of National Youth Service Corps required of all Nigerian graduates.
Shina followed up his quest and hunger for more academic honours and enduring qualitative education by enrolling for a master’s degree in Business Management also from the same institution, and was rewarded with an M.Sc in 2013.
From that humble origin, Shina, today is a renowned entrepreneur, politician, Industrialist, and to cap it all, a current Member of the 9th National Assembly.
In 2018, at the age of 42, he heeded the loud call of the not-too-young-run campaigners, and threw his hat into the ring. He was ready to serve his people, having conquered the world of entrepreneurship, cutting across various sectors including entertainment. Consequently, in 2019, he contested for a seat in the House of Representatives to speak for the people of Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency in Oyo State, under the umbrella of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He won, a situation he referred to as a ‘vital challenge for me’.
Setting out to run for political position, he was quoted as saying:
“The time for armchair politics is over, and I will get more involved in policy-making and law. I will join politics as a technocrat, which will allow me to help shape economic and business policy in the most effective way. I have been involved in many philanthropic activities, and I am excited to represent a new set of ideals. I have structured my businesses such that they will function smoothly in my absence during 2019. I foresee the price of oil continuing to stabilize. The government will continue to work on diversifying the economy as well. Domestic production in certain areas will increase. The president seeks to make Nigeria a self-sustaining country whereby we export more than we import. I foresee the economy growing more, and in 2019 things will really pick up.”
On October 5, 2018, he won the primary election on the platform of his party for the 2019 general election and followed it up with another resounding victory in the general election on 23 February 2019.
Shina is quite an optimist, and never takes no for answer – the reason he is a toast among his people and everyone that has been privileged to come across him.
Prior to venturing into politics, the man who is reputed to be a combination of brains and duty, has laboured dutifully in the entrepreneurial world and made landmark achievements including the establishments of Aquila Group of Companies and Club Quilox, which he oversees as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
With his Quilox, which appears the most popular brand in the Aquila group and Aquila records, which has also gained widespread recognition, Shina continues to contribute to socio-economic development of Nigeria, raking in forex for the country, creating jobs for the youths as well as avenues for relaxation and making life habitable for the young and the young at heart in the society.
Driven by passion and conviction, Shina’s Aquila Group has grown to become a conglomerate with interests in oil and gas with particular focus on the downstream side of the business, and making huge restructuring plans to move more into EPCI, mid-stream, and upstream.
The construction arm of the group, Aquila Building, has executed several enduring projects for government and also in the private sector. It also diversified into property management and sales with residential projects such as Eagle Heights, springing up in Banana Island.
Speaking on other areas of the group’s enviable achievements during an interview, Shina intoned: “We also do a great deal of procurement and supplies for private companies and the government with Aquila Global Resources Limited. On the entertainment side, Aquila Records was established to develop talented Nigerians and Africans and help them become superstars. We have artists like Air Boy, as well as my brother, Que Peller, the only artist magician in the world.
“We also have Base One, an indigenous rap artist, Beezy, and my daughter, Naomi Peller. Quilox was established with the goal of revolutionizing nightlife in Nigeria; hence, the name, which means redefinition. My financial advisers thought I was overexposing myself in a business that has a notoriously short life span. However, Nigeria was one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, and I knew Lagos, as the commercial capital of Nigeria, had great potential. I saw a gap in the nightlife industry that needed to be filled.”
He is a typical example of King Midas, and has a sight for lucrative businesses.
His management of the Quinox has made it a reference point in clubbing as it has become a tourism centre of some sort. It is not an understatement to say that most clubs consider Quinox as a benchmark
On why he looked the way of entertainment in his entrepreneurial development process, he said: “The government needs to look into nightlife and the contribution it makes to diversify the economy, especially on the back of a tourism master plan. It is unsustainable for us to have such a strong focus on oil; we need to diversify to take the country to the next level. Entertainment and tourism should be major areas of the government’s economic vision moving forward. I see great potential in the entertainment industry. There are many more collaborations between American artists and other international artists with Nigerian talent, and that underscores the value they can bring and have brought. There is much potential that could be tapped into.”
As a veritable representative, Shina has put himself in the shoes of the young ones, prompting him to established the Lead Generation Initiative (LGI), a citizen and youth-driven nonpolitical, non-profit and non-governmental organisation that is committed to creating opportunities for young people to channel their creativity, energy and aspirations towards adding value to their communities and country. He has not limited his representation to his local Iseyin, but has been going around the country in an effort to get young people involved and interested in politics.
Through the LGI, the likes of ‘Get Involved Leadership Training (GILT), Get Involved Regional Leadership Summit, Emerging Leaders Conference, Women Leadership Development Programme, Creative Open Crafts, and National Entrepreneurial Enterprise Competition, have emerged with the sole purpose of training representatives from 774 local governments areas of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory on diverse areas not limited to civic responsibility, nation-building, community security, communication and development skills.
Shina Peller during the week made a case for the people of Iseyin against the Nigerian Customs Service, who reportedly gunned down four natives and injured one. As the representative, he was quoted as saying that the killing is unacceptable while demanding thorough investigation. Most communities remember him when they look upon the various boreholes scattered around them, most families remember him when their children exhibit their academic prowess courtesy of Peller’s scholarship. In fact, he has touched a lot of lives.
Like the protege of a magician, he is busy replicating matters of interest in the Nigerian project, and recently gathered national leaders for a Lead Generation Initiative National Security and Peace Symposium to check the myriad of insecurity bedeviling the nation presently.
He is married to his heartthrob, Ayobola Peller, and they are blessed with children including Naomi Peller, who is making an inroad into the entertainment industry.
On Friday Shina Peller clocked 45 years, and from all of us at The Boss, happy birthday, and may your days be blessed.
