Boss Of The Week

Dr Stephen Akintayo: Leading Gtext Homes to Strategic Marketing Advantage

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo and Omotayo Omidiji

There are very few Nigerian billionaires, who have remained accessible, display humility among humanity while engaging ferociously with the legitimate business of creating and recreating wealth, making live liveable for the citizenry and giving the government of the day the leeway to provide adequate democratic dividend for all and sundry. Prominent among them is the multi-faceted, multi-talented, resilient and ebullient entrepreneur par excellence, Dr. Stephen Akintayo, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Gtext Homes, and its many affiliates, the Stephen Akintayo Consulting among very many others.

In this brief chat, the soft spoken go-getter, who practically rose from the proverbial grass to grace, tells the story of determination, resilience and focus. His life trajectory culminates in why everyone is a candidate of success, irrespective of the background. He tells how he doggedly built his empire via strategic marketing advantages, and rising to the status of king of real estate.

Excerpts:

HOW DID YOU COME ABOUT THE RELATIVE HUMILITY YOU ARE TODAY ASSOCIATED WITH?

Well, I think it is relative as you said. I am not sure everyone believes I’m humble, and the reason is that, I am a very straight shooter. When issues come, I confront them headlong. In my office, you will hear people say do not go and report people to oga because if you go, he will bring both the person that said something and the accused and you will confront each other. And because of that, some people have the perception that I am a straight shooter. For me generally, I have been through a lot in life, capable of making anyone humble normally. I grew up in the northern part of Nigeria, and at some time, in the village, where there was no running water, and no electricity. I had to fight for everything in life.

It’s humbling however, to note that I started my business with one thousand naira, and for us to be in the four continents of the world, I had to keep proving myself. Sometimes, I get into rooms, and overhear people saying I’m fronting for someone. They are like how come he had achieved so much at such a young age. Some even make bold to say…maybe he is doing hard drugs. I just laugh, and keep proving myself.

IN YOUR LIFE TRAJECTORY, DID YOU BY ANY MEANS MAP OUT YOUR STAGES BECAUSE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU SEEMS TO BE FOLLOWING A WELL PLANNED SEQUENCE

At the age of 17/18, I read the books that changed my life. I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Think and Grow Rich and others. The books woke me up to know that it is not degrees that is going to make me rich. It made me know that degree is just about going to school and being enlightened. If I want to be rich, I needed to do a trade. Having gone through that book at the age of 18, I started my first business as a very shy person, and my first business was multilevel marketing of food supplement by GNLD. It was difficult to market a drug, as I couldn’t look a potential customer in the face, but the book I read said if I could do this, I would become rich. So I had to.

I started business by selling e-books from day one in the university. I was just sold to doing business; hawked electronics and all stuffs. I failed many times doing business but I kept at it because I had no choice, and because we were not rich and money was always an issue, so I just had to keep at it and that was it for me.

SO YOUR TARGET WAS JUST TO BE RICH?

My target was to be financially free. I hated poverty. My mother was always borrowing money to pay my school fees from our neighbours, who incidentally were her juniors, but she had five children and my dad wasn’t financially stable to support her. They will then look at her with disdain and still not give her the money, saying our children too have not seen help. I just hated it. I hated that we were poor. I did not see a toilet we could flush until I was 13 when we moved to a new house, a government quarter because my mum worked with PHCN. It was just marvelous that we could sit, defecate, and flush a WC. At that teen age that I read that book, I just started planning that this is what I needed to do, and I remember as a student, I had a picture Ark. I had a list of companies I was going to own from media to real estate to production companies. Now, I am beginning to tick them out.

AT WHAT TIME IN YOUR LIFE COULD YOU DESCRIBE AS YOUR TURNING POINT?

A lot of people ask me this question often times, and my answer is always that there wasn’t really a major turning point except for 2015. The business that eventually became a mainstay for me was the bulk SMS company. We tried to convince companies that we could market their products by sending SMS. We had email and phone number database where we could help them send SMS to a large number of people. But at some point, I became indebted without even borrowing money. This was because I was representing a university in Hungary then. Along the line, we did a transaction, which the university later cancelled despite receiving processing fees from some applicants. They insisted I must refund their money, to the extent the matter was settled at the police station. The Police advised I should sign a post dated cheque for the refund to avoid embarrassment. This was in 2012. That is why when people ask why am I this bold, I tell them, I have been through a lot.

I came out of that experience, and restrategised, and within a twinkle of an eye, companies like Chivita, PZ, Unilever, Indomie became our clients, and by 2015 election, we were handling Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s SMS Campaign nationwide, Buhari’s e-mail Campaign nationwide. I was even picked up by the DSS in the cause of the job. I have been through a lot.

WHY WERE YOU PICKED UP BY DSS?

I was never told other that it was order from above. I told them I was the one handling the president’s SMS campaign but they did not bother a bit. So I followed them to their office until my lawyer, Dr. Ope Banwo, arrive to help secure my release. I also did an article that went viral titled, “How Jonathan sent DSS to arrest me.” In 48 hours, we had over 5million hits worldwide, infact some opposition thought I was part of why Jonathan lost. All in all, that 2015, was our breakthrough year because everybody was our customer. We had a single transaction worth 30million and I think at the end of the year, we made over 200million naira. And that was the year I also know the next thing to do?

It was in October of that 2015 that we went into Real Estate. We couldn’t just continue to rely on the Tech thing, which is always through third party platforms. But now, we are using all platforms for our social media clouts, and digital marketing. We train companies on how to use social media. I wanted to build something that is standing on something solid, and that was why we delved into Real Estate.

WHAT WAS THE FEELING LIKE WHEN YOU MADE YOUR FIRST MILLION?

It was actually the first 30 million, and it was exciting. I paid off a lot of debts. I remember I had to lodge in Protea Hotel, the one in Alausa for that night. And incidentally, that day was my birthday, I laid on my bed and just said thank you Jesus. So I started calling my debtors, I paid all of them and this excites me that I could pay back, because these were people that insulted me then.

I grew up with only values, no money. We were poor but we were taught key values, key moral. My mum and dad were not rich but they were people of sound values. I was so happy to pay back. Infact I need them to know that I have integrity. Those experiences made me know Nigerians are bullies by culture and character and you need a bigger bully to deal with them.

This is why businesses are dying in Nigeria, Once you are still small, everybody wants to cheat you. I was happy to pay; to pay my landlady after owing for like over a year. I earned who I am today, at least with God’s grace and mercy. I worked hard for what I own, and what I represent today. I worked hard every single minute of my life.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE DELVING INTO REAL ESTATE, GTEXT AND OTHER BUSINESSES, AND HOW ARE THEY THRIVING NOW?

For me it was a case of asking yourself what’s next because my dad, based on his own level became successful as a young man at age 20 as a construction contractor. He had a breakthrough in the Northern part of Nigeria but he is from Ogun State. In no time, before I was even born, the business collapsed as the northerners started doing their own construction. So I grew up meeting a father who practically had no job, and became a prophet. So growing up, I made up my mind that I will not build my business on government contracts, and that is why it is easy to be upfront. I did not collect any contract from the government even real estate. I buy from families. My dad’s story taught me to innovate and evolve, and that was how real estate came in. I needed to have a back up; something solid on ground. I needed something physical so that when people talk, they will know we are doing a real business not audio real estate business. We needed something that is physical and not social media. I needed to document my journey.

AT THIS AGE AND LEVEL OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENT, CAN YOU SAY YOUR ARE FULFILLED?

I can not say I am fulfilled. You know I told you I have this ark, and I have only touched 10 percent of it. My advice to people that are worried about me is that they should not worry, I have not started, you will have to ask questions for a long time. We have a long plan, and it is a global empire that we are building and as the Lord keeps us alive, we would redefine what it means to be wealthy in Africa.

WHAT IS THE NEXT ITEMIZED STEP IN THIS GREAT ARK OF YOURS?

Media and movies. We are hoping to achieve them this year. We are looking forward to getting a radio licence, buy an existing radio station, and a production company. We are into Netflix, Amazon and Prime. We have two movies we are working on, and one is actually about my mum.

You know, as you start building an empire, cost of marketing and PR becomes heavy so it is wisdom to own your own media to make it cheaper, and for collaborations.

Also, we are building up to four hundred houses on credit union, to help our balance sheet, and it is a 150 million dollar project in Texas. And we are looking at introducing Credit Union too in Nigeria to make mortgage easy for people who want to buy properties.

ON A SCALE OF 10, HOW FAR HAVE YOU GONE ON THE AFOREMENTIONED PROJECTS?

For us, vision is key, and it is a process. By August, we would do ground breaking and begin proper construction. It is seven to ten years plan so we are hoping that phase one will be done in two years, that is fifty unit housing which is residential. It will be the largest in the US. We would use solar, wind energy and it is going to be smart housing so we go commercial from the seventh to tenth year, and will be putting a golf range, acquarium, shopping mall and a couple of other commercial facilities.

YOU WERE RECENTLY RECOGNISED BY FORBES, TELL US ABOUT IT

We got Forbes Best of Africa and Real Rstate Mogul award. It is probably the biggest award I have received so far; it was humbling, and I am probably the youngest recipient ever. In fact, recently, Forbes African team were in my office in Ikoyi to talk about possible areas of collaboration. They recognised us on two levels; one is on investment coaching because they have seen how I have written over forty books and a good number of them is about teaching and mentorship. This is what it is; it is not really about building businesses because we know about how entrepreneurs thrive on other people’s money.

One level is African investment coach and another level is as real estate mogul. For the real estate mogul, there are companies that are way bigger than us and for us, there were a lot of innovation we brought into the real estate space. For example, we started 24/7 operations where customers can call us at 2am and make payment and we attend to them. We pioneered that and it is free. We also partner with DHL, to ensure documents are safely delivered anywhere in the world. So if you buy land from us in Nigeria and you are in Australia, DHL will deliver your document to you in front of your house without any extra cost; those were the innovations. We are also into virtual inspection and virtual allocation. We brought a lot of ideas into the industry, so for us when we grow into a sector, we look at how we can deepen the sector, things that others will copy from us, but we do not mind since we are able to help increase transparency. We were also the first to talk about green and smart homes in Nigeria, and at some point, we had to slow down because of dollar issue.

Now what we do about our estate; we just model and house our staff. For some reasons, we have moved to Dubai and now we have over hundred housing units there just to be sure that our investors were getting good Return On Investment, but I must say, we had our hands burnt, I lost over a million dollars in Dubai.

In business, you don’t give up, you learn from the mistakes and challenges, and move on. The problem most enterpreneurs have is their inability to learn from elders. Personally, I enjoy the counsel of elders. They will help you shape some perspectives of your businesses. Many think I am a one man business, but they don’t know the many people behind me, who can vouch for me. I run my business in a very transparent way so integrity is key for me.

YOU STUDIED MICROBIOLOGY; HOW COME NONE OF YOUR BUSINESSES ARE RELATED TO IT?

I always encourage young people who follow your platform. I had this brother who has a university degree. By the time I visited him, he was living in one room with eight of his siblings. He said egbon things are difficult, I remember going back to school that day and I kept saying to myself I will never end up like that man. I will not only focus on the course I am studying, but I will try many things, and whatever will bring me out of poverty, I will embrace. You know many of us studied courses based on what was given to us. While at school, I wasn’t even the best student. It is interesting to note that the best student then once begged me for job after graduation. I just told her I can support her but I won’t give her job for obvious reasons.

When I left school, I tried printing hundreds of CVs in a bid to secure a circular job, but all to no avail. One of my potential employer even advised me to go and continue with my popcorn business, that one day something great will come out of it. I did bulk SMS, I posted it on walls, at every bus stop from Sango-Ota to Ikeja-Along, that was the only thing I could do. I would go to school, beg them to subscribe to my bulk SMS business, that was the only thing I had, and my mother had died of Ovarian cancer then, and she was our breadwinner. I was chased out of my friend’s house where I was squatting, and I had to go back to the only house my mum built at Sango-Ota.

We hardly eat, but at least we had a roof over our heads, and that explains why real estate is important to me. I have been through a lot in my life but one of my biggest regret is my mum not being alive today. She died because we had no money to take her to a private hospital. By the time she was taken to a private hospital with help of colleagues, it was too late. She died two days after she was operated upon. The disease had already spread. For that, I don’t joke with people’s health, and my employees can attest to that. I lost my mum because I had no money. She couldn’t even live to witness my graduation.

So, that is why I have serious dislike for poverty, and also why I am writing books to teach people. I am sent to my generation and I want them to know how to make it and that is why I am writing books. I am open to writing a book with Dangote so that he can at least teach us, share his story of how he started, built his career so that young people can follow. The youth just want the elders to show us the way, to let us know they also passed through the same phase so when I am going through my own, I can understand that it’s a phase that will pass. Look at what Tony Elumelu is doing through his foundation. We also have foundation through which we give out grants. We also support widows and pay many children’s fees.

WE ALSO KNOW YOU ARE A PASTOR, TELL US ABOUT IT?

I started pastoring as a teacher in my secondary school. I went to a Christian primary school. My fellowship in secondary school and university took me as their pastor. I also pastored Winners Chapel Campus Fellowship then in few years I became ordained in my church but after a while, I pulled out of pastoring and the reason is obvious. I realised that it became a tool for blackmail. I am a businessman and that’s why I do not use the pastor title. The title I use is doctor because I have been given honourary doctorate degree and I have decided to stick to that.

PEOPLE ATTACH YOU TO WINNERS CHAPEL, WERE YOU ORDAINED THERE?

Yes, but I am no longer part of the pastoral thing, but I’m still a faithful and loyal member. For me, I do business with you because I am a businessman not church member or because I am a Christian. My advice is do not use sentiment, do not get carried away by religion, investigate whomever you want to do business with, do business because you are convinced they have something of value to offer you. Always remember we have a bullying culture.

I believe strongly in giving; my life has changed because of giving, and I am very much committed to that, but sometimes it is good to separate some things from some things; business is business, church is church, ministry is ministry, and I am not involved in any administrative thing in church. I used to be involved in church adminstration, but I pulled out because I started travelling, I got so many responsibilities. So, if you hear people call me pastor, know they are members from time past. They still call me pastor privately, it is between us, not everybody.

IN A NUTSHELL, CAN YOU CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE A MAN WHO BECAME RICH BY BOOKS?

By books, yes, fear of God, and integrity. Like I said, people cannot start trusting you with millions of dollars if you have not shown some level of integrity, I think that is important and I want to encourage the young people that business do not always go right, but do your best to show integrity. I have a consulting programme where I charge twenty thousand dollars but it is for business owners whose business is bringing over a million dollars and they are trying to take the business international, they want certain structure. What I make from coaching is more than enough. I still loan my company till today, a lot of people do not know that there are some rich people in this country, I manage personally their social media page and there are things behind the scene that some people do not know. Some people think my only company is real estate; business is business, but what has helped me more is integrity and transparency.

I am a Havard trained real estate investor. I also have the fear of God and mentorship. I also have enjoyed counsel and support from people who study me. We started real estate in Nigeria then moved to Dubai where some average property is almost five hundred thousand dollars and in one year, we became the largest black home brokerage by volume of what we were doing. And this is owned by a black man. We are in the U.K and US as well. We have housing units in Alabama, and everybody plays by the rules including family members.

WHAT CLOTH DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN?

I love Agbada, I used to be a suit guy but as I start doing things internationally and I saw the reputation of Nigerians internationally, I had two options: either I pretend not to be a Nigerian or I wear it as a badge of honour. It is when they see that integrity you bring to play that you can start changing that perspective and perception because many of what is going on is the perception internally, we don’t trust ourselves.

AND YOUR BEST FOOD?

It used to be fura when I was in the north, in the south it is Amala and Abula, gbegiri and ewedu together. I am an African man.

I have been to about hundred cities in the world

AND WHICH OF THE CITIES IS MOST EXCITING?

Manhattan, New York. This is because of my love for real estate. Whenever I’m in Manhattan, I always insist on high floors, from where I can have an overview of the city. For me, it is a way of meditation, love and attraction. I will be looking at those buildings and say to myself, one day I will build one.

DO YOU FOLLOW SPORT, WHICH OF THE TEAMS DO YOU SUPPORT?

I used to follow Chelsea but I changed to Liverpool.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

Twelve years, I got married at twenty six.

DIDN’T YOU THINK EARLY MARRIAGE WAS GOING TO AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

No, my wife and I have been in business together since our campus days. We met on campus during the days of bulk SMS. She understood my dreams and my aspirations very well. Now we travel a lot with the kids. We spent Christmas partly in London, the U.S. and Dubai. I just move around with them.

ARE YOU IN COMPETITION WITH ANYONE, ESPECIALLY IN REAL ESTATE

No…but it’s rather unfortunate that you are not in competition with anybody but people are in competition with you. I wish everybody well, and for young people, I now run a CEO retreat, where i train real estate developers. If you sit somewhere and envy me, that is your business; there is nothing I can do about it, but I have learnt that it is a sign of growth. For me, where I am going is more important.

WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE, AND THE WEALTH YOU HAVE ACQUIRED, WILL YOU DESIRE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE FUTURE?

As at today, No. But the truth remains that I am politically aware, and I understand political strategies. I can sit you down and tell you how you can make your move, and remember I am a trained digital marketing guy, I understand all those things but if I want to do politics, what am I going into politics for? I am a young man, I have connections, contacts but must I go into politics to have power? No.

I advise young people who rush into politics to build a name, if you do something solid the politicians will beg you because they know you have the solution, the capacity, and the answers. For me, I am very well positioned globally, growing my business is very important to me, supporting people in government across the world. We want to start partnering with people in government but we want to make sure our record is clean, our stories are clear because if you do not tell your stories, others will tell their own and their own will become the truth so we need to tell our own.

I have no political agenda, I have friends in all parties and I will continue to have friends in all parties but no plan to join politics. However, no one knows tomorrow, and can’t tell what the people can demand tomorrow. But as at today, that is not a headache I can afford to carry.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME SIR

Boss Of The Week

Evangelist Ebenezer Obey: Celebrating a Music Maestro at 84

Published

1 day ago

April 4, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

At 84, most professionals have retired to a quiet country life, living off their savings and investments or on other individuals, but not the ebullient music icon, philanthropist and accomplished teacher of God’s word, simply identified as Evangelist Ebenezer Obey.

Till date, Obey, who called himself Chief Commander in the early days of his musical adventure, still performs at shows and events; his voice still melodious and sonorous, serenading every individual within the radius of his performance. He had been an icon, and has remained an icon.

True to his words, the Evangelist marked this year’s birthday as he had always done; celebrating with God’s people, and winning souls for Christ through crusades.

This year, the music legend celebrated his 84th birthday with a two-day crusade in Abeokuta, Ogun State

The crusade themed: “Thy Kingdom Come” was organised in collaboration with the Riye Council of Knights of Methodist Church Nigeria, Egba Diocese, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The well-attended crusades held on March 25 and 26, and featured several notable gospel artistes, such as Esther Igbekele, Joseph Adelakun aka Ayewa and Adegbemi Adewale, among others.

Evangelist Obey capped the crusade with his amazing music prowess at the Freeman Methodist Cathedral Auditorium in Abeokuta with a praise celebration

Esther Igbekele, a gospel artiste, described the event as great and wonderful programme while also thanking the celebrant for the honour of ministering.

Beyond dishing out the word through the crusade, Evangelist Obey, who is now a Professor of Music at Olabisi Onabanjo University, held a charity outreach for the less privileged in the community, noting that giving to the less privileged was his own way of showing gratitude to God for lifting him from obscurity to global stardom in the music industry.

With the crusades done and dusted, the godly Evangelist chose a low key birthday on d-day as it fell on Good Friday; a day that symbolizes the climax of the Passion of the Chriat.

He expressed hope and prayed that God would grant him the grace to see his 85th which he said would be well celebrated

Obey was born on 3 April 1942 to an Egba–Yoruba ethnic background family. Obey, whose real names are Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Fabiyi, was born in Idogo, Ogun State, Nigeria of Egba-Yoruba ethnic background. He is of the Owu subgroup of the Egba.

Ebenezer Obey began his professional career in the mid-1950s after moving to Lagos. After tutelage under Fatai Rolling-Dollar’s band, he formed a band called The International Brothers in 1964, playing highlife–jùjú fusion. The band later metamorphosed into Inter-Reformers in the early-1970s, with a long list of Juju album hits on the West African Decca musical label.

Obey began experimenting with Yoruba percussion style and expanding on the band by adding more drum kits, guitars and talking drums. Obey’s musical strengths lie in weaving intricate Yoruba axioms into dance-floor compositions. As is characteristic of Nigerian Yoruba social-circle music, the Inter-Reformers band excel in praise-singing for rich Nigerian socialites and business tycoons. Obey, however, is also renowned for Christian spiritual themes in his music and has since the early-1990s retired into Nigerian gospel music ministry. It will be worthy of note to also say that Chief Commander just as he is fondly called by his fans, has played alongside popular gospel music veteran, Pastor Kunle Ajayi during his 30 years on stage concert in Lagos.

Obey married Juliana Olaide Olufade in 1963. His wife, known as Lady Evangelist Juliana Obey-Fabiyi, died at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on 23 August 2011, aged 67. They have several children and grand children.

Hale, hearty and overtly cheerful, Obey is already making plans for his 85th birthday, saying it would be well celebrated.

Obey is one of the few Nigerians, who had projected themselves in the positive light, remaining a beacon of hope to the teeming youthful generation, who have discovered no element of guile in his 84 years sojourn on the surface of the earth.

From all of us at The Boos, we wish the grand performer of generous 84th birthday, and many more years of transparent living for the benefit of the society.

Happy birthday sir!

Boss Of The Week

Nola Adetola: Raising the Lagos Skyline with Oyster Towers

Published

1 week ago

March 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

With over 1000 housing units providing for shelter-seeking Nigerians, in just nine years, the influence and humanity embedded in the organizational structure of Veritasi Homes cannot be overemphasized.

Led by its indefatigable and energetic Chairman, Nola Adetola, Veritasi Homes has proved beyond reasonable doubt that its mission of providing affordable luxurious accommodation has come to stay.

The firm, in conjunction with Cooplag, brought the mandate to the fore one more time on Thursday, when under the watch of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and many other distinguished Nigerians including the Chairman of Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, conducted the Groundbreaking ceremony for a highrise edifice, right in the heart of the prestigious Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, called OYSTER TOWERS.

This development is coming less than six months after the Nola Adetola-led team began the construction of another high rise apartment, Allied Towers, in the high profile Ikoyi Island. A testament of how desirous he is about bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria.

The entrepreneur, in his speech, noted that his efforts are geared towards continuous provision of luxurious, but affordable accommodation for the Nigerian public, as a real estate giant, in rewarding partnership with Cooplag, under leadership of Francis Adeoye.

In his speech, the Chief Executive Officer of Veritasi Homes, Mr. Nola Adetola, noted that the project is a bold new chapter in the Lagos’ skyline, and will provide competitive and a whole new approach to luxurious living, especially with its location in the Eko Atlantic City axis.

“Today, as we break ground on Oyster Towers, we are declaring possibility and our determination to do something meaningful with it. Together with COOPLAG, we open yet another chapter in Lagos’ skyline, in Nigeria’s housing story, and in Veritasi’s journey,” he said.

Recalling the journey, the trajectory, and the achievements of the Veritasi brand, Nola informed that “Nine years ago, when we began this journey, we looked at Nigeria’s real estate market and asked: Can we do better? That question gave birth to Veritasi Homes. And today, we are doing it.”

Also speaking, the President of COOPLAG, Francis Adeoye, also underscored the significance of the project and the vision behind it.

“Today, we are not just breaking ground, we are breaking barriers. We are laying the foundation for a future where cooperative strength meets architectural excellence, where innovation meets legacy, and where our members and stakeholders can aspire to live in spaces that reflect their values, ambitions, and achievements,” he said.

Adding, Adeoye intoned that “This is the realisation of a shared dream, a dream to redefine urban living and empower our members. For over three decades, COOPLAG has stood as a beacon of cooperative strength, financial empowerment, and community development.”

Expressing his belief in the abilities of the two organizations, Governor Sanwo-Olu confirmed his trust in their efforts, noting that he has been in working relationship with the team, especially Cooplag.

He informed that having been involved in the groundbreaking ceremony, he would nonetheless be involved in every step of the way, until the project comes to conclusion.

Speaker after speaker, everyone agreed that the partnership is one of the best things to happen to the real estate sector, and would give vent the housing revolution the organisations are dedicated to.

The two organizations later put pen to paper to officially seal an agreement that was meant to materialize via the erection of beauty, style, architectural intelligence, elegance and housing space in the highbrow Ikoyi Island.

With the speeches and paperwork concluded, the guests moved outside, where the traditional ritual of scooping the earth over itself was held, signifying the commencement of the task of bringing the Oyster Towers project to reality within the next coming months.

Veritasi Homes and Cooplag are tested and trusted organisations in the housing and homes sector of the Nigerian economy.

The Impressive World of Indefatigable Investor, Adetola Nola

By Eric Elezuo

Here’s the story of a man, who read his way out of poverty. A man, who is known by a dictum not common to ordinary mortals; the dictum of perfection. It is no wonder that he is credited with the saying, “I am a perfectionist, and I take nothing short of excellence”.

His name is Adetola Nola. He is the Chief Executive Officer at Veritasi Homes and Properties, A.R.N Farms and Commodities Limited, which he founded and signed off to build one of the largest rice milling plants in West Africa; Asteric Asset Management, and Baraka Energy Lithium Processing Limited. Nola’s image looms large, and he still has years before his 40th birthday.

Nola is a typical example of the ‘real’ Nigerian youths, who are steadily proving that the not too young to run mantra is not just about politics, but spreads across every facet of human endeavour, chiefly among which is entrepreneurship.

It is therefore, not a surprise that before the age of 30, the star brained thinker, determined achiever and never-say-never entrepreneur, who has conquered the world of real estate, agriculture, mining and asset management giant, is already ruling their worlds, giving back to humanity and creating leverages that are already making the world a much more better place as well as pave the way for upcoming youths to bring their dreams to reality.

Nola is a standard measure for administrative competence, and the that fact anyone can achieve greatness if they set their minds to it.

Born 1990, Adetola Nola, is unarguably an excellence-driven and innovative real estate entrepreneur with positive energy and experience instrumental in redefining success in the Nigerian real estate industry. He does not only boast of these energies, but steadfastly put them to work and has reinvented a whole new strata of home management, estate development and all round provision of affordable housing for every class of humanity, Nigerians more especially.

A well-read intellectual, Nola is a Bachelor of Engineering degree holder in Chemical Engineering from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He has not left anything to chance as regards improvement educationally as he has just concluded an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) degree at the Metropolitan School of Business & Management, London.

His strong leaning on education and in continuous learning have created in him a need not to rest on his oars, prompting him to attend many capacity development courses, including Strategic Management & Leadership courses at the London Metropolitan University, Finance and Management Courses at the London School of Business & Finance; and numerous seminars locally and internationally. Little wonder he tells anyone he cares to listen that “I read my way out of poverty”.

Ever since he ventured into entrepreneurship, Adetola Nola has not looked back; he has not allowed himself to be weighed down by the vicissitudes surrounding business establishment and grooming, and has consequently, raked in extraordinary achievements under the age of 30, prompting the magnanimous Forbes to recognise him among the Forbes Africa Under 30 Class of 2019, when he was 29.

Reacting to his selection, Nola noted that “It is an honour to be part of this list that features so many great people. Forbes has done a great job compiling and ensuring the credibility of this list since inception, and it is a leading resource for entrepreneurs, like myself.”

The CEO is an epitome of impressive leadership, corporate management skills, and rich top management experience. His expertise, knowledge and experience span sales, marketing, real estate investment, property finance, real estate advisory, management, leadership development among a long list of business and entrepreneur oriented endeavours.

From a mere start up, Nola kick-started his real estate career. He began as a real estate sales consultant with Grenadine Homes, where he recorded a plethora of successes in closing property deals. Every pie he puts his hands is on becomes a done deal. His ingenuity won him a trip to Dubai while at Grenadine. He reported that once, he sold shoes so well to a client that the client felt he could sell real estate, and there arose his interest in real estate.

In 2017, after facilitating projects for other real estate companies, he founded his own company, Veritasi with just one staff – his secretary. But his style of leadership, rooted in eye for details and profits, the company recorded over N2 billion in revenue in less than two years of operation. In his modesty, he attributed the feat to the company’s vision of solving the housing problems of middle-income earners in Nigeria.

From the proverbial mustard seed, the company has grown to boast of over 12,000 real estate consultants, 1300 Veritasi Realtors and over a score full-time staff, today. This is a magnificent leap by all standard.

Nola has remained undaunted in his pursuit of the golden fleece or the green pastures even as he encountered untold entrepreneurial hassles. It has been reported that the man, who today has a Midas touch, has failed severally in business, but his sight on the ultimate goal, kept him going. And today he is a success story. A point of reference, and a veritable instrument with a passion to see and help other businesses grow.

“All the other businesses were learning grounds for us. They failed, but they taught me a lot of things. Because when I started Veritasi, I understood business dynamics and a lot of other things. I am trying to resurrect one or two,” he said.

The entrepreneur’s experience in growing businesses from the scratch to fruition is predicated upon his ability to have either founded or co-founded five other companies, including Noah and Nola Incorporated, Pineapples Luxury Retail Store and Couture 89 amongst others. He is also the current Founder/Chief Strategist Officer of Nola Travels. It is worthy of note that Nola founded this particular business with the sole aim of helping unemployed graduates. That explains how kindhearted he is, and can always be!

Walking in the footsteps of great African entrepreneurs like Tony Elumelu, Nola has a wholesome ambition of raising at least 200 successful African entrepreneurs who will, in turn, create employment and the circle continues. He has, as a matter of fact, been training batches of at least forty realtors and entrepreneurs on business and financial intelligence in his office every Thursday since November 2018. He also helps friends and family members to analyse their businesses, just as he assists the same friends and family members to see to the fruition of their businesses.

In all, Nola has analysed over 40 businesses, and still counting, for close friends and family members in the same way he has helped in restructuring about 20 of these businesses free of charge.

His corporate social responsibility has grown in leaps and bounds, affecting lives and giving hope to as many that he has come in contact with. He is presently championing the emergence of smarter communities with green energy in Nigeria while developing and providing properties that are timely in delivery, cost-effective, energy efficient, and durable. He is also a strategic investor with investments in the automobile industry, fashion and agriculture. His catalogue of palliatives for the good of his people has remained green even as he is still a very young man.

Nola is a thoroughbred inspirational speaker as well as a resource person in many affairs of life. While impacting his community, he has acted as a resource person at many learning and discourse sessions. He has also spoken in many local and international conferences including University of Mazda, Abu Dhabi and Property Investment & Homebuyers Show, London and others.

In his quest to further affect humanity, he has partnered with a number of NGOs with the aim of eradicating poverty and establishing a positive legacy. His belief in entrepreneurship has given him leverage to solve the challenge of unemployment and poverty in Africa. He has therefore, created platforms where people can work and learn to build companies of their own.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Nola is not new to awards considering his humongous achievements. He has to his credit multiple local and international awards among which are Most Enterprising Student from Obafemi Awolowo University; Most Innovative Staff from Grenadine Homes; Best Intern in Operations from NNPC; Young Real Estate CEO Speaker from Property Investment Show, London and Fastest Growing Entreprenuer from Grapevine Real Estate.

Nola is a force to reckon with, and had started from the earliest of stages to create the accolades that follows him today, even at his youthful age.

THE PRESTIGIOUS CAMBERWALL ESTATE, LEKKI

Recently, Nola’s company unveiled an ambitious site and services scheme in Lekki, called Camberwall Estate. This magnanimous project is coming just after the Star City Garden in Ibeju-Lekki was first released. The estate consists of service plots.

A must buy and home to every lover of affordable luxury, Camberwall, a homely estate, which is located along Eleko Beach and opposite Amen Estate in Ibeju-Lekki Council, is a few minutes drive to Lagos Business School, and proposed airport. There is no doubt that it is an investor’s delight.

Speaking about the estate, Nola said it is a residential haven designed to provide affordable experience in a conducive and serene environment. He added that the estate is designed to accommodate modern state of the art facilities like interlocked road, clinic and security beautiful landscape, drainages, street lights, and estate club houses.

That is not all, it comprises a central designed architectural piece of accommodation, which provides residents with an ideal believe of tranquility and modern convenience. As part of his innovations, he is replicating noiseless and smart homes in Nigeria.

Nola does not only have a Midas touch in business, he is a stickler to excellence, decorum and the best of services. Little wonder he rolled out the drums to celebrate staff and clients as the year 2021 wound down in a most elaborate end of year party. He is by all means the class of technocrats capable of turning the economic fortunes of the nation, Nigeria around, and needs to be giving a chance.

A typical Epicurus son, Nola is a lover of good things including splendid food, neatly and smartly tailored apparels and worthy vacations to ease the stress and rejuvenate the mind.

Welcome to the impressive world of the indefatigable investor, Adetola Nola!

Boss Of The Week

Fola Adeola to Head Tinubu’s Petroleum Task Force

Published

3 weeks ago

March 14, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

From his comfort zone, after meritoriously guiding the broad brand, Guaranty Trust Bank, to a height high enough to draw international comparisons in quality and service delivery, co-founder, Mr. Fola Adeola, attracted attention, bagging a presidential appointment as the Head of a nine-member Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimization Task Force.

The appointment, approved on Friday by President Bola Tinubu, places a mandate on Adeola and his team to design and coordinate the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

The appointment was announced in a statement by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga as follows:

PRESIDENT TINUBU ESTABLISHES TASK FORCE ON PRESIDENTIAL PETROLEUM REFORM & VALUE OPTIMISATION

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform & Value Optimisation Taskforce to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

Mr Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of the Fate Foundation, is the Task Force’s chairman. As chairman, he will coordinate the group’s work and ensure the timely delivery of its mandate.

Other members of the Taskforce are: Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella.

Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.

As constituted, the Taskforce is a time-bound, high-level executive working group tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.

The initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience, and industrial development.

It will operate as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, engaging industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society as consultees while focusing on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.

The Taskforce will report directly to the President and provide monthly progress memoranda. An interim report will be submitted after three months, while the final outputs are expected within six months of inauguration.

President Tinubu expects the Task Force to deliver three major reform blueprints.

One of the deliverables is the Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes – including draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.

The second deliverable is the Capital & Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking $5–10 billion in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests.

The third blueprint will focus on the National Energy Transformation Strategy – a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.

President Tinubu has directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the Taskforce and to submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.

In furtherance of this directive, President Tinubu has also directed all existing committees, teams, and working groups established under various reform initiatives within the sector to align their activities, reporting structures, and work programmes with the new Task Force.

The streamlining will ensure coordination, avoid duplication of mandates, and provide institutional clarity, thereby ensuring coherence in the petroleum sector reform architecture.

The President has also directed that all relevant documentation, institutional knowledge, and ongoing workstreams should be made available to the Taskforce to support the development and implementation of its comprehensive reform framework.

The creation of the Taskforce represents a strategic presidential instrument to accelerate petroleum sector reforms, strengthen governance architecture, optimise national energy assets, and position Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a foundation for sustainable economic transformation.

The Taskforce will automatically dissolve upon submission and acceptance of its final report.

Fola chairs the committee alongside reputable industry and financial sector experts, including Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella with Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary.

President Tinubu tasked the committee with producing execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination.

The committee’s establishment comes after President Tinubu announced Presidential Executive Order 09 on February 13, 2026, that mandates direct remittance of all government petroleum revenue to the federation account.

THE CAREER TRAJECTORY OF FOLA ADEOLA

Beyond being a financial wizard, Adeola has once tried his hands in politics, aiming for the number position of the Nigerian nation as the vice president. That was when ran with the present National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu under the umbrella of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Born on January 10, 1954, Adeola is an alumnus of Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, and Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Diploma in Accounting in 1975.

He became a Chartered Accountant in 1980 following his training with Deloitte, Haskins and Sells and D.O. Dafinone & Company (both Chartered Accountants). Over the years he has received professional development training at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.

In 1999, he completed a one-year sabbatical at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos, Nigeria, where he carried out research on economic development and job creation policies.

Adeola co-founded one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, now a holding company, the Guaranty Trust Holding Company, owner of Guaranty Trust Bank, together with Tayo Aderinokun in 1990. He served as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director from inception until 2002.

He is also the founder of FATE Foundation and chairman of Main One, Nigeria’s leading telecom company.

In the public sector, Fola served as the past board chairman of the National Pension Commission from December 2004 to June 2006. He also at one time chaired the Lagos State Disaster Relief Committee.

He was decorated as Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in December 2002 by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. He also has an honorary doctorate from Nkumba University, Ntebbe, Uganda.

In 2009, he won Banker of the Decade award by the Vanguard Newspaper group. Other awards trailing the accomplished bank include Distinguished Famous Alumni award by Yaba Tech Zik Leadership in 2003, and This Day Awards 2011 – Change Makers in Social Entrepreneurship.

Adeola is married to Hajara, and they are blessed with six children.