Seventy-eight-year old Chief Kessington Adebutu tells ‘Nonye Ben-Nwankwo why he is a philanthropist and about his love for women
How do you feel at 78 or is age just a number to you?
I don’t feel any different. I am just myself. I still do what I have always been doing. I have had my ups and downs and I believe that is how it should be. It shouldn’t be rosy all the time.
People still troop to your office; it must be tiring seeing this number of people everyday. Don’t you feel like retiring?
You have not seen anything today. Try and come on a Tuesday, then you would see the number of people I must see. I enjoy what I do. I am aggressive. I have always been like this even when I was nothing.
So, there was a time you were ‘nothing?’
Of course. There was a time I was not in this position. I thank God for what I am today.
A lot of people know you as a philanthropist…
Some people work harder than I do yet they get a little fraction of what I am getting from God. I believe the only way I can show appreciation is by giving back to the society.
Was that basically why you built your foundation in your village in Iperu Remo?
It is not a village. It is a town. Anyway, I set up that foundation in 2005 at Golden Gate Hotel in Lagos. What I just did last October was to move the headquarters to my town.
Looking back, did you imagine that your life would be like this?
I never imagined it. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. It wasn’t as if I passed through very hard times as well. I remember when I was working, I would collect my salary and use it to pay previous debts and then I would start the next month with another debt. It just wasn’t rosy.
Where was the first place you ever worked?
I started with Cable and Wireless which later became NITEL. That was the place you would meet all the important people in the country. We were in charge of international phones. In those days, you wouldn’t find any international line in anybody’s house; everyone had to come to Cable and Wireless to make and international call. No poor man would come there of course. I made a lot of contacts there. I met TOS Benson there and so many other prominent Nigerians and even expatriates.
Why did you leave there?
It was from the contacts that I made there that I got into salesmanship. I made so many contacts there.
You worked in a chemical company but why didn’t you think of setting up your own when you decided to be your own boss…
Yes. I worked in a pharmaceutical company that made Andrews Liver Salt and Cafenol. I was a salesman. I wasn’t happy with my job. I was well paid. When the expatriates came, I would be the one to train them. But even as I was the one training them, they were my bosses. I felt bad that the expatriates were regarded as my bosses. That was what spurred me on to be on my own. I wanted a job of my own. The money was not there. I couldn’t have gone into pharmaceutical business; it was capital intensive. I had to look for a business that required the least minimum of funds or even nothing. The only thing that came to my head was to be a pools agent.
Didn’t it require money to start?
No. All I needed was a shop, a table and a biro. That was how I started. I started at Alakara Bus Stop in Lagos. My brother was a landlord in that area, so that also helped me. I had good patronage. People knew where I lived and knew I couldn’t run away. Pool business has a lot to do with honesty and integrity.
Did you flourishing immediately you started?
I was doing very well. Within a couple of months, I opened the second branch. In less than one year, I had the third branch. I went on like that until I had so many other branches. I have not left the pool business but what I do mainly now is lotto.
Some people might look at what you do as gambling…
It is not gambling; it is gaming. If I remember Chief (Obafemi) Awolowo’s language, he said gaming is the stock exchange of the common man.
But is it wise for people to use their last kobo to play this game, when most times, they don’t even win and their money would just be gone?
Gaming has helped this country a great deal. So many people who ordinarily would go on the rampage on the streets have their tempers cooled down because of gaming. They have hope that something better would come their way. Gaming has helped a lot of people.
Why didn’t you ever go into politics?
As far as I am concerned, politics will never be for me. Why would I go into it? I am a businessman; I am not a politician. I want to do my business. I cannot afford to get into politics. Never and never! I have friends who are politicians but I am not in any camp. I have friends in all the camps.
Your closest friend was Chief Solomon Ayoku, how did you cope when he passed on?
He was my very good friend. He was younger than me. He was born in 1939, I was born in 1935. God knows the best. He was a pools agent like me. His shop was just a stone’s throw from mine. We had things in common. When I wanted to go into pools promotion, I decided that we should do it together. That was what gave birth to Face-to-Face Pools. We did quarrel at times but we always made up without a third party. We always settled our differences.
Was it because of lack of finance that made you not to go to the university?
The answer is yes and no. At a time when I was in class four in the secondary school, I wanted to go into the labour market. I didn’t even want to finish secondary school. I was too anxious. I played truancy a lot when I was in secondary school. My mother bought me a new Raleigh bicycle and persuaded me to go back to school. She begged me. I was the only student that had a bicycle in the college.
If you wanted to drop out of school then, why are you now building and donating classrooms to schools?
I believe that any soul who is healthy and educated can never go hungry. You may not eat what you like but you will definitely eat something. My foundation is principally for education and health.
Was growing up exciting?
The going was good. I was determined. My friend, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, would always remember that I told him when he and the others were going to England so many years ago that I would be a millionaire before they came back. And that was what happened. I was determined. I am still determined.
But going to England was the in-thing then…
I didn’t want to go. In fact, I couldn’t even afford to go even if I had wanted anyway. I didn’t have any scholarship abroad. But they came back and they met me a millionaire. I worked so hard and I am very honest. In fact, I owe my growth to hard work and honesty. When I started, I opened 26 branches all over Nigeria. Then, workers weren’t stealing. But it got to a stage when workers didn’t just steal, they wanted to grab everything. We had to close down some branches because of that.
Has the economy affected your business?
It hasn’t been too bad. Some people have nothing but they play the game to have something or double the little they have. An average man wants to game to become affluent.
But so many people who are addicted to gaming crash and become paupers due to gaming.
I still tell you that gaming is the stock exchange of the ordinary man on the street. You can also liken it to when the stock exchange crashed. There is really no difference.
Why are you referred to as Baba Ijebu?
I didn’t give myself the name. The name has spread all over the country. I don’t even mind the name. I am an Ijebu man.
Being a millionaire would have attracted so many women to you, how did you manage?
I am not as good as you think I am. I like women and I am not hiding it.
Is that why you have three wives at the moment?
Three wives? Don’t let me tell you how many wives I have. I am not as good as you think I am. I wonder why you would think I have three wives.
Was it by choice that you had more than one wife?
I am very weak when it comes to women. If I see a woman I like, I make sure I take her as a wife. I don’t waste time at all. I don’t like to play games. If I like a woman, I talk to her and eventually, I take her as my wife. That is why I have so many wives.
Have you had reason to regret being a polygamist?
No way. I don’t regret being a polygamist at all.
But people believe that it brings friction amongst the wives and children.
It depends on the man. I am in charge. I have my children working with me in this office. They are not all from the same mother. Everybody is happy. We are peaceful. There is no problem.
At 78, your last wife gave birth to twins…
Do you really believe she is the last wife? Anyway, she is the last wife for now. Nobody knows what will happen. My father had his last wife when he was 80. She is my last wife at the moment.
But the other wives and children would have kicked against it when you were getting married to her.
They were at the wedding ceremony. If they want to be happy, they would have to support me in anything that makes me happy. That is the philosophy. If anybody around me wants to be happy, he or she must do what makes me happy, period.
But are you not too old to get a new wife and have children?
What do you mean by being too old? If I don’t tell you my age, would you know how old I am? So, don’t even go there.
Do you have a favourite among your wives?
I don’t have any permanent favourite. The moment you are very good to me, then you are my favourite.
Would it be correct if we conclude that you like women so much?
I like the company of women. I cannot deny that.
Has any woman ever broken your heart?
Is it possible? How can a woman break my heart? No woman leaves me. I am serious. It is not possible.
Do you smoke or drink?
I quit smoking over eight years ago. One of my junior wives made me stop smoking. I am not a fan of alcohol. I drink to the barest minimum. If you give me a bottle of beer, you want to embarrass me.
What do you still hope to achieve in the nearest future?
I want to continue helping people. I want to continue to be a philanthropist. A lot of Nigerians are suffering. So many people cannot even afford to get treated for ordinary hernia.
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