Tunji Lam-Adesina, is an entrepreneur and Founder of Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation. In addition, he is one of the children of former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina. He recently visited our corporate Headquarters and the opportunity was used to engage him… KUNLE GAZALI, KUNLE DARAMOLA and BLESSING DONATUS got him to explain why and how he thinks governors must come up with blueprint to develop the environment sector to increase their states’ Internally Generated Revenue base among many other issues. Excerpt:
How did it feel to be a son of the governor when your late Dad was in power?
Well, it was a good thing to be a son of the governor, however my own case was more peculiar. It was a challenging one, because, when you are the son of someone who likes to raise the bar and set records, you have a big hurdle before you, that is the point I am now, I’m trying to meet or beat his records.
Tell us about yourself, who you are, the schools you attended and what you do now?
I grew up with my parents, I was very young when we lived beside Ibadan Grammar School but I grew up in Felele. I went to Ayodele Nursery and Primary School, which belongs to the wife of Baba Odeniyi in Ogun State, and from there I proceeded to Government College Ibadan, where I had my Secondary school education. I went to Obafemi Awolowo University briefly before I moved to BOWEN University, and from there, I went for my Masters in Wales. After that I joined, Lloyd Banking group, it used to be Halfax Bank, and I worked there for four years, I rose to become a manager there, before I came back to Nigeria. Since I got back to Nigeria in 2011, I have worked as an entrepreneur, so I have several businesses that I run, I also have a foundation as well.
What is your foundation Eleven Eleven Twelve all about?
Eleven Eleven Twelve is a foundation that I set up to operate within the environment structure, three key things. Number one, we have a department that deals with advocacy; we are using this to promote best practices among the citizens, telling them about how to keep their environment safe and tidy, the issue of climate change and other things that surround the environment. The second thing, we are trying to set up a bit of research, getting statistics that has to do with the environment sector and something that has been challenging not only Nigeria but Africa for so long, and the third which is the major thing is that we are trying to use the foundation to discover, nurture and promote young and innovative minds within the environment sector. So, that it is a way for me to give back to the society.
I will also say here that I ventured into the environment sector because of my passion for nature, and the fact that when I was growing up, I grew up to know Ibadan as the dirtiest city in Africa, and for me it is time for us to change the narrative. It is time to turn Ibadan to not just the cleanness but the major hub of environmental activism in Nigeria.
Why are you not active in politics?
Because I don’t think politics is my calling.
If given the chance, what would you say to the new crop of political leaders in Oyo State?
If given the chance, I will tell them to go and retire and sit down, and give young people the chance to prove themselves.
But we have seen examples of young people who have really performed far below expectations?
I don’t think we have seen any young person messing up in Oyo state so far.
Since you are not into politics and your brother, Honourable Adedapo Lam-Adesina is, how can you convince us that it is not a family arrangement?
As a matter of fact, we can all be in politics, there is nothing or any law that says we cannot all be in politics, everybody can be in politics but everybody will choose their own lane, and I have chosen mine. This is the way I want to be, and he has chosen his own. Obviously, he is doing well in politics and for me he is a role model for young people who are coming up. For example, the event we had recently which was the Green Awards and the official launching of the Foundation- I brought some key people, three ladies called environmental activists in Africa- they are everywhere, one from Uganda, one from Kenya, the other from Nigeria. I brought the three of them down to Ibadan to show them what we are about to do and then how they can collaborate with us, and their feedbacks have been great and encouraging.
The ‘Eleven Eleven Twelve’ – we want to assume it was the day your Dad died?
Yes. It is a way of immortalizing my father.
Recently, followers and political associates of your late Dad gathered in Felele to remember him, how did you interpret the gathering?
For me it meant so many things, and one of the key things that I saw there was the fact that since my father left Oyo state politics, it seems to me that Oyo state has not been able to discover another gathering point which is seriously affecting the politics of the state. Whether you like it or not, there is supposed to be a father for all within the state or within the country, and when you don’t have that, there is always going to be a major problem. However, looking at the gathering again, it reminded me of the fact that we still have a long way to go in this country because you can see so many things that are wrong with the political parties. They essentially do not have ideologies and those that pretend to have are going about it in a disappointing way.
It is a common notion that when someone wants to join politics, he/she will start by establishing a foundation…
(Cuts in) I don’t think so, only God knows tomorrow, but for me, I am not even thinking about it because I am not going to leave my businesses and join politics. It is going to be very stupid to leave my businesses, as it is now, I have businesses running very well and at every given point in time, I employ about eighty people with the help of God. So if I am to leave them to join politics, that means I am a bad person because that means I am risking their own livelihood just to join politics. And for me, if I join politics now, by the time I come back, my businesses would have been gone, so what do I come back to? Anybody that is going to drag me into politics now must be ready to do an agreement with me that I am going to do five days as a business man, and two days as a politician which I know is impossible, the best I can do is to advise the government and that is all.
As you earlier submitted that you recently, through your foundation gave some cash to young minds, how did you choose these people?
It is a good question- for example, like I always say, the Environment sector has been regulated for so long and for me that is the most lucrative sector in Africa that I know of. If you are not in the sector you might not know anything. The people that we gave money to are young people that are doing innovative things within the environment sector- especially the person that won the green grant, which is a yearly thing. The young lady started an idea called ‘Risk Africa’, they go to villages and lighten up villages that are off grid, and they don’t use electricity but find them sustainable and renewable energy. Solar and all, she has been to Lagelu in Ibadan and the next place she is going to is Kaduna, and she has been spreading her tentacles, she has also gone to Ghana too. And if you look at the nine finalists, and their ideas, you are going to be amazed. So what we are trying to do is to showcase them to the world. Immediately after the camp in Ilaji, the lady that won the cash prize was also given award, she got a scholarship and she is now in Cardiff doing her Masters.
The money for the grant is not coming from anywhere and presently I am not looking for any government backing, even though some people have reached out to us immediately after the award night but I am not pushing it. The money is solely from the sister company I run. We have gathered that no state in Nigeria has a standardized waste management, we have a long way to go and it is the same all over Africa. We are already talking to some people in Sierra Leone who want to work with us, and another guy from Liberia. Waste management is my passion and like I said earlier, we are on a mission to make Ibadan clean and to make Oyo State a hub of environmental activism not only Nigeria but in Africa. The event we had recently witnessed people from Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Enugu and outside the country. Gradually I think we are getting there.
This issue of environment that you are discussing passionately- have you attempted to carry successive governments in Oyo State along?
Well, talking about successive government, I had chats with the past government, I mean people handling the waste management and unfortunately they were unable to put major things in place, because for me, one of the things I was agitating for was that it is not right for us to be dumping waste on the road, who does that? In this modern day? And for me, it dwells back to the fact that so many people believe that nothing good can come out of the environment sector and most governments are not looking to that side anyway. Look at Nigeria, I doubt you can have a government that has a blueprint centered on environment especially when the whole world is talking and pumping money into environment and climate change. After Health and Education, Environment will likely come side by side with Agriculture and like I always tell people, without the environment, there cannot be economy in the first place. However, plans are in the pipeline with the present government and we are still in the early stage, for example the chairman of the waste management just resumed, and I know the commissioner for environment is doing perfectly well and I believe they will call for a round table meeting at some point. Just to add, one thing people fail to understand is that in environment, you generate jobs, sustainable businesses, you can raise internal revenue and you can even run the Gross Domestic Product of the country with environment. You can keep the environment clean and healthy for everybody so it cuts across almost everything and the foundation of the economy is the environment.
For giving out such amount of money as grants, how rich is Adetunji Lam-Adesina?
I am not rich but I am rich, I am rich because I am comfortable, I am rich because what I do is what I like doing, it is my passion. I sit with people, and they say we want to make money and become the richest people in the world but I will tell them I want to be a world class philanthropist, I want to make people. My happiest moment every month is when I approve salaries, I feel so happy because I have made some people happy.
Talking about your business and a way of advising upcoming entrepreneurs, what makes you passionate about business?
Okay, I have series of businesses, and one of them is outdoor advertising. I am a chartered marketer, so I am into marketing as well. The major one which is waste management, I am a waste manager and I am not stopping at just that, we are looking to do some recycling as well, we are going to start working with people outside the country to bring innovations, one of which is turning plastic into tiles, interlocking which will be penetrable by water and durable. These are some of the few things that we are trying to do.
What is the legacy of Lam Adesina that you want younger generation to learn from?
It cuts across so many things, one that will interest people is that he was a patriotic man; he loved not only his city, and state but his country as well. Whenever my father leaves Ibadan for a meeting, he would always want to come back home that same day. In fact, when he was sick and was offered to go for treatment outside the country, he said no, that he was going to treat himself in Ibadan. When he was the governor he insisted that none of his children would school abroad, I had an option of going to the UK to school at that point and one of his good friends told him he was going to take me there but he said no, that he wasn’t going to allow me, that he wanted to train everybody here that we have to understand the culture and the fact that this place is our own and that is one thing that is lacking presently. Patriotism is lacking and that’s why the country is not moving forward. Until we see Nigeria as our own, we are not going to care about its progress, but when you see it as your own, you don’t destroy or steal from it but rather give back to it. That was his legacy.
What other thing will you say you remember your father for?
Another major thing I remember him for, is that, as he always used to say, good name is better than gold and silver and success in life is not determined by the money you have in the bank account or property but success is determined by the numbers of lives you are able to touch and the legacy you leave at the end of your life.
