•How he started multi-billion business with 600 pounds he borrowed 

By Ebun Sessou and Dolapo Majekodunmi

Chief Michael Ade-Ojo is the founder of Elizade Nigeria Limited and Chairman, Toyota Nigeria Limited. Born on June 14, 1938 at Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State into the family of the late Chief Solomon Ojo and Mrs. Beatrice Ademolawe Ojo, little Ade-Ojo attended St. Michael’s Anglican School, Ilara-Mokin. He later had his secondary education at Imade College, Owo between 1954 and1958, where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate.

He proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, in 1961, where he bagged a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Business Administration in 1965.  He started Elizade Independent Agencies (EIA) with his wife, Elizabeth Wuraola Ojo. The company focuses on the distribution of automobiles in Nigeria, especially Japanese cars. In this interview, he reveals the secret behind his multi-billion business and how he started with 600 pounds. He also explained how poverty subjected him to abuse.

•Ade-Ojo

Growing up

My life started as a street hawker in Ondo State. I sold all sorts of things including charcoal, matches, pap and firewood to make ends meet. I continued with life until my mother was convinced that I needed to go to school. So, she decided to finance my education. My father had three children and he did his best to sponsor the education of only one child from each wife. But unfortunately, I was the youngest child of my mother. I was very obedient to her and my mother was a good disciplinarian. She would not take nonsense from me.

While my immediate senior brother would go to farm, the only one who was sponsored to go to school would go to school and the other two children from the other women. And I was going to fetch water from the brook every day for mother to cook. I was handling all the chores including sweeping in the home. While my mother decided to finance my education, I was still doing the house chores. All the time, she was grinding corn to make pap and she taught me to be responsible. So, I was quite obedient. She never spared the rod whenever I made mistakes.

In the morning before going to school, I would have to fetch water, sweep the house and sell pap for my mother. And when I came back in the evening, I would do my homework. I also sold kerosene and matchsticks, cleared weed to slip poverty. In those days, people were not able to buy one box of matches at a time. We would tie them in pieces, between five and 10, and then hawk them around. That was my own business.

One thing I could not forget was the fact that my parent’s poverty subjected me to abuse by my uncles. My uncles deprived me some childhood communion that other children enjoyed. When they were enjoying tales and fables, I was always sent on errands. I had no option but to go. That was one form of intimidation that I experienced in life. If their children were not busy, they would still call me to work for them. My parents were poor and my uncles took advantage of that. It was as if I came from heaven with poverty.

We were living in a house roofed with mat while others were living in houses roofed with zinc. Those experiences propelled me to determine that I must change my family dynamics. So, I was doing very well in school. In my final year in 1953, I took the entrance examination but I did not pass. I was worried. One of my aunties noticed that something was wrong. So, I told her that I lost two admissions. I almost lost hope of gaining admission to secondary school.

While I was ruminating on the issue, I slept off and I had a dream that I was admitted into a secondary school. I woke up to discover it was a dream and I felt bad. I took another entrance examination and I was waiting for the result. One day, at about 5.30am, we left for the farm. On our way back home, I met one of my classmates in primary school, Cecilia Akanjo, who called my name, “Ademiyan”, and asked if I had seen my name on the list of those who passed the entrance examination. I immediately rushed to the primary school and met the headmaster who confirmed that I had passed and I was happy. I lived with my mother, so I was not too familiar with my father.

Fatherly role?

I lost my dad when I was in secondary. He died in 1956. Nobody told me about his death because I was the youngest. It was during a holiday break that I learnt that my father had died. And my brother’s wife who did not know I was not aware of my father’s death jokingly said, “Oga has come after killing his father”. My father had died and buried before I was told. I was in class three and it was believed that I could not have played any role in his funeral. Sincerely, I loved my father.

Ambition

My ambition was to be a doctor; unfortunately, I never knew I needed physics to be doctor. I was good in other subjects but mathematics was not part of my life. When I gained admission into secondary school, money was the problem. In 1953, my brother, who was then in Police College, Lagos, bought my clothes while my mother paid the school fees for the first term. After a while, I had to finance my education. So, during the holidays, I would join some of the labourers in the community. I also worked in the farm as well as a bricklayer.

But there was a recruitment process in the school by the Nigerian Army, and I told my mum that I wanted to go for the interview but she told me I would die if I tried it. But I was determined and I went for the interview but I was not taken. I proceeded to the School of Agriculture Akure in 1959 to 1960. I finished the course and I was posted to Ibadan and I was there between 1960 and 1961 when I got admission into the University of Nsukka to read Business Administration and, at the end, I came out with Second Class Upper.

Meeting his wife

I met my late wife, Elizabeth, at the University of Nsukka. The first year in the university was pretty easy but, in the second year, the management was bent on ensuring that school fees were paid. Unfortunately, I was unable to pay the fees which nearly resulted in my withdrawing from the university.

Luckily, my Head of Department and some lecturers who knew my challenge decided to help. I was employed in the departmental library so that I could finance my education. One of the evenings in the school fellowship, I was in the church and two other young girls were seated beside me. I knew they were Yoruba girls. Elizabeth was seated next to her friend who sat beside me. We were not talking to each other but I noticed that while we were singing, the two of them were laughing and I was embarrassed.

But I soliloquized, ‘These people do not know who they are dealing with’. In the university, my popular name was ‘Ade-Ojo Lumumba’. Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of independent Democratic Republic of the Congo from June till September 1960. People said I looked like him and I used to shave my beard exactly like his. To my surprise, as soon as the fellowship was rounded of, both of them rushed out. I wanted to go after them but I could not get up in time. But when I finally got out of the hall, I saw them waiting for me aside. They said, ‘We knew you were embarrassed by our laughter. But it was not about you; rather it was about the man seated next to you’.

They apologized and that was how I used the opportunity to know their names and did little introduction. I knew my late wife’s friend was a girlfriend to my friend but she (Elizabeth) was not engaged. I then asked for permission to be checking on her and she obliged and that was how our love story started. One thing that fascinated me about Elizabeth was her kind gesture. As a student, I was unable to pay my school fees but she was on scholarship. We became friends and, to my greatest surprise, she gave me 40 pounds which was her allowance. I was overwhelmed by that gesture. That was how I made up by mind to marry her. We were married when she was still in Nsukka because I was one year ahead of her in school. We were married on February 26, 1966 in Enugu. There were 14 people who attended the marriage. We were happily married and blessed with two children, a girl, Deola and a boy, Demola.

Enter Elizade

CFAO gave me scholarship during my last two years in university. So, I decided to give back to the company by working as a contract staff. I was with CFAO for one year and a half. But, due to some disagreement, I left. At CFAO, when my contract was not renewed at the end of 1966, I moved to Island Revenue. I was there for five months. When I got to Island Revenue, I discovered that it was a house for laziness. But I was not used to laziness. After doing my work for the day within two hours, I used the remaining working hours to market insurance. I learnt about Insurance in CFAO. I was successful as an insurance marketer. I was able to save some money from the marketing of insurance with which I later started my business. I joined British Petroleum, BP, but I had no time to market insurance.

I was a sales representative and that was the bedrock of my success story. And with my sales ability, I did well with BP. In 1970, I was transferred to Benin to relieve one of the workers who was on leave for three months. I increased the sales by 25 per cent and came back to Lagos. To my surprise, the man I relieved in Benin was brought to Lagos branch to be my direct boss. I was annoyed and I demanded permission to proceed on leave. I was on leave when I decided to go into another business. I became a car seller and, within one month, I had sold 40 cars. With the 40 cars sold, my business started. After the sale of the 40 cars, I calculated my profit and discovered that my income was more than one year salary in BP. So, I decided to leave BP and started my business.

When I started the business, I was asked to pay 600 pounds. It was RT Briscoe Nigeria that just started selling Toyota in Nigeria. The company gave me the opportunity to sell cars while I earn my commission. I wanted to expand my coast, so I approached a bank for loan but I was denied. I offered my brain as collateral but it was rejected. I met a cousin who gave me the 600 pounds and I paid to start the sale of motorcycle. I paid the 600 pounds to the company and became an agent. And I was promised to be paid 2.5 per cent commission.

And because work had become part of me, I started the sale of motorcycles. I do not know how to be lazy. I feel useless when I am idle. That was the lesson that my mother taught me. I was using a Volkswagen when I started my business and continued using it until I was able to buy a second hand Presidia. I also bought a Toyota Corona later after I sold two heavy duty vehicles. I used the money to fix others things for the business to move on. There were things I denied myself of in order to move my business forward. And because I was able to cut my coat according to the size of my cloth, I was able to build the business quickly.

One lesson that I taught was not to spend money unnecessarily. I did not attempt to do things that I knew could kill the financial capital and I am still like that till today. If you are building a business, be careful not to waste your financial capital. I was able to separate my capital from other money and that was part of my success story.

How did you come about the name Elizade?

During my last year in Nsukka, I decided to go into real business. We were the first set of Business Administration students in Nigeria. My late wife was Elizabeth and I am Ade. So, it is a combination of Elizabeth and Ade.

What inspired you to establish a university?

Elizade University was set up to be a student-centered university, with emphasis on best practices in the delivery of teaching, research and community services. The university had her maiden convocation in April 2017. People should know that education is not a business. Anyone who intends to set up a university for monetary gains has missed it. I did not set up a university to make money but for charity and development of my hometown, Ilara Mokin. Since 1988, I promised to build a secondary school in my hometown but there was a clause. And the clause was for the people to give me land but they could not provide land. So, that mission was aborted.

As the years rolled by, my ambition was to build a school of international standard for that town. Yet, the mission was aborted but the zeal was still burning in me. So, some young boys, ‘Ilara-Mokin Youths Association’, championed the cause and met the king on the case. I was later given two plots of land and then I bought some lands adjoining the two plots. As time went on, we were able to buy 100 acres of land. I have invested over N25 billion on that university and I have not received a penny from anyone. The school is growing and we are having the second convocation in this year. We have five faculties at the university.

Growing up, was there any prediction or prophesy concerning your success in life?

Someone told me that I was going to be great but I did not believe him because he was an herbalist. Then there was a time a neighbourhood vigilante in our compound encouraged my mother to send me to school that I might become a great person in life.

Thirdly, when I was in elementary school, I dreamt about building a tall house. My uncle’s house was a storey building but the house that I built in that dream was taller than his but I did not tell the story until I was 40 years.

Are there challenges you faced in the past?

Yes, I faced my challenges.

What is your view about politicians in Abuja

I have never lived there and, in order to avoid being a politician, I will never live in Abuja. Corruption is in all of us. When you give you are encouraging it, and when you take you are encouraging it. Anti-corruption fight is not about mind-set but a question of doing what is right.

How many hours do you work daily?

I do not know. Work is part of my life. I do not know how to be lazy. If I am not at work, my brain is still working. I grew up to know work as a passion and that was what my mother did to me.

In summary, what would you call the most realistic phase of your life?

I know the son of whom I am. I am a truthful person. In business, you must work for profit otherwise you are heading for nothing. You must not waste money and ensure continuity for the business. You must avoid what can put you out of business. You must know what you need. I do all I do with God in mind. You must know what you are doing and face it squarely provided it is genuine.

With this economic condition of the country, would you say it is possible for a child from a poor background to excel?

It is very possible. And that is if you are able to differentiate between your capital and your expenditure. Do not spend the money you would invest in your business. I made up my mind after an experience in1978 not to involve in illegal business.