Adebiyi Adesuyi is the Chairman, Wealthgate Global Investments Limited. In this interview with AKIN ADEWAKUN, he reminisced about his childhood days, ambition to become a medical doctor and how he ended up playing in the nation’s financial ecosystem.
WHAT was your growing up like?
I was born in Ilesa in Osun State on April 20, 1965, though my parents were natives of Ile-Oluji, Ondo State. My daddy was the late Mr. Oluyemi Adesuyi and my mummy is Mrs. Grace Adesuyi. My father was a civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture in the old Western State and Ondo State. My growing up was very interesting. Although my parents were not rich, they were comfortable. They gave me and my siblings everything we needed to have a good life as well as a good education. Ours was a family that was filled with love. We were also raised as good Christians. While we were in Ibadan, we lived at the staff quarters allocated to some workers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Moor Plantation. The neighbourhood gave me the opportunity to have friends from different parts of Yorubaland before the creation of states separated us in 1976. It is interesting to note that the public primary school that I attended in Ibadan was so good that children of eminent people in Ibadan were also there. In those days, public schools offered high-quality education that made private schools less attractive than we see these days.
Can you still recollect some of those childhood days, especially life at your elementary schools?
I began my childhood years in Ibadan before the creation of Ondo State in 1976, which caused the transfer of my daddy from Ibadan to the state civil service in Akure. I had my elementary education at Ebenezer Primary School, Ago-Taylor, Ibadan from January 1971 to June 1976. I received my secondary education in Gboluji Grammar School, Ile-Oluji, Ondo State from 1976 to 1981. I was in the boarding house in Gboluji Grammar School and it was a pleasant experience.
What was the experience like being in the boarding house in those days?
My first day in the boarding house was exciting. My parents took me to the School when I resumed. It was a Friday. In the evening, the boarding house masters distributed the new students into four houses. I was put in Ogunleye House. I had some measures of peace because my cousin who was in Form Five then was in the same House. His name is Mr. Bankole Ige. He saved me from oppressive senior students throughout my first year in the school. He is now a pharmacist. On the second day of my resumption at the school, there was a social gathering which enabled all students to share jokes and interact freely. Subsequently, the school always organised social gatherings once in a month on a Saturday. School was fun and learning was enriching in those days.
Do you still remember some experiences you had in school that still remain with you till date?
Some of the experiences I had included the discipline of waking up early, around 5am to prepare for class. As a junior student, I would have to fetch two buckets of water from the school tap or stream which was far from the hotel; a bucket for myself and the other bucket for my college father. Saturdays involved manual labour such as cutting grass in allocated portions and getting firewood for the school kitchen. Besides academic work, the boarding house taught me to be hardworking. I was also able to develop good relationships with my classmates, senior students and my juniors in the boarding house. Those social skills have become invaluable to me. For me, it was part of the socialisation process that shaped my disposition and relationships with people.
You are a banker with decades of experience. Where did your career as a banker start and what was the experience like the day you got your first banking job?
It was at Oceanic Bank. The day I received my appointment letter at the bank, it was with great joy. Working in the banking sector gave me the opportunity to practise what I actually studied. The bank also contributed tremendously into my development through training in different areas of banking and management.
But what informed your decision to study banking? Was the decision from you or your parents?
My daddy actually encouraged me to study medicine. His elder brother was a doctor. He was Dr. Samuel Lawrence Adesuyi who served as the Chief Medical Adviser of Nigeria from 1969 until he died in 1976. I adored him so I told my parents when I was in primary school that I would study to become a medical doctor. So my parents continued to encourage me to fulfill that ambition even when I could not attain JAMB’s cut-off mark for Medicine and Surgery in three attempts. I counselled myself and opted to study Economics or Finance because I had A2 in Economics at WASCE level, so I loved the subject. Eventually, Ondo State University gave me admission to study Banking and Finance. I thank God for the opportunities the decision has brought to me.
Talking about your parents, who was the disciplinarian among the two?
My daddy was the disciplinarian. Mummy was not tough on me. My daddy used to flog me whenever he saw me playing too much without reading my books. My report cards from school would also cause him to reward me for good performances or punish me for disappointing performances. Daddy always wanted me to excel in school work. An incident happened when I was in Primary 4 or 5. Daddy returned from the office and saw me reading the junior dictionary he bought for me. He flogged me and said the dictionary was only meant for me to check the meaning of any word that I needed to know; it was not meant to be read like other textbooks.
How did you meet your wife?
I met Folasade, my wife, through her elder brother, Dr. Niyi Oladele. Niyi was my roommate at Ondo State University. At that time, my wife was studying Social Administration at University of Ilorin. I did not meet my wife when we were studying. Some years after graduation, Niyi came to Lagos for a wedding and he visited me at the bank. His younger sister who later became my wife came with him. That was how we met and, by the grace of God, the relationship blossomed into a joyful marriage. Her brilliance and elegance attracted her to me. She told her mummy about me when they returned to Ibadan and the mummy said she remembered me very well. She knew me when she used to visit Niyi in our university years and had a very good opinion about my character. I was well recommended by my future mother-in-law.
What would be your advice to the young ones desirous of making a career choice?
I will tell them to evaluate their academic capacity very well before deciding the course they will study in higher institutions. They will succeed if they follow their passion and capability. They should not allow peer influence or sibling rivalry to push them to go for courses that may be difficult for them in the university.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
