Ooni: Meet the Prince tipped to succeed Sijuwade

They say the sun will rise and set, seasons will change their turns, and the youth will take over the old. The hourglass has been flipped, the king has gone to meet his ancestors and for Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi it is only the beginning. Take notice, for his time has come.

Since the demise of the highly dignified Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, who in his capacity as the Oonirisa of the source brought a lot of fanfare and prestige to the already well revered stool that at one time or the other had been occupied by such illustrious personalities as Oduduwa and Oranmiyan, the race for the next Ooni has been on and the four ruling families; Osinkola, Ogboru, Giesi and Lafogido are now contenders.

About forty years ago in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, a prince was born into the Giesi Ruling House, Ojaja Royal Compound of Agbedegbede in Ile-Ife. He was named Adeyeye. Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi was quietly delivered into the humble family of Prince Ropo and Late Mrs Margaret Wuraola Ogunwusi (Ile Opa family compound, Ile Ife). The father was a radio and television anchor and presentation star that spanned the entire mid-1980s to early 21st century in the South-western part of Nigeria. Though born quietly, Prince Ogunwusi’s excellence and outstanding acumen would soon start to announce itself for the world to behold.

An astute entrepreneur, he has been involved in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) locally and abroad for over 12 years and he is also actively involved in the development of over 2,500 housing units with various consortia of developers/promoters over the last 8 years in Nigeria.

In addition, Prince Adyeye has successfully undertaken more multi-billion Naira projects across Lagos and environs; Jacob Mews Estate Yaba, Lakeview Park I and II Estates Lekki, the ongoing Golden Leaf Estate Lafiaji, Lekki and Grand Lake Estate Ajah, Lagos.

Earlier this year, Prince Adeyeye also intimated the youth of Ile-Ife of his plan to replicate this remarkable project in Ile-Ife, having already acquired good land mass for the project. Interestingly, he has an incredible master plan to rebrand Ife and take it to greater heights. On the 7th of March 2015, Adeyeye was a recipient of the prestigious NIDSA (National Ife Descendants Students’ Association) GOLD AWARD for 2015 on the occasion of their Ife Day celebration.

Adeyeye is presently an employer of over 300 indigenous youth at the Inagbe Cocowood Factory – EssentialHomes Furniture brand, first of its kind in Nigeria using 100% indigenous raw materials for production. He has over 450 direct employees across his various companies, and over 3000 indirect employees.

He is a Director on the Board of Directors of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, (formerly GTHomes), a leading National Mortgage Bank and former subsidiary of one of the biggest banks in Africa, GTBank Plc. He is also a Director, FinaTrust Microfinance Bank Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost Microfinance Banks focusing on SMEs and micro credit facilities. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Gran Imperio Group, the holding company of Real Estate and Construction, Manufacturing, Facilities Management, Leisure and Tourism companies in Nigeria.

Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi holds a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy from the Polytechnic Ibadan, where he started cutting his teeth in outstanding entrepreneurship, even as a student. To mention a few, the royal prince of Ile-Ife the source, is a member of dignified professional bodies, namely, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), an Associate Accounting Technician and a certified member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria. He is also an active member of Global Real Estate Institute (GRI), having participated at various levels.