80 years of purpose: How Olatunde Badmus built industry from community need

Old age itself is a gift, but it turns into something extraordinary when paired with health. Those who climb to success through struggle and carry that success with humility and simplicity all the way into old age are rare enigmas worth admiring.

Life’s journey is complex. Immeasurable, yet unavoidable. Life is not a luxury, and its path can never be walked perfectly. It is a maze of uncertainty — a promise without assurance, a command without assertion. Those who find joy in their labor till old age are truly people set apart by grace.

There is something deeply inspiring about Olatunde Badmus, the son of an Arabic teacher who became a cadet inspector at 21. He was born on Thursday, 9 May 1946, in Akim Oda, Ghana. He left the Nigeria Police and became a journalist by choice and an industrialist by vision. At 80, he stands as proof that a life built on purpose does not wear out — it deepens.

In 1967, young Badmus left the Nigeria Police Force and chose a different badge: journalism. At Daily Times Nigeria Limited, he covered crime with a reporter’s rigor and a humanist’s eye. He used that platform not just to report on society’s fractures but to reach the vulnerable elders of Osogbo, turning newsroom access into community service.

His training continued at the Daily Times Institute of Journalism under Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, before a move to WNTV/WNBC, where he worked until retiring from broadcasting in 1981. Osogbo was already a trading hub, but Badmus helped shift its momentum toward manufacturing and self-reliance. Through TUNS Group of Companies, he built ventures that span poultry, manufacturing, food and beverage, water, biscuits, confectionery, and consulting.

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He founded TUNS Water with the sole purpose of providing free, clean, and safe water to the community. He also founded TUNS Farms with the sole aim of strengthening food security, creating jobs, and anchoring agricultural growth in Osun State. This isn’t charity in disguise. It’s a model of economic empowerment rooted in local need — commerce and community service walking together.

For Asiwaju Badmus, education has always been the lever of progress. Early in his career, he set aside a significant share of his earnings for scholarships — uncommon at the time. He later expanded that commitment through enterprise and advocacy.

As a financier and patron of Islam, he strengthened the spiritual life of his people. His latest gift, a magnificent mosque to NASFAT in Osogbo, fits a lifelong pattern: invest in home first. Long before this, he was part of the advocacy that secured Osogbo’s status as a state capital, and he looked after its elderly when it mattered most.

After broadcasting, he founded TUNS International to import and install broadcast equipment, keeping NTA stations across the Southwest and Bendel states on air. In 1985, he made a decisive pivot into agriculture, rebranding as TUNS Farms (Nigeria) Limited.

The growth was not sudden. It was slow, deliberate, and hard-won — shaped by vision when things were uncertain, resilience when they got tough, and a quiet determination that never let up. If you want to study how local ideas scale, study this path.

The boy from the Ayogun family compound who trekked Osogbo’s streets to greatness is still hale, hearty, and glorious. Years away from his homebase didn’t shift his loyalty. Asiwaju Khamis Olatunde Badmus threads faith, journalism, and enterprise without losing his center: service to Osogbo and to humanity. Self-made, community-minded, unwavering.

Happy 80th birthday, Baba TUNS. May the years ahead bring more health, more impact, and the same quiet grace that has defined your journey.