Meeting Ooni of Ife in a banking hall changed my life forever —Bankole

Kehinde Alex Bankole, a well-known executive in the oil and gas industry and real estate developer is the Managing Director of KAB Construction. SEGUN KASALI spoke with him on the story of his life.

People always assume you were born with a silver spoon… is this so?

I came from a good family, but on my first day of JSS 2, in 1993, I lost my father. You don’t question God, after all. God most likely decided it was time to take him home, and He did so. My father was a fantastic man.

What are your memories of him?

He was a generous person. My father was overly generous. His sense of humour was unrivalled. He was simply a good dude, in my opinion. I’ve witnessed a circumstance when my father would say, Oh, those individuals are behind on their rentals.” Don’t worry; I’m the one who owes it to you”. “He was willing to pay somebody’s debt. See, also for his family, my father did a lot. He was the type of person who made money and then gave it to you to invest. He isn’t even going to ask you about the money. My father had given some of his brothers money to build many properties, which they now utilise for their own purposes. He would never take a stand against someone.

What did you learn from him?

He taught me a great deal. Due to God’s amazing grace, I am a giver. People are typically surprised when I tell them that my ministry is donating. I was born with the gift of giving. I also take my father’s sense of humour into consideration. He is unaffected by anything.

He must have had some flaws.

I haven’t come across any. He was a pretty good example of a man. Polygamy is a personal choice, and having multiple wives was considered a sign of relative affluence in those days. They considered the number of wives they had as a measure of riches. My father used to refer specifically to me as his “bright chap.”

Why?

I was a brilliant student in early school and continued to be one today. ‘Igi-we ni Omo mi,’ he would usually say (my son is a brilliant boy). So, I was originally studying Mining Engineering at the Federal University of Technology in Akure, but I wanted to switch to Civil Engineering. My name is Bankole, and I wanted to be known as ‘ko le ko le’ (house builder).  I’m grateful it’s what I’m doing today. It was quite amusing. As a result, I exited FUTA in the year 2000; I relied on the assistance of a man to gain admission to the University of Ilorin to pursue my selected field of study. My uncle was the one who introduced me to him. When my uncle died, though, the man stopped assisting me. You won’t believe it, but I had to take remedial classes at the University of Ilorin before landing in the Physics department, which was the only science programme offered.

Your civil engineering dream died?

No, it did not die, but I did go to the University of Ilorin to study Physics. So, while I was in, school, I took some part-time classes at a Polytechnic and ended up majoring in Architecture. To give you an idea of how much I desired it, I was attending a private architectural school. The payment of school tuition, as well as everything else, was arduous.

How?

Every morning, I would board newspaper’ trucks, and every Thursday, I would fly to Lagos to work as a bus conductor. I would ride the bus from Thursday to Sunday, sometimes longer, in order to pay my school fees. I did this for three and a half years. Mum had a large family, and I’m not one to contribute to someone else’s difficulties. See, I’ve always been a self-sufficient individual. I didn’t want to contribute to that poor woman’s misery.

Your bus conductor experience must have been interesting.

Oh, very interesting. You know what? I was doing it with passion. I loved doing it because I knew I was doing it for a purpose. I had an aunt who was in the United States and she was actually sending me money too but she had a lot of people to take care of.

Why bus conducting?

It was the only thing that could provide me with immediate cash. That was the only thing that kept me from quitting my job and looking for one that paid me on a monthly basis. So that was the only thing I could think of to get fast cash. So I did that for two to three days and my oga didn’t seem to notice. As a result, I was a big guy. I would head to Kantangowa for used clothing.

Can you share an unforgettable experience while doing the job?

While conducting, I fell and had lots of bruises. When our vehicle caught fire, I was bruised while attempting to extinguish it. But I appreciated it because I was doing it for a good reason. I am a man of faith; I knew it would end in praise. I once ran into one of my classmates and he was taken aback. ‘O guy, how far na?’ I said without batting an eyelid. When it was time came for him to pay me, I asked him to keep his money. If my friends saw me on campus they wouldn’t know where I was going. When I left the university, to the glory of God, I got posted to Edo State where I met a man who gave me a good posting to Oceanic Bank. And from there, back to Lagos. So, that was it.

How did you keep the hope of being a builder alive?

I knew that was not a place for me even while in the banking sector. I had registered a construction company even before I left the university. It was a business name called DEXCOLE- the DEX is from Alex while the COLE is from KOLE (Bankole) and I just changed the K to C. So, I started looking for jobs and small contracts on my own. At a point in time, I got a job with one small construction company in Osogbo on a contractual basis. I got another one from Ikare and I was still in the bank then. I did for GIPRO. I was building MTN mast. I did flagship hotels in Akure.

When did you eventually leave the bank?

I left the bank in 2009 because it was not my calling. So, in the course of looking for contacts, I met with the current Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. I don’t think I would have become who I am today if not for him. In all ramifications, he made me. There is nothing he has not single-handedly done for me in my life. He is a compassionate father who knows where the shoe pinches. He calls me back whenever I go astray. He is a good man. I don’t think he is a human being considering his level of generosity and mien towards his fellow human beings. He is someone who loves to share with his friends. Anyway, I met him, in the banking hall. I remember he said ‘Bankole, wa ma sise ko le ko le’ (Bankole, come and be building houses).

What did you make of what he told you then?

I was already running an oil and gas company at the time. I was serving a lot of hotels and businesses in Lagos. I was already selling and performing private sales. I continued to work in the oil and gas industry. I began doing some contract work in VGC and other locations. I met several individuals when I went to the Island, and I ultimately got into Lekki Gardens.

How did you get into Lekki Gardens?

I used Kazeem Akinboye, a buddy of mine. He just stated that a company called Lekki Gardens had recently begun construction at Olokonla and was in need of paving stones to build their roadways. As a result, I began purchasing pavement stones from outside sources and supplying Lekki Gardens. And within a week, I had made a profit of roughly 400,000 naira on paving stones since they had a lot of construction going on and a lot of interlocking issues. As a result, I would hire individuals to produce interlock (bricks) for me in advance. So I met a guy named Gbemi, who happens to be the Personal Assistant to Mr Richard’s younger sister, Christy, the MD of Lekki Gardens.

I believe Christy was the General Manager of Lekki Gardens. ‘I admire the way you supplied us with these paving stones,’ the PA stated. I quickly responded that I do construction. So that’s how he claimed he could use his clout to get me a drainage job for them. And that’s how they got me a 70-meter drainage system, and they gave me the contract right away, and they paid me right away. When the proprietor of Lekki Gardens inquired who did it, they answered that “it was this young man” and he said “how come you are this good?” He said give him the entire drainage to do. And that was how I was given 430-meter drainage in Lekki Gardens. When the man came inspecting, he found out that I was always there. He then said how come you are so good like this and I told him I am an architect and also into constructions. He then said “go and award two blocks of buildings to him” and at a time I became the leading contractor with Lekki Gardens. And it was from Lekki Gardens, I started having my own estate.

The estate was your first project?

Yes and the motivation was what I saw with Lekki Gardens. I felt that he was a young man and already became an employer of labour. I told myself I can do this too. And that was how I got my first land behind LBS road. I just made a deposit for the land and here we are today. To the glory of God, I made money with Lekki Gardens.

How grateful are you?

Very grateful to God Almighty and that is why it is important to pray for grace to be at the right place at the right time. Of course, you have to be dogged and hardworking. You have to put in your best into anything that you do. He said He is going to bless the work of your hand. I am a Christian and I believe in the word of God. Look at me, today is Sunday but I am here at the site. Am I supposed to be here on a Sunday? I was supposed to be somewhere sleeping. But you know what, this is what I do and this is the only thing I am expecting my Father-in-Heaven to bless.

How have you been giving back?

By the special grace of God, I currently have 47 people that I am training in the university. They are in various universities in this country. And there are also some in primary and secondary schools. I have a foundation called Kehinde Alex Foundation, which takes care of that and so many things.

How do you relax?

Do I relax? People do ask anyway. Am I not relaxing here? I am telling you that I don’t drink and I don’t club. I can boldly tell you that I have only attended club once in my life and that was when one of my big brothers was celebrating his birthday.

What is your philosophy of life?

Take life easy. Don’t rush at life. Life is like a walking shadow- the more you rush at it, the farther it becomes. Just take life easy. Things will fall in place naturally.

What is your advice to the youth?

I would advise them to shun this get-rich-quick syndrome. I think that is the most terrible thing that is happening to us now. You see a 16-year-old boy driving Mercedes Benz and controlling millions. What are they going to do with it? All these things have to be taken away from our society. It is unfortunate that the advent of Christianity and Islam has not really helped us unlike when traditional worshiping was the way then and life was much better than this.