By Goke Ilesanmi
It is a truism that His Royal Majesty, Oba (Engr.) Nurudeen Oluwadare Osoja, the Onikogbo of Ikogbo Kingdom is one of the very few kings that have dignified the royal throne and elevated it to an enviable status.
The exceptional achievements of this intelligent professional Engineer enthroned as a king on November 30, 2007 at the young age of 26 have really proven that active life of great impacts can indeed begin earlier than 40, contrary to the popular maxim that life begins at 40. In short, despite all his outstanding accomplishments, Kabiyesi is just about to clock 40 on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Through clarity of vision, strong determination, total focus and commendable resilience, the energetic young king has accomplished remarkable greatness despite not being born with the proverbial silver spoon. His lifestyle readily confirms the maxim that whatever great idea one conceives and believes in, one can definitely achieve; whatever one desires, one can acquire; and whatever great thing one visualises, one can definitely actualise or realise.
In short, nothing better confirms Kabiyesi’s extraordinary trademarks of clarity of vision, strong determination, total focus and commendable resilience than the text of his 10th coronation anniversary celebration speech, delivered on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at Ikogbo Kingdom, thus: “The period of the last ten years has been both interesting and intriguing. The greatest challenge we have faced as a Community has been internal. But I would like to reassure you all that the great mission of massive development I had for Ikogbo ten years ago and the vision of remarkable transformation visualised then are still intact and on course.
“My mission and vision represent positive change as well as all-inclusive participation of all Ikogbo sons and daughters in the strategic implementation of the broad-based Ikogbo Project of outstanding development. The Onikogbo-in-Council, made up of eminent Ikogbo people, has been impressively helpful in the design and execution of the desired roadmap for the achievement of my goal of transforming Ikogbo into an enviable status.”
It is indeed exciting that his brilliant reinforcement of his commendable mission and vision with strategic planning and youthful vigour made it possible for him to quickly achieve success that had never fallen within the range of initial calculations of his subjects and many others in just ten years of his reign way back in November 2017.
His scorecard of towering accomplishments by his tenth coronation anniversary showed that: (1) In the first three months into his reign, he appealed to the Federal Government and an electrification project was completed in his kingdom; (2) He commenced and completed the re-construction of 40 by 70 meters Ikogbo Community Town Hall in 2017; (3) He had continually graded the road linking Igbodo boundary to Ikogbo Town; (4) He renovated and roofed blocks of classrooms at Nawarudeen Primary School and equally embarked on perimeter-fencing of the school; (5) He championed the cause of assisting indigent students through Oba Onikogbo Education Trust Fund.
And up till now, this outstanding king is consistently rendering assistance to indigent students to remain in school through the provision of relief materials and funds to meet their needs.
Kabiyesi’s unquenchable thirst for success and development finds practical expression in the fact that despite all he had achieved in the first ten years on the throne, he has not rested on his laurels. Rather, he has continued to set new agendas for greater development. In his words during the tenth coronation anniversary celebration, “While we are thanking God for the successes so far recorded, we want to reiterate that we will not relent in our strong determination to put smiles on the faces of our people and rid the town of crimes and other social vices.”
He made a passionate appeal to the state government to allocate a Police Station to Ikogbo Kingdom then and followed the request up to fulfilment. It is impressive that the police station was eventually constructed and inaugurated for operation on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
It is noteworthy that another milestone recorded by this great king is the construction of Ikogbo Central Market on a large expanse of land covering six acres. The market was opened on June 29, 2019.
According to this visionary king, “We now have a proposed Vision University Ikogbo owned by Prophetess (Dr) Ngozi Okafor and the building construction is ongoing, to be completed this 2021.”
In recognition of the massive impacts, sterling qualities and great accomplishments of this exceptional Monarch, the administration of the former Governor Ibikunle Amosun elevated the royal stool of Ikogbo Kingdom to the status of a first-class king on Monday, May 13, 2019.
What’s more, Kabiyesi’s date of birth of March 3 is equally unique, symbolic and offers a natural explanation for his peculiar personality, relationships and achievements. Christened “Pisces”, that is, the 12th and final sign of the Zodiac calendar, the astrological interpretation of the date reads, “As a Pisces born on March 3rd, intuition, sensitivity and self-sacrificing qualities define you…. While others struggle to comprehend the inner workings of others, you have the innate ability to sense emotions and moods.”
For those who may be wondering how this vibrant King and professional Engineer has been able to effectively multitask and succeed as an outstanding Monarch, active Chairman/CEO of Deensat Tech Engineering Company Limited and an enviable husband and father in his immediate family, the Zodiac interpretation of his date of birth provides a natural answer.
The intuition, sensitivity and self-sacrificing aspects of this rare king’s Zodiac attributes also explain why he has been able to make a rational decision and achieve marital discipline of sticking to one queen despite his outstanding achievements and expected pressures from aspiring queens.
His right marital choice facilitated by divine wisdom has really paid off because Queen Adebusolami Osoja has become a strong pillar of support that has massively contributed to sterling achievements recorded by this great Monarch. After all, it is a truism that behind every successful man is a supportive woman. In short, it is not an exaggeration that the magnificent and magnetic Queen Adebusolami Osoja has the value and capacity of one trillion queens put together.
It is worthy of note that Kabiyesi equally radiates two major different appearances, underscoring the boundary between his royal throne and professionalism as an Engineer. He exudes exceptional royal sartorial elegance when you see him in the full royal regalia. But when you see Kabiyesi at the construction sites energetically moving up and down, supervising projects, you will find it difficult to believe that it is the same elegant Kabiyesi that is right before you. He is really leading by example in terms of diligence.
Born on March 3, 1981 in Ado-Odo/Ota LGA Ogun State, His Royal Majesty attended Shasha Primary School, Shasha, Lagos. He proceeded to Saka
Tinubu Memorial High School, Orile- Agege, Lagos.
After his secondary education, he proceeded to Yaba College of Technology, Lagos where he bagged a Higher National Diploma in Civil Engineering.
His thirst for continuous intellectual development as a visionary Monarch, inspired him to proceed to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) after a year on the throne for his Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering. Kabiyesi is also a member of many professional bodies, including the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE); Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), etc.
Before his ascension to the throne, he had worked as a Site Engineer in a Civil Engineering firm known as Bideco Nigeria Limited located at 58, Molade Okoya Thomas Crescent, Victoria Island Lagos.
It is impressive that Deensat Tech Engineering Company Limited incorporated in Nigeria in February 2008 has become a successful company today. The company that handles contracting services in Building, Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering as well as Oil Explorations has executed contracts in Lagos and beyond worth more than N500 million.
Just as Deensat has been a huge success, it is heartwarming that the royal marriage of Kabiyesi and Queen Adebusolami Osoja is fruitfully blessed with lovely Princes and Princesses too.
Kabiyesi, as you celebrate your 40th birthday on Wednesday, March 3, my prayer is that God Almighty will bless you with long life, sound health and peace of mind to celebrate 100, 120 and even more on the throne. Congratulations Kabiyesi.
