At 50, I have a renewed commitment to God and humanity. That is me!! That is us!! That is who we are!!!

Michael Olumide Adeleye, a Nigerian and graduate of the prestigious Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta recently celebrated his 50th Anniversary. In this interview with ValidViewNetwork, he gave an insight into his person, conviction and drive.

Can we meet you please?

My name is Michael Olumide, ADELEYE. I was a Regional Stock Controller in Globacom Nigeria, a telecom organization which I joined in 2005. I left Globacom in 2014, after I migrated from Nigeria to Canada. I got an admission to Guelph University to pursue my PhD in Agricultural Economics in 2015, but later declined the offer as a sacrifice to save my home (marriage and children) because in the Western world, they need your time. That is a story for another day.

However, I did a couple of certification courses and at the end, I became a Certified Business Analyst, Supply Chain Specialist and a Professional Independent Financial Advisor where my business covers the entire North America with clients in both USA and Canada.

Can you share a bit of your early days with us?

Growing up was awesome for me. I was born into a Christian family where we uphold the strong tenets of high morals, respect and values of a Christian life. I attended Nigerian Navy Primary School, Apapa, Lagos State for my Elementary School. I later proceeded to Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne Remo, Ogun State . My experiences at Mayflower Secondary School would take chapters in a book. It was lovely attending that school where characters were moulded towards making positive impacts and contributing to the development of humanity. A close check will reveal to anyone that the products of the school are distinct.

After Mayflower Secondary School, I proceeded to the prestigious Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Ogun State where I had my BSc and then the Premier University, University Of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State where I had my MSc. I also studied at Humber College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Business Analyst Professional Certification)

I can assert that life in the University for me was one of the greatest journeys that I have embarked on. I was made in UNAAB (now FUNAAB). It really helped to sharpen my life and gave me the leadership skills and other soft skills that are helping me to stand out amongst my peers till date. Life in UNAAB was awesome full of daily episodes!

Do you want to share your life in UNAAB with us?

It is a long story. I hope to document this one day. It is full of inspiration, determination , commitment and resilience.

I was critically involved in all the leadership roles within the University starting from my pre-degree class. I think my Mayflower experience played significant impact. From my year one (100Level) to my final year (500Level), I was the General Class Rep for the entire Pre-Degree Students. I was the Class Governor (Class Rep) from my 100 Level to 500Level (Agricultural Economics Dept). I was in the Student Representative Council of the Students’ Union Government. I was involved in my departmental politics where I contested for the President of my department (AECOSA). I was involved in the indigenous student politics of the state, where I led as the President of the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS). I was also seriously involved in the Students’ Union Government of the University where I strongly contested for the Student Union President of the University. 

I must say that I was one of those in the University that passed through the University, and also allowed the University to equally pass through them because I was involved in virtually everything and by His grace, I was equally able to graduate with a good grade at the end of my course (Second Class Upper Division). My mark was just everywhere.

Do you remember one unforgetable experience during undergraduate days.

There are many but there is one that stands out.

A few days to the examination in my 400 Level, I was suspended from the University over my in-depth involvement in students’ unionism. There was a huge protest in my favor by the entire Students of the University, and I was eventually recalled back to school. It is not easy to forget an experience like that. It confirmed to me that efforts into development of humanity do not go unrewarded. They come back either directly or indirectly. The experience fortified some of my opinions about life.

My second unforgettable moment was when I was told my mother died during the middle of my final year examination in my 500 Level in the year 2000. It was a defining moment for me.

You celebrated your 50th birthday recently, how do you feel at 50

I celebrated my 50th anniversary and to be honest, I do not feel any indifferent. At 50, I feel the same way as ever before. I believe age is just a number.

What has been your driving force?

God Almighty has been my major driving force. Next to God is my family. I am glad that God Almighty blessed me with an amiable wife and a wonderful children. I could not have asked for more. I need to continue to strive hard and sacrifice a lot to give them a better and quality lifestyle that I never had. That is my legacy.

Corroborating him, Mrs Adeleye posited : “He is Ayo mi!! Ade Ori mi!!! HONIE mI!!!! The one person who has influenced my life positively is my husband – Olumide

He is fun to be with, very blunt, humble, a goal getter, and has a positive attitude towards everything. He is someone that you can be confident to be with anywhere and in the presence of anyone because he’s so bold, courageous, and intelligent. He will always stand to fight injustice and speak out for the voiceless, especially for our people here in North America. He is someone who is extremely well respected at home and abroad. He is a great influencer, a giver, and a philanthropist.I’m so glad and favored to be his wife. He is not only a book smart person but also a role model to our kids”.

Can you share with us one of your memorable experiences in your adulthood?

The major memorable experience in my adulthood was when I decided to resign from a very lucrative, highly respected and well-paid job (Globacom) in 2014, to migrate from Nigeria to Canada. That is, taking a huge risk moving from a known to an unknown country to start life all over again with the entire family. It was a huge experience for me and a big sacrifice. It was not easy but looking back it was worth it. We weathered the storm together and today, we celebrate ourselves as a family. We are each others hero and heroine.

You are a man of many parts, how do you strive to strike a balance?

It is not easy anyway particularly catching up with commitments in different parts of the world with different time zones. However, I draw strength in the scripture that says “With God, ALL things are possible. I believe that has been my major source, making it very easy for me to adjust and adapt with ease.

How do you spend your time- out?

Honestly, I am a workaholic. To live well in this part of the world, you just need to sacrifice or trade off your time to achieve your goals. So, I don’t realIy have much spare time. However, I spend most of my free/available time with my family (wife and children), and sometimes with friends attending their parties when invited.

That’s interesting. Can you share with us a glimpse of your family and the value system?

By the grace of God, I have a beautiful, lovely and God fearing wife, two female teenagers and a boy. So, I have three children and one wife (Lol). I am a man that believes in having a small family size basically because, training children is not a child’s play and it requires a lot of wisdom, sacrifices and resources (money) to enable them to achieve their own goals and purposes on earth as well. We are a bonded family with each living to fulfil the purpose of God for their lives. It is lovely having them all.

Now that you are 50, is there any major decision?

Well, now that I am 50yrs old, I really do not have any major decision per say, except to continue praying to God for good health, to continue working hard by the grace of God to be able to accomplish my God given assignment successfully well, and also to continue my philanthropic work both here in Canada and abroad (Nigeria). I already have an officially functional and registered charity organization here in Canada owned by my wife and I. This we use as a channel to legally reach out to the less privileged in the society and the new immigrants in Canada (e.g. refugees). So, the decision is for God Almighty to continue helping our foundation to be able to reach out to more people in these categories.The name of our foundation is Optimum Help Foundation and our Instagram handle is optimumhelp.org. So, you are free to check us out online. At 50, I have a renewed commitment to God and humanity. That is me!! That is us!! That is who we are!!!

In his birthday wishes, Lekan Olasupo, a leader of the 1999/ 2000 graduating set of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta that Olumide belongs to wrote : Olumide is a great guy. His leadership qualities are impeccable. He’s a cheerful giver, a great donor, and an unrelenting supporter. My prayers go out to Olumide on his 50th birthday. May God bless him with good health and long life. May he live a happier life from here onward and fulfill all his dreams. Happy Birthday !

Dr. ‘Dele Akinbode, one of the closest undergraduate allies of Olumide wrote : “ Olumide is a highly dedicated, ready to serve and reliable person”.

You have lived in Nigeria and outside Nigeria,. If you have an opportunity to suggest three things to the Nigerian government, what would they be?

Nigeria is a blessed country. We are a people blessed with both human and material resources and not many countries of the world can boast of our great potentials. To reposition Nigeria towards attaining its full potentials, I will suggest that Nigerian governmen should enact a law to stop all serving public office holders in the three tiers of government from using generators in both their offices and houses – I bet this will solve the issue of electricity within the shortest period of time. Secondly, children of serving public office should not be allowed to school abroad, except within the tertiary institutions in Nigeria – This will help to strenghten our educational sector and finally no serving public office holder should be allowed to travel abroad for medical checkups or any medical issues whatsoever, and they should also not be allowed to travel via air (planes/jets) when travelling short distances within the country – This will help resolve the problems we are having in our hospitals and also help in fixing our roads.

I believe whoever now wants to come and serve the country will be one that is ready to sacrifice and work for the development of the nation and with the right mindset of coming to the office to make a positive change.

Looking back, is there is any major regret?

To God be all the glory, I don’t think I have any regrets looking back by His grace. God has been faithful. We are forging ahead daily.

What would you consider as your opinion about life?

Well, my opinion about life is all about LOVE AND SACRIFICE. Exactly what my religion (Christianity) teaches.

There is a quote that says, “we measure life by loss and not by gain, not by the wine drunk but by the wine poured for.”

People in life should always look beyond what they can benefit from society but rather, look into what they can do to help others, show love to others and make the world a better place for all. There is nothing in this life that is immortal except God. So, we all need to be sensitive to this fact, try to create a good legacy and make life worth living for others.

Vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. 

Death is real and six feet under is a reality.

Therefore, life is what you make of it.

What would you consider as your most outstanding attributes that you would want to strenghthen going forward.

It is unambigous. My faith in God, my commitment to God’s work and my goal of helping those in need. Again, that’s my life.

Beyond your charity organisation, you have also been a support mechanism for some of your colleagues towards attaining their goals

Whatsoever I have done to humanity is basically because God helped me to do them. It is a privilege for me to have been positioned to help others. My conviction in helping others is based on the fact that I am a Christian, and above all, when you help others, you are also helping your future and destiny. The WORD says, ‘as much as you do these things unto men, you do them for me likewise’. Whatever a man does on earth is recorded by God, whether good or bad.  Whatever a man sows, so shall he reap. That is my conviction and that is my belief, the reason why it is mandatory for all to always do good.

The good wishes for the Golden Boy have been both wonderful and amazing. Victoria Ayegbede wrote : ” Dear Olumide Adeleye , You’re a blessing to your generation, you’re kind, generous, humble, loving, and caring. You touch the lives of all who were fortunate enough to know you. You’re not a just a colleague but a beacon of light, a source of inspiration, and a true friend to us all. Millions of words are not enough to describe how good you are. I pray in this your new season, you will enjoy the goodness and happiness of God in the land of living. More fruitful and successful years, in planet Earth.

Dr Kayode Ogunjobi, another great colleague and former president of the Students Union Government of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta stated : “Olumide is a great man. He was a citical voice during our undergraduate days. His corporate dressing was uncommon. He was one of the few guys that would come to campus in tucked in shirts and tie. Surprisingly, he was a fashionista and a Comrade who provided astute leadership at various levels. There was just no way anyone of us would relish the beauty of our undergraduate days without Olumide coming up. He is a key factor of the 1999/2000 Alumni group. He is a bridge builder and a supporter of good and positive initiatives. He is 50 and I pray he will be 70, 80 and 90 if Jesus tarries and we will all celebrate together. I wish him great days and fabulous years ahead“.

For coverage of your celebrations, contact validviewnetwork@gmail.com. Just a button away.