He started as a
salesman of a pharmaceutical company after his secondary education in 1955. While
with the firm, he rose to the position
of Sales manager for the then Lagos and Western region, made up of the
present-day Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states. But in 1963, he left the
company to start his own small business. This was influenced by a book he read
which encouraged entrepreneurship.
adebutu“I worked
briefly with Classic Chemical Limited, a pharmaceutical company produced Andrew’s Liver Salt, Cafenol and all of that.
I worked as a salesman and rose to the position of Sales Manager for the
Western Region and Lagos. I stumbled on a book which says whatever job you are
doing, you have to leave, either you quit or they give you the boot. It went
further to say that in a little business of your own, when you leave it, you
leave it to yourself. That inspired me and I decided to be on my own,” he noted
in an interview with Sunday Vanguard.
He chose to be an
entrepreneur in an odd area. Having no
capital, he looked for a business that required little or no capital and what
came to his mind was to be a pools agent.
“There was the
challenge of finance because the money was not there to start a business. So I
had o think about a job that required little or no money to start and what came
to my mind was pools agency because, as an agent, all you need is a book, a pen
and a small table,” he recalled.
He started his
life as an entrepreneur- a pools agent. Later, he went into partnership with
his friend, the late Chief Solomon
Adebayo Ayoku, and, within a short time, they became household names with their famous Face- to-Face
Pools.
Many people know
him as Baba Ijebu but his real name is Kessington Adebutu. He sits atop the
multi-million Naira betting business – Premier Lotto (Baba Ijebu).
Adebutu, a
project management and business development expert, has full ownership of
investments in a number of organisations like Face- to-Face Pools, Kessington
Industries, Afri-Prints Limited and Kessington Foundation.
He was born on
October 24, 1935 at Iperu Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
He completed his primary education in 1942 and had his secondary education
between 1951 and 1955.
The billionaire
is currently the Financial Director, Premier Lotto Nigeria Limited PLL.
PLL, also known as Baba Ijebu, is a gaming company
incorporated in 2001 and was established to carry out lotto business in
Nigeria.
“The public gave
it to me. Funny enough, people have forgotten my family name. People think that
is my name. It’s not my making. It’s not the name given to me by my father.
It’s a nickname from the public and our satisfied customers and, of course, I
am from Ijebu; maybe that explains it
better,” he said about his famous Baba Ijebu alias.
Obviously, the
prudence with which he managed his resources has helped him in his journey,
especially during challenges. It has not all been rosy for him in the lotto business as many
think. The business has suffered losses on many occasions; in fact, in the
early 60, more than 95 percent of pools business in the country was killed when
the entire coupon won. Even the Federal Government-sponsored Niger Pools
couldn’t survive the loss but Adebutu is still standing tall.
“I started with
pools, so I am used to the shock in any game.
We have lost over one billion naira in one game before, but I am used to
the shock. Lotto is like mutual contribution, so we get commission as the
collector. People win certain percentage of our total gain. Definitely small
percentage is left for us”.
He loves pools
gaming, lotto gaming and he does not see
it as fraudulent. He believes
that lotto has empowered a good number of young people and dissuaded them from
heinous acts.
“The influence of
gaming is enormous. People that have reservations are getting it wrong. I keep
saying it that gaming is the stock exchange of the ordinary man on the street.
At the stock exchange, people buy shares and, as we have seen, the shares crash
at times. Similarly, when you game, you can win or lose but, at least, it gives
the ordinary man hope and that stops them from any nonsense. We have also taken
so many thugs out of the streets and they are useful to themselves, their
families and the society at large,” he noted further.
To underscore his
point, he disclosed that six of his
children are working with Premier Lotto.
Baba Ijebu, as he
is fondly called, will join the octogenarian club in October. On how he keeps
fit and able to manage his companies at that age, he states, “The secret is
that everything in moderation. Everything should be in moderation. I do all the
‘evils’ in the world but in moderation,” he said with a smile.
The billionaire
pools magnate urged young entrepreneurs to learn how to grow their business.
“Young people
should learn to crawl before they walk. Young people are always too much in
haste but you must learn to crawl before you walk,” the multi-business owner
submitted.
A philanthropist
to the core, he established the Kessington Adebutu Foundation to cater for the
less privileged. The foundation also provides supports for hospitals and
schools. He has built many structures across the country, including the
Kesington Adebutu House in Abuja donated to the Radio, Television and Theatre
Workers Union (RATTAWU); an accident and emergency centre at Babcock University
Teaching Hospital, Ilisan Remo; Science laboratory block at Tai Solarin College
of Education; a radio station for Lagos state university (LASU) to mention a
few. Adebutu sponsors secondary school debate, football competition and there
is also a vocational centre for training the youths in vocation of their
choice.
He said that he
is always willing to give back to the society as a way of showing appreciation
to God, whom he noted has blessed him beyond his labour.
“It is God’s
grace, that is why our office reception is full of people. I should appreciate
God. That is why I give back to the society, the less privileged. God has done
wonders in my life. Some people work harder than I do and not getting the
result. At my age, I should be living on my reserve, my pension, but I thank
God, at my age, I’m still making money. Im very grateful to God, I don’t hide
it,” he added while receiving an award from Chioma Lina Okafor-led Youth
Advancement for Qualitative Education, promising to support the group in its
drive to advance the cause of qualitative education in the country.