The world produces heroes in all aspects of its nature; the most visible ones come from scientific discoveries, wars, and religion, but there are unsung heroes everywhere who do not wear crowns or caps to commemorate the activities in which they participated. Most of these heroes are lines that connect many dots. They are lifelines that give life to many.
They are also referred to as unsung heroes because their activities were noticed but did not get much attention as a result of their personal convictions, beliefs, or love for documenting secretly for others to be proud of who they really are.
I will borrow from the words of Arthur Ashe to describe this unsung hero: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost”. This little encomium has painted the real picture of Alh. Ganiyu Olubori, is a bridge builder, an innovator, a peacemaker, a business mogul, an elder statesman, a religious individual, and a true father to all.
The history of Saki’s economic, religious, and modern development will never be complete without the effort of this bridge builder. He used his life to engage in building economic prosperity for the town and beyond, but his efforts in the city where he was born are incomparable since he was born till he answered the last call of nature.
A snippet of His Life
Alhaji Ganiyu Akanni, Akande Olubori was born 83 years ago to the family of Alaraje in Saki, Oyo state. His father was Alli Balogun Sondina and his mother was Robiat Amoke.
He grew up with his parents before being adopted by his uncle, Alhaji Salaudeen Olowolagba, who lived in Lama-Kara, Togo. His uncle was a famous businessman in the country and valued western education. He enrolled the young Ganiyu in Arabic and western education, respectively.
He was very versed in French education as well as trade, which he learned from his uncle, and this made his uncle entrust him with his business.
Business Efforts
During the period of apprenticeship with his uncle, he learned a lot of personal values, business insights, and life lessons that later helped in shaping his future. He lived in Togo and married his first wife in 1960 (Alhaja Afusat) in the country, and later gained freedom from his uncle to look for a greener pasture and returned back to his country of origin, Nigeria.
He came back to the country, settled down in Ibadan, and ran a private cab business for years to raise funds and ventured into trading, as he learned from his uncle in Togo. He is a well-known trader in Ibadan’s Ogunpa market, and one of his most important customers was the late Alhaji Azeez Alao Arisekola, the former Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland and a successful businessman in the country.
Being a relentless business expert and thinking outside the box, he ventured into the oil business and became the foremost Mobil Nigeria dealer in Saki. He managed the business and the filling station situated in Ajegunle Saki for a decade and became popular in this business. He left Mobil and partnered with friends (Alh. Ismail Adua and Alh. Rufai Ikokoniogbe) to start an independent petroleum business known as GRI Limited in Saki. He progressed in the business and started his personal company known as Olubori Petroleum, which put most of today’s millionaires and successful oil business experts in Saki into the line.
He was the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketer Association of Nigeria for years and did more than expected, as well as steering the association’s activities diligently.
Religious Efforts
Alhaji Olubori loves Islam and also respects other religions. He was part of the group that founded the Ahmadiyah Muslim society in Saki, and he was the chairman of the society in Saki and its environs for years. He was also a notable member of the Ansar-ud-deen society of Saki and chaired I.C.I.C for many years. Being a trustworthy individual, he was appointed as the chairman of Baytul-mal in Saki.
Family Efforts
Baba Olubori loves family and puts family first in all matters concerning them. He makes sure he builds the family, serves as a mediator when a crisis occurs, and drives out poverty in the family by setting people up and contributing to their economic and social lives.
Going by the aforementioned view about the life of Olubori, there is no gainsaying his attaining the hall of fame in Sakiland.
He has made men whom people look up to in society. His efforts in the petroleum business in the nooks and crannies of Oke-Ogun cannot be underplayed beyond the shores of Nigeria. Notable personalities that cut across formal and informal sectors pass through him, but it is better to pay respect to the dead and uphold his value of secrecy in helping people.
Baba’s attitude toward incredible wealth is pleasing because he believes in channeling resources to others and driving poverty out of the circle; this philosophy has drastically reduced poverty in Saki and environs, and the approach gave birth to the first set of millionaires, who later passed down the lessons learned from him to the larger society. Honesty is never a negotiable value for Olubori because he builds his empire on truth and integrity.
He was a great community man who engaged in many community services, but the most notable ones are the Ahmadiyah Group of Schools, which was set up to improve literacy and eradicate ignorance in the Saki community; his efforts in Ansar-ud-deen High School cannot be underplayed; and various interventions in community-centered projects. Baba’s intervention in the development of countless mosques in Saki is noted among the beneficiaries, but the open one is Ahmadiyah Central Mosque in the Kube area.
Olubori was a complete humanitarian, community man, and silent achiever, as well as a maker of men and early business initiator, as well as a lover of education who invested heavily in the education of many stakeholders in Saki, including politicians, public servants, civil servants, and other informal sector workers. He has indeed arrived, he has seen and conquered because the seed he planted has grown, ripened, and benefited society right in front of him. At the age of 83, he was taken by the cold hand of death on September 2, 2022.
May his soul continue to rest in peace.
Sponsored by Alh. Habeeb Olowolagba
