Winning a case against FRA Williams, not my greatest, but … — Wale Osomo

Wale Osomo is a man of many parts. He is a lawyer, a school proprietor, a sportsman, he is into real estate, a politician and a socialite.

Osomo, the proprietor of Estaport Group of Schools, says, “I noticed the appalling situation in the educational system in Nigeria and the idea of a school came up at a time when it was the fad for people to buy certificates for their children who showed little interest in education. I felt that if I went to school and passed my exams myself without my parents buying my certificates, then I do not          see any reason why any other child shouldn’t be able to do same.

“I saw a gaping hole and decided to do something even if it is within my own enclave. It has cost me a lot of time, effort and resources but today, the teachers, students and the larger society are better for it. I raised funds from my legal profession and pumped it into the school. That is my own way of giving back to the society and it has been worthwhile.

“In the last WAEC result, while the national average score was 30 per cent, our average score was 80 percent in both Mathematics and English language. In my own estimation, 80 per cent isn’t good enough because I had a pact with these children’s parents to train them to deliver in excellence.”

His first degree was in banking and finance but he decided to study law for two reasons: he felt he was too young to get a job at 21. Then, there was pressure from his mother, Mobolaji Osomo, a property lawyer (was also a former minister of housing during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration).

But by the time he floated a mortgage bank, he knew his initial degree was not in vain. A former legal adviser to the Mortgage Bank Association of Nigeria, the Ilaje, Ondo State indigene explains why he opted out.

“The money involved in running a mortgage institution is too humongous for a businessman. Even mortgage institutions run by public entities are still grappling. So, I decided to face my real estate business which has always been the main forte of the family business.”

Having come from a politically inclined family, Osomo who has plans to vie for office either at the state or national level has already begun learning the ropes with his election as the president of the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja.

He explains. “My campaign team and I had a vision. We were fed up with the way things were being done and felt we should have a transformation. We promised policies, project and programmes in terms of infrastructure, services and the image of the club. We have been able to deliver on a number of these promises. Now, a lot of high profile multinationals have shown interest in doing business with us. They want to partner with us in our development strides.”

On challenges of the office, he says, “First, it was losing a close friend of mine just after assuming office. Again, it was difficult trying to get people, especially members of the first generation of the club, to buy into my vision and make them adapt to the change. For the first six months, everyone was watching to see what I would do. I was told that it isn’t so much of being able to sound like Barack Obama in oratory, but being able to transform all of the speeches I made into reality.”

Born over 47 years ago, the blue blood recalls with fondness his growing up years:

“My father retired as a manager of the old National Bank. A goal – getter who was very vibrant, I was however, a bit distant from him. I didn’t really know much about him because he was hardly ever at home. When he retired, he set up the family business and then went into poultry farming which further took him away from us. But my mother was always in our face; she was a strict woman and we all grew up very disciplined. Rules were set and we dared not fall short of expectations or else, we were made to face the consequences.”

A fitness freak, Osomo not only plays lawn tennis and swims regularly, he used to be the number one snooker player in Nigeria having represented the country at various times, garnering up to 50 trophies both in lawn tennis and snooker. Equally passionate about sports, the dismal performance of Nigeria at the just concluded London 2012 Olympics has further spurred him to do something enduring in the area of sports.

“Nigeria obviously has nothing to offer in terms of sports,” he laments. “As a sportsman, I have decided to give myself the challenge to handpick and train some children ready for the Olympics, maybe two or three Olympics from now. I know it can be done if I set my mind to it and talk with a few others who would be willing to pool resources with me. It is something I aspire to and hope that it would come to pass as that would be a great achievement for me.”

In the interim, he considers his greatest achievement as the day someone walked up to him to thank him. For what?

“He was a former student of my school and he made a second class upper in economics from the University of Lagos. The fact that I took someone else’s child and trained him to the extent that he could come back to say thank you is humbling. Not even a case that I won against the late Chief Rotimi Williams could take the cake.”

For this singular reason, he plans to set up a university. But not with the intention to turn it into a cash cow.

“I am not planning to set it up and make it a cash cow,” he explains. One must have a good reason to set up a university and that is, contributing to the development of the society. So, yes in due course, I will, but not very soon.”

Don’t tag him as a stylish person. He confesses that his law profession prevents him from experimenting. “As a rule, I do not wear agbada except I am forced to. I can count the number of kaftan outfits that I have on my fingers. I am most comfortable in my jackets, shirts and trousers,” he enthuses.

While he isn’t a fashionable person, he is very careful about his diet. He says, “I am very finicky about what I eat but you would melt my heart when it comes to chicken and chips.”