Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu
CON, KJW, FISM born to the late Alhaji
karimu Folarin Adebutu aka "Owo-Iya" and
late Alhaja Seliat Olasimbo Adebutu of
Iperu Remo, Ikenne LGA in Ogun State on
the 24th of (Dctober, 1935. Sir
Kesington attended The Wesley Primary
School, Iperu Remo and Ijero Baptist
School, Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta, Lagos
Where he completed his primary education
in 1950.
He was admitted into Baptist Academy,
Lagos for his secondary education in
January 1951 which he completed at the
famous Remo Secondary School (RSS)
Sagamu Remo, Ogun State in 1955, he was
obviously a very intelligent and brainy
student, as he topped his class in the
school leaving certificate examination
also known as West Africa Senior School
Certificate examination (WASSCE) ;
become of this feat, he was offered a
scholarship to train as a teacher, but
he rejected the offer in order for him
to stay back at home and continue his
education as a student. He attended
several leadership and management
development courses, seminars and
programmes both in Nigeria and abroad.
While in Baptist Academy he made friends
with the popular Chief Molade Okoya
Thomas and Justice Holloway (rtd). He
obviously had his philantropic attitude
right from his early years because he
never failed to share the little things
he had with his friends and close
associates. Oftentimes he took some of
his friends homefor lunch. Even though
he was nice and kind-hearted he was
still a boy so he displayed some of his
boyish attitude by playing truancy and
being a rascal, but his mother played
her role well and helped him to overcome
these problems.
As an employee, Kesington paid his dues
early in life by Working first with
Cable and Wireless Limited, (Which later
transformed into NITEL) as an operations
clerk in 1956. He then joined Claffin
Chemicals Ltd as a Salesman, and rose to
the position of The Regional Sales
Manager for Lagos and the old Midwestern
State, having displayed uncommon
integrity, hard Work and sincerity of
purpose which earned him both respect
and recognition very early in life.
The chairman of Premier Lotto limited
and the founder of Keshington
Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation (KAAF),Keshington
Adebukunola Adebutu also known as Baba
Ijebu is a free giver and an altruistic
personality. Even though he became
popular by the invention of his betting
pool game he has also invested in
agricultural activities, building and
properties, and entertainment. His
altruistic personality can be credited
to his scholarship programmes, free
medical activities to less privileged,
building and renovating school
buildings, hospitals, mosques and
churches for the masses.
Keshington Adebukunola Adebutu is a very
smart business man, even though he never
went to a formal business school, he
never attained a degree for business
management, yet he achieved success in
every business venture he delved into.
All these can be attributed to his
personal values and intuition.
His pertinacious and persistent attitude
have been the sharpening factor to his
success at the business he ventures in.
Ups and downs would always be a constant
factor in businesses, but Sir Keshington
Adebukunola Adebutu would always
persevere believing that "where there is
a will there is a way".
Many interviews, letters, have
attributed support and philantropism to
him. He has been part of the planning
committee for fund raising events for
building of schools, churches and
community halls. Due to his unending
love for humanity, he established the
Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu
Foundation (KAAF) at the Golden Gate
restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos, in the year
2005, and this foundation has donated a
lot of facilities to the masses.
Because of the various feat he has
attained so far, various individuals and
companie, both private and government
owned have awarded his creditable
personality. Among these are the award
for the Officer of the Order of the
Niger (OON) and the following year, he
was crowned the Commander of the Order
of the Niger (CON), by the federal
government of Nigeria. Apart from the
various awards he has received, he has
also been honoured with various
chieftaincy titles within and without
his homestead.
With his various display of hard work
since 1969, he has clocked 80, and
surprisingly when asked how soon he
would retire and hand over to one of his
children or any trustworthy person it
didn't seem he would retire soon; Though
he attributed his retirement to God's
hands.
You won't be mistaken if you say that a
man who is an epitome of hard work,
diligence, philantropism, one who can
lay down all he has for the benefit of
his people, a man with a heart that can
absorb millions of people, a man who
always reaches out to the masses is Sir Keshington Adebukunola Adebutu.
Chief Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu is a self-made man. Although he did not have a silver spoon in his mouth at birth, he crafted one for himself when he decided to take his instincts more seriously. While growing up as a Youngman, he discovered after reading a book How To Be Your Own Boss that the easiest route to wealth creation was to run your own business. This proposition set his imagination on fire.
His dilemma however, was how to set up a business without any capital. Looking through an array of strategic possibilities, he opted for the pools business as a Commissioned Agent because all he needed here as capital was just a small contact office where his clients could collect and return their pools coupons. To achieve his dream, he hired a shop at 8, Bale Street, Alakara, Idi-oro and started making contacts with his old friends to patronize his new business.
"Education is very important to keep the human mind receptive to ideas and responsive to the critical phases of life. But how much of it does a man really require to run a successful business? Just average education! The rest is a matter of your natural intelligence, attitude to life, character make-up, intuition and self application. Acquiring certificates is one thing, applying the knowledge so acquired to achieve results (which is what management is all about), is another. If you have a box load of certificates and you have neither a focus nor a direction, your certificates will never make up for the difference between your potential capacity (which the certificates represent) and your actual capabilities.” - KesingtOn Adebutu
"Going into a business without setting goals for yourself is like going on a long joumey to a strange environment without a road map. The chances are that you may get there by trial- and-error or you may miss your way by following the wrong route. Either way, you have wasted your time and other valuable resources that could be more usefully deployed elsewhere in the business. Setting goals enables you to determine the outcome of your mission before you ever start the journey at all. If you have no goal to set, then you have no priorities to keep, no purpose to pursue and no outcomes to show for your efforts. That is bad management, I suppose!" - Kesington Adebutu
