The Interesting Story Of The Famous ALAJO SOMOLU

I heard my parents use thewords "ALAJO SOMOLU" on many occasions in a positive remark,without having an idea of the story behind the 'character'.Here's the story as shared by Consultville:Alphaeus Taiwo Olunaike is not a name that many Nigerians arefamiliar with. But once you mention Baba Alajo Somolu, the eyesof millions of Nigerians will light up. Yes,they are more familiarwith this nomenclature.He was born at a very dangerous time. Aperilous period inNigeria's history.It was on the 16th of September 1915 in the tiny city of Isan-Oyin(now called Isonyin), close to Ijebu-Musin and Ijebu-Ode in OgunState, southwestern Nigeria. Within the thick groves of thickforests and the brilliant foliage of green tropical plants, the criesof newly-born babies pierced the calm and peace of the forest.A woman named Grace Okuromiko Olunaike had given birth totriplets. Three at once! Immediately she was told that she justgave birth to three babies, her face went sullen. She could nothide the sadness. Her heartbeat increased as tears streamed downher warm face. She was visibly confused.It was an abomination for a woman to give birth to triplets atthat time in Yorubaland...One child must be sacrificed to the gods. One of the babies waseventually sacrificed to the gods. The other two were spared.One of them is whom I am writing on right now – Alajo Somolu.Baba Alajo Somolu was just three years of age when he lost hisfather. However, he was able to proceed with his education. Hestarted his primary education at the Emmanuel Primary School,Ijebu-Isonyin. He had not finished his education at his smallhamlet when his paternal uncle, STA Torimoro came and tookhim to Lagos where he was able to further his education.Long after he narrowly escaped being sacrificed to the gods, inthe year 1927, he arrived Lagos and he was enrolled at the St.Johns School, Aroloya. From there, he proceeded to the ChristChurch Cathedral School, Lagos, and finishedthere in 1934. Twoyears after his education, he was enrolled as an apprentice undera tailor named Rojaye. He was a tailor-in-training for nine goodyearsbefore he got his ‘freedom’. When hestarted working as atailor, he noticed that the income was not just going to besustainable for him and he needed an alternative fast.Therefore,when the younger brother of his late dad, STA Torimoro, wasgoing to Cameroon on a commercial trip, Baba Alajo Somoludecided he would also seize the opportunity and follow him too.Thus, in 1950, BabaAlajo Somolu was onhis way to Paul Biya’snation. Upon reaching Cameroon, Baba Alajo Somolu unleashedthe ferocious entrepreneurial spirit that was in him. A verydetermined fellow, he tried his hands on various tasks and dutiesin Cameroon. He sold goods, newspapers and tried his hands onmany ventures. In Cameroon, one of his neighbours was a thriftcollector and he gisted him about the business which immediatelycaught his fancy.As a a result, by thetime he returned to Nigeriain 1954, he already had it in mind that hewas going to start thebusiness of ajo gbigba (thrift collection).He was 39 at that time.Before he left Cameroon, he took with him a copy of the thriftcollection card used by his Cameroonian neighbour. Uponreaching Nigeria, he made his own copies of the card and henamed his own venture Popular Daily Alajo Somolu.At the peak of his career, he was omolu who was hardworkingand diligent athis work that sayings were coined in his name.The sayings are asfollows: "Ori e pe bii ti alajo Somolu, to fodidi oôdun meta gbajolai ko oruko eni kankan sile, ti ko si siwo san fenikeni." (Yourbrain is as sharp as that of Alajo Somolu, who collected thrift forthree years and paid back all his customers without writing downa single name and without making any mistake with the payment)There is also another one that goes thus:“Ori e pe bii Alajo Somolu, to ta moto, to fi ra keke ”. (You aresointelligent like Alajo Somolu, who sold his car to buy a bicycle).For Baba Alajo Somolu to collect thrift and financial contributionsfrom his countless clients without writing down their names andthen returning to pay them as due and as scheduled at the end ofevery month for years without making any mistake points to aneidetic (photographic) memory . Only someone of a vast andprodigious memory with an outstanding power of recall caneffortlessly carry out such an amazing feat. One very interestingthing is that many people actually think the story of Alajo Somoluis of myths and legends and that he does not exist. But alas! Hedid truly exist!After establishing his Popular Daily Alajo Somolu thrift collectionbusiness, he got a bicycle that he planned to use in movingaround collecting money for saving fromhis customers. Then hecalled an older relative and hinted him ofthe business, seeking hiscounsel, advice and suggestion. But he was shocked. His elderrelative took a good look at him and thoroughly discouragedhim. He told Alajo Somolu that thrift business was not forpeople like him, that is was a very difficult and challenging joband he even counted about six people who had started thebusiness of thrift collection but ended up bankrupt. He summedit up by telling Alajo Somolu to try another business as he will notsucceed in thrift collection.Therefore, when the younger brother of his late dad, STATorimoro, was going to Cameroon on a commercial trip, BabaAlajo Somolu decided he would also seize the opportunity andfollow him too. Thus, in 1950, Baba AlajoSomolu was on his wayto Paul Biya’s nation. Upon reaching Cameroon, Baba AlajoSomolu unleashed the ferocious entrepreneurial spirit that was inhim. A very determined fellow, he tried his hands on various tasksand duties in Cameroon. He sold goods, newspapers and tried hishands on many ventures. In Cameroon, one of his neighbourswas a thrift collector and he gisted him about the business whichimmediately caught his fancy .As a a result, by the time he returned to Nigeria in 1954, healready had it in mind that he was going to start the business ofajo gbigba (thrift collection). He was 39 at that time. Before heleft Cameroon, he took with him a copy of the thrift collectioncard used by his Cameroonian neighbour. Upon reaching Nigeria,he made his own copies of the card and he named his ownventure Popular Daily Alajo Somolu.Back to how he started: After listening to the demotivating taleof his older relative, Alajo Somolu headed to the place of his ownelder sister, named Sarah. He explained that he wanted to leavethe tailoring job and all that was on his mind to his dear sister.She listened carefully to all he had to say, believed in his passionand took him to a clergy who prayed for him and gave him allthe support and encouragement that he needed in his newventure. He also preached to Alajo Somolu to be very honest inall his dealings, and that once he was fair and just, his businesswould bloom.An elated Alajo Somolu and his delighted sister left the place ofthe cleric full of thanks and gratitude. In September 1954, AlajoSomolu went out for the first time to collect thrift from hisclients. He had launched his business and he had great hopes.Unfortunately, not a single person patronized him that first day.Many of the market women even taunted him saying he wouldjust collect their money and vanish into the thin air. But he wasnot discouraged with the negative atmosphere. He persisted inriding his bicycle from stall to stall, from shop to shop until someof the market women pitied him and decided to give him a trialand gave steady contributions of some kobos.At the end of the first month, all his clients got their moneycomplete and not a dime was missing. Baba Alajo too also madehis own profit and he was doubly deligated that his clients hadrenewed hope in him and that the new business was actuallymore lucrative than the tailoring he was doing. With time, thenews of his honesty, transparency and hardwork spread and hisclients swelled in number. Baba Alajo’s prosperity too also shoneand he built his first house at No 10, Odunukan Street in Ijesa. Helater sold the house to the Deeper Life Ministry and built anotherone at Olorunkemi, Owotutu Area, Bariga, Lagos.In a shortwhile, his fame spread like wildfire. He was the thriftcollector for the entire axis covering Awolowo Market, OyingboMarket, Olaleye, Mile 12, Ojuwoye, Baba Oloosa, Sangross and ofcourse in Somolu (Shomolu) where he got his nickname. Hiscustomers fell in love with him for his truthfulness, his ability tosave them from financial ruins by providing life-saving loans andmost importantly, for his outstanding memory. He did not alsouse a calculator and there were no computers either. The mostamazing part of his prodigious memory is this: he does not onlypay back the exact amount to his clients, he also pay them backwith the same notes and coins that theycontributed with. Hewas so exact that if a client should writedown the number on hisnotes, he would be astonished to get the same notes back at theend of the month. Such brilliance!Anytime one of his vehicles returned after a trip of thriftcollection and the car had depreciated to the point that it is nolonger economically viable, he just sells off the car and buys abicycle instead. Therefore, when people noticed that one of hisvehicles was missing and a brand-new vehicle had appearedinstead, they will say:Alajo Somolu has sold his car to buy a bicycle.But Alajo Somolu knew what he was doing. To him, what is thepoint of maintaining a car that was not bringing in profitsanymore? It was better to sell it and buy more Raleigh bicycles toaccess all the hitherto inaccessible areas. Let me state here thatmany of his customers stayed with him for decades and many upto the time he died. They described him as a very friendly, reliableand honest man. He was also praised for his willingness to helpothers. When he died, one of the other thrift collectors in thearea named Oladini Olatunji said that there was a time when heran into some financial troubles with hisbusiness and it almostbecame a huge debt on him but it was baba Alajo Somolu thathelped him pay off the entire debt and saved him frombankruptcy and he never told anyone. For this and many more,all other thrift collectors looked up to him as their father figureand even held the alajo (thrift collector) meetings in his house.He was happily married and as at the time he was alive, he wasthe Layreader and Treasurer for 30 yearsat the Anglican Churchthat he attended at Somolu .Alajo Somolu continued his job with joy until 2010 when he was 95years old. He really wanted to continue the job but his childreninsisted that he had to go on voluntary retirement, and that itwas time for him to rest.But you know the most amazing thing? Even though Baba AlajoSomolu followed his children’s suggestion that he retire and notgo out again to receive thrift collections,his clients did not lethim rest. They had so much faith in him that they personally wentto his house to give him their daily contributions which they thenreturned to collect at the end of every month when it wouldhave accumulated to a sizable portion.On the 11th of August, 2012, Baba Alajo Somolu breathed his last.He was not sick but died due to old age.From a humble background and with little formal education, BabaAlajo Somolu was able to remodify esusu, the traditional bankingsystem and became a pioneer in his own right. He was clearly afulfilled man, with the proceeds from hisjob, he was able to buildhouses, send his children to school and sustain his entire family.