By Ayokunle Adetipe
THERE is a seed of triumph in every adversity. Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi understands the nuanced import of this cliché. Until the demise of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Ooni of Ife last July, he was a virtually unknown in the socio-political firmament. At best, he was just another enterprising young Nigerian making things happen in his corner of terra firma. He, however, rode on the demise of the late flamboyant king to become a media sensation, which, typically, has its flip side.
As would be discovered when he began reaching out to be considered for the Ooni throne, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi was born into the Giesi Ruling House, Ojaja Royal Compound of Agbedegbede in Ile-Ife. A self-acclaimed consummate businessman with investments in different sectors of the economy, Prince Ogunwusi is a director on the Board of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited (formerly GTHomes), a leading national mortgage bank and former subsidiary of one of the biggest banks in Africa, GTBank Plc. He is the founder and Managing Director of Gran Imperio Group, the holding company of Real Estate and Construction, Manufacturing, Facilities Management, Leisure and Tourism companies in Nigeria.
Conversely, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi’s recent past tells a different story. The same media he courted to sell himself is now being employed by the state to tell the world the true story behind his wealth. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun investigations into allegations of forgery, fraudulent conversion and obtaining the sum of N400 million by false pretence against Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi and his firm, Metropole Interproject Limited. The news recently made the cover of frontline national newspapers including the Sunday Tribune Edition of October 4, 2015.
The newspapers had it that: In a petition written by the chambers of Rotimi Jacobs & Co. dated September 7, 2015, Messrs Sijuwade Holdings Limited stated that in 1993, it purchased a parcel of land measuring 30,000 square metres from the Ojomu Chieftaincy family at the Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, and duly obtained the governor’s Consent to the transaction. Thereafter, SHL claimed it entered into an agreement with Metropole Interproject Limited for the latter to sand-fill the entire parcel of land, and that upon completion of the sand filling, Metropole would be given 7,500 square metres from the land “to serve as the company’s fees.”
Among other allegations, the petitioner stated, “To our client’s surprise, the search revealed that Mr Ogunwusi/Metropole had forged the title documents by superimposing the name of Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the parcel of land. The signature of Professor Olawoyin, SAN, who prepared the title document, was also forged by Mr Ogunwusi/Metropole. Mr Ogunwusi also submitted a forged Certificate of Incorporation with the name: Metropole Interproject & Sijuwade Holdings Limited and forged some documents belonging to the Lagos State Government and uttered same to the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority. Apart from the forgery earlier complained about, Mr Ogunwusi/Metropole has also sold the eight duplex units that ought to have accrued to our client and he converted the proceeds, running into N400 million, to his personal use.”
When contacted to confirm if the agreement allegedly submitted by Metropole for the building permits was prepared by the firm, Olawoyin & Olawoyin stated, “We wish to state that the agreement (a copy of which was attached to your letter under reference) was NOT prepared by our firm. We have taken the liberty to attach to this letter a copy of the actual document that was prepared by our firm and draw your attention to the following differing aspects of the agreement:
(a) The front page of the agreement attached to your letter contains Metropole Interproject Limited as a party to the agreement of sale, while in the actual document prepared by our firm; Metropole Interproject Limited is not a party.
(b) The signature on the front page of the actual document prepared by our firm is that of the undersigned, Professor Gabriel Olawoyin, SAN, while the signature attached to the front page of the document attached to your letter is NOT that of Professor Gabriel Olawoyin.
(c) Page 1 of the agreement prepared by our firm does NOT make any reference to Metropole Interproject Limited, while the document attached to your letter makes reference to Metropole Interproject Limited.”
The young businessman however debunked the forgery and fraud tales, saying it was the handiwork of detractors. Sadly, those who should know are not helping matters. For instance, one Lekan Ijiyode, a Magistrate and apparently, Ogunwusi’ Campaign Manager, hiding under a pseudo organization called Ife Concerned Citizens, was recently quoted as saying that Adeyeye Ogunwusi never committed fraud against any individual or corporate organization and that the allegation was concocted by mischief makers who wanted to destroy his chances of becoming the Ife king. “Adeyeye was not the author of the purported forged documents. He did not know about its existence until very recently when SHL brought it to his attention.” As if that was not bad enough, the secretary of the Giesi Ruling House in Ife, Prince Adelowo Ogunleye, told the Sunday Tribune: “That allegation is between him (Ogunwusi) and the petitioners. We are not aware of it. We interviewed him (Ogunwusi) just like we did other candidates and he did not mention the case. Nobody raised any matter against him. If they had written formally to us, we would have investigated. If he is qualified, we will present him to the kingmakers. Nobody informed us of any case against him.”
What Ogunleye implied is that if someone had petitioned the EFCC over some financial wrongdoings, the onus is on the Giesi family to wade into the issue to ascertain the veracity or otherwise, of the allegation, forgetting that the family is not an arm of any security agency and neither is the petitioner or petitioners obligated to direct their petition to the family. The onus, therefore, is on the family to wade into the matter by visiting the EFCC with their “Son” who, in this case, is an aspirant to the vacant stool of the Ooni and see things for themselves.
The Giesi Ruling House has a date with history as they conclude the process of electing a new Ooni. Whoever they choose eventually will rewrite the story of Giesi whether for good or bad in Ife. It behooves them however to avoid a tainted name, a man whose kith and kin did not know until now but has reportedly been throwing so much cash around, even going as far as buying sub-standard transformers worth over N250 million for some Ife communities in his desperate and inordinate bid for the Ooni throne. How the Giesi Ruling House meanders through this labyrinth would be judged by posterity and historians.
• Adetipe, an entrepreneur, wrote in from Awolowo town, (former Garage Olode), Ile-Ife.