Engineer Olumuyiwa Oluwole Aiyegbusi, Chairman, Olu Olu Group proudly tells you he loves thinking. His mind and head are full of thoughts of the next innovation to formulate in healthy nutritious foods. He was the first to start bottled palm wine and the first to produce pounded yam flour and lots more in the country. In this interview, he talks about his humble beginning and gives insights to the next money-spinning venture Nigerians should tap into.
You marked 65 years last October, would you say you are fulfilled?
Yes, my life is fulfilled. If I’m going to equate my life philosophically, I would think like I’m Joseph, who wanted to run away from his immediate environment for some time and then made it in a foreign land and his name and fame came from there and then came back home to be appreciated. Biblically, that’s how I would express myself. I’m good. I didn’t abuse myself and I would say God has been good to me.
How do you mean?
When I finished my master’s degree programme in the United States, I was a confirmed engineer and I was earning good salary. I came back to this country for my national youth service at FIRO (Federal Institute of Research, Oshodi). There, I got introduced into food processing. I was trained as a chemical engineer but I was introduced into food processing as a corps member. At a point, I felt despondent and by that time, my wife had moved to London. Despite all my efforts, things were not improving. I had to join my wife in London and started driving cab with my master’s degree certificate in London. But I never gave up on myself. After about a year of driving cab, I saved up some amount of pounds. I remembered that I had done some research on how to make pounded yam flour when I was at FIRO. I turned my wife’s kitchen into a laboratory, mixing things together and not too sure of what I was doing. When I got what I wanted right, (Yam flour) then I told her. She was ecstatic and said this will be a good market in the future. I told her, I need money to brand it. She only had 660 pounds in her account and I had only 835 pounds. What I needed at that point in time was 1400 pounds. So, she gave me 600 of her own money and I brought the money I had saved from my taxi work. So, she took a leap of faith not knowing the money will return or not. With 1,400 pounds in 1988 we started the operations in the UK, now it is over millions of pounds because she sowed that seed of faith. I call her the wind under my wings because she’s the one that lifted me up. So I remain grateful to her. I’m the one that popularized the concept of poundo yam anywhere in the world. I’m the originator. When you hear and see different poundo brands in the market, Olu Olu is the first who started it. All those popular brands were my agents then. They still give me the credit as the pacesetter in the industry. Our plantain chips is the best selling right now anywhere in the world: Ukraine, Russia and I have operations in London; I have in Ekiti and along the express road, Ibadan. I have in the US, I have in Columbia and Ecuador, and so we have become global. It has not been easy but God has been faithful.
What were the challenges you faced?
The first challenge just like any starter is finance. When you are starting business and you have no track record in the bank it is difficult. The bank can’t give you money unless you come from a rich father that can put his house down as collateral. So, finance is a major problem for a starter enterprise. Secondly, what I was introducing then nobody had the idea. Everybody believes in boiling yam and pounding with mortar, there was a machine developed by D-Das to cook yam but I was the first to come up with the concept of pounded yam flour, even though there are many brands now. People were skeptical, will this thing work? So, those were the initial challenges. Also, once you are the leading brand in the market, others want to pull part of your sales towards them. They can come up with film tricks. We thank God that we weathered the storm.
What would be your advice to upcoming entrepreneurs in food business?
I’m a resource person to an agency of the federal government, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and my area of specialty is value addition to agricultural produce. If you remember that we went through recessions from 2015 to May 2017, the only sector of the economy that didn’t go through recession is the agric sector. From my research, I found out that Nigeria losses at least three trillion naira after harvest to rotten tomatoes (due to transportation), rotten onion, even if they are bringing yam from Benue before Ore, the yams at the bottom will spoil, so we are losing money. The federal government wanted me to advice undergraduates who are seeking employment about the importance of agriculture and to look inward. They should stop looking for employment and become job creator. I have been doing that in the 22 states of the federation. I lecture them that if they take any of these produce, remove water from it, it turns to processing. That is what I have been doing in the country for the past four years; giving lectures about benefits of agriculture. Any young graduate or even unemployed that wants to give up, I advise him or her to look into the direction of agric. Agric is a silent goldmine that Nigerians can make money from. Nigeria is the number one producer in at least three or four produce in the world; not in Africa. Nigeria is the number one in yam, cassava, cocoyam and cow piece. Also, Nigeria is number two in Sorghum, and I can go on. We are blessed. But because there are no people taking it from farmers, so they waste and get rotten. Any young person should go the direction of agric.
The necessary awareness has not been created. All we are busy talking about is oil and gas. But now, most people are now shifting towards agric but the result will not come up immediately but when we look at five, six years from now, we will see millionaires from agric. It does not mean you have to be a farmer, it could just be someone who transport produce from the farm to the city or someone who just package ofada rice into nylon properly and supply Shoprite, that is agricultural value addition. You don’t have to be a farmer.
What are the lessons from your success story?
My first starting point is bottled palm wine; I started exporting that in 1986 out of this country. I started because I knew there were some expatriates that came into Nigeria and they enjoyed palm wine. Due to economic hardship, after Babangida changed to SAP I then moved to London. I saw our people eating ground rice (Tuwo shinkafa) and I’m from Ekiti. I like pounded yam, it just occurred to me that this is a potential market. God gave me that vision. Then, my mission statement was, my supply will be reliable, my product will be consistent in quality, then from time to time I must be innovative. Those three pillars, reliability of supply, quality produce, and innovative ideas periodically made us a global brand among the Africans in Diaspora. Quality control of Europe and America are stringent, so we started from high quality level.
What did you study in school?
At undergraduate, I studied Chemistry. Master’s chemical engineering, I specialized in petrochemical but when I served at FIRO, that was how I got converted. FIRO was my way to Damascus; August 1983 to July 1984. Philosophically, I have always been a creative person. I have always been a research person, I’m always thinking. I don’t do parties much. My nature is to sit and think, work with the computer and think.
What lessons has life taught you?
Trying to access much wealth does not bring necessary happiness, comfort-yes. I’m happy when people make you feel necessary or relevant to their well-being. Imagine Bill Gate having all that wealth but finding joy now in charitable ventures. Also, have a defined vision, then plan your life and live your plan.
What is your favourite food?
Fried plantain and beans. Also, pounded yam with nice soup.
Where is your best holiday destination?
Tenerife Island, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, off West Africa
What kind of things do you wear?
Everyday will be semi formal but for party occasions, I wear complete native or suited appropriately.
How did you meet your wonderful woman?
I met her through NYSC scheme. She was doing her camping at Yabatech. I was doing mine at Federal Technical College, Akoka, Lagos. When they did posting, I was posted to be teacher in a school. Master’s degree in engineering to teach in a primary school? That is capacity under-utilization. I had to go to School Management Board at Mushin to seek reposting. As I walked into the reception of the School Management Board, there she was. I noticed her, but I didn’t make a move. This is very rare for me to see a pretty lady and not move. Later, we met again, a week after when I went to take my letter of reposting to FIRO; at NYSC headquarters close to Apongbon, Lagos. This time I approached her. We talked, we exchanged address, we became friends and gradually things fell in place.