Nigeria has lost a rare gem of social entrepreneurship - Isaac Durojaiye (Otunba Gadaffi) SAN - Senior Agbepo of Nigeria. DMT has lost its Founder and Vice Chairman. I have lost a friend, client and brother. Shaddaiville has lost a Fellow and Choir Patron. May his soul rest in perfect peace in Jesus name. Amen.
As tall as the man was at 7ft plus, he would bend double to respect you and bend over backwards to help you, once he was convinced you are willing to also help yourself. Isaac Durojaiye aka ‘Otunba Gadaffi’ died an accomplished man. But whether he was also fulfilled before his death is another matter.
He would have turned 50 on April 3, 2012 but didn’t. Before he died in a private Lagos hospital late Tuesday afternoon, March 20, 2012 I suspect it was me he granted his last interview.
This tribute is to a wonderful friend and client; a loyal and committed supporter of my charity work, and a co-driver of many youth empowerment drives. This man’s outstanding social entrepreneurship should not die.
Less than 18 hours after his death, I got a call from Dr. Ogunbiyi, Chairman, Dignified Mobile Toilets (DMT) Durojaiye’s only other boss after late Chief MKO Abiola, whom late Durojaiye served as head of security and personal bodyguard. His words were: “Otunba Gadaffi’s outstanding achievements in the DMT Group will continue to flourish. We will make sure of that.” Amen.
Gadaffi, as I love to call him, was driven by a passion to succeed, but not for himself alone. He wanted to help so many Nigerians step out of poverty. There was nothing flashy about him except his decision to make corporate the business of evacuating fecal waste, which before he came on the scene was handled by nocturnal bucket carriers. He painted all kinds of comic slogans on his trucks like “shit business is serious business” and “shit money never smells.” He beat tough times. Licked death thrice, yet doled our humour in bowls.
Early in December, four years ago, I had just stepped out of the shower in a flat in Bermondsey, London when I felt a compulsion to call Gadaffi. I am no soothsayer, just a gifted seer. Three things I foretold him on phone; that the Federal Government under late Umaru Yar’adua would send missives to him to assess him for an appointment or so, international partners would seek to do new business with him, and that unless we prayed together for seven weeks, he was going to die!
Till he breathed his last, he called me ‘Oluso’ (my shepherd). This is a side of me that most people outside of the gospel enterprise never knew. Gadaffi confirmed that the FG sent two missives to him just the day before; that three international firms were seeking partnership with him on biogas production from fecal waste; and that he was highly hooked on medication (52 tablets a day, he admitted).
For seven weeks, we prayed together in faith. It was mostly done on telephone. He called me from five different countries spread across three continents for our prayers. In 90 days, he was weaned off 52 tablets. Within the year, “I am strong again, Oluso” he told me.
Today, my friend is dead. But in those four years, he expanded his business beyond measure. He was married and had children. There is an exceptional male staff he took as an adopted son in business and had such huge plans for next to the new boss of DMT. I can only hope such plans, including his latest N80 million investment in evacuation trucks and expansion measures are firmly established by DMT management.
A Fellow of Shaddaiville Ministries and Patron of the choir, Shaddai Echoes, Gadaffi’s last business interview with me was about how DMT alleviates poverty especially in slum areas of Lagos State. — with Shobola Owolabi Gbenga and 2 others.
