Emerging from very humble beginnings, Akintayo Adaralegbe ascended through the rungs of the ladder to emerge a successful businessman in real estate. Named as the Real Estate Personality of the year by Global Excellence Recognition Awards 2021, his breakthrough is etched on his ability to add value to infrastructural development and the environment. His company T.Pumpy Concept Limited is one of the leading property developers in the country. In a recent encounter with Vanessa Obioha, he shared his grass-to-grace story supported by the scaffold of his childhood and maternal influence.
“Have you bought any land before?” Akintayo Adaralegbe posed the question to his Public Relations agent Bolaji Salami-Ajayi who sat across from him. We were in his hotel room on a cloudy morning. His gaze never left her face, his eyes probing like a detective’s. Shyly, Salami-Ajayi responded in the negative. Adaralegbe pushed on, asking questions why she is yet to do so.
The mock interview continued for a while before Salami-Ajayi gave up helplessly. Turning to this reporter, Adaralegbe smiled as if he was expecting me to give him a good grade for his performance.
“I really want to learn how to become a journalist,” he said, still smiling. A good ice-breaker, nonetheless. The imagery of the property developer as a journalist was hard to form at that moment.
Adaralegbe comes across as a jovial person. This good sense of humour is what makes him approachable to anyone, including his employees.
“This is me,” he began. “If you ask my staff, they will tell you this is how I am. We talk and joke a lot. It makes the work easier for me and them too because I’m accessible to them. They can call me anytime to talk to me. Mostly, it makes me know their mind and to know what was not done. They can easily walk up to me and let me know what things are supposed to be done and how we can do it better, so it makes the work easier for me.”
Over a decade ago, Adaralegbe, a native of Ekiti had no inkling that he would be the founder of one of the prominent property companies in Nigeria. Born in Ilorin, he was raised by a father who made a living out of photography and a mother whose entrepreneurial spirit was evident in the various businesses she engaged in. Adaralegbe knew poverty as a child but refused to be stuck in it.
Till date, he has never worked for anyone. He exhibited his mother’s entrepreneurial spirit while in the university, engaging in all kinds of business. First, he worked as a thrift collector, then moved on to photography and later sold recharge cards. His business acumen came in handy when he was posted to Ebonyi State for his National Youth Service Corps. From a tender age, the real estate tycoon was guided by the principle that having a good marketing strategy is one of the keys to running a successful business. While in Ebonyi selling recharge cards, he offered customers a good price for his products and services. This was during the GSM boom in Nigeria when mobile phones were still very expensive to acquire. Gradually, his booth became a Mecca of sorts to many.
“If others were selling recharge cards for N50, I sold mine for N15 and that made people rush to my booth. I had about five phones in my booth which were constantly busy at any given time. Sometimes, about 20 people would be in my booth making or receiving calls, and some were still queuing up to use my services. My employees and I were constantly busy,” he narrated.
It was during that period that he was introduced to the real estate business as other business inclined people saw an opportunity to market their products to his customers. Sometimes, he allowed them to put up signage for their businesses which sometimes were mostly lands or properties.
“Someone walked up to me and told me that he had a property he wanted me to manage. I told him I was not interested, moreover, I have no experience in that business, but he insisted.”
Whether Adaralegbe had a magic wand that day or not, he cannot recall for the moment he stepped his feet into that property, he got someone to buy it instantly. He made N30,000 from that transaction. He was given another property which fetched him N300,000 profit. He would eventually own the first property he sold. By 2010, he registered his company. He spent the next five years buying and reselling lands until 2015 when he officially opened the revolving doors of his office in Abuja with just three employees. Of the three, only one still works with him. His staff strength now runs into hundreds and the young man admitted that he is not familiar with all of his workers.
“There are people in the head office that I don’t know who work for me. I just see them around and have to ask their supervisors if they are now a staff member.”
T.Pumpy prides itself as a progressive property developer that offers a range of services that cater for all categories of subscribers seeking land and housing solutions. Plans are underway to expand to other parts of the country. Adaralegbe revealed that it was one of the reasons he came to Lagos.
“We plan to have an office in Lagos before the end of the year,” he revealed.
Having spent 21 years in Abuja, Adaralegbe was convinced that any developer who can survive real estate hurdles in Abuja can survive anywhere.
“There are a lot of hurdles for one to cross in Abuja. First, people need to believe in you, secondly, getting the right property, and the right document.”
The lack of these obstacles in Ekiti made him open an office there last September. After studying the law of the state that prohibits fraud on land transactions, he felt it was the right place for his business.
For him, the hassles of securing documents for property was non existing in his homestead.
“That’s because the system is working. You don’t have much to do in Ekiti. They are ready to give you approval within one week.”
Currently, he is eyeing Oyo State and hopes to establish his office before the year runs out. Adaralegbe is known for his philanthropic gestures. Not a few have benefited from his largesse. To celebrate his birthday last year, he donated a plot of land to an orphanage, Shining Star Orphanage Home located at the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate in Abuja.
A happily married man, Adaralegbe is also a recipient of many awards including the Global Excellence Awards as the Real Estate Personality of the Year. He was specifically recognised for adding value to infrastructural development and the environment in Nigeria and conducting real estate business without sacrificing sincerity, transparency and humanity.
Perhaps, this is the reason his company is known as a property developer that cares. It is evident in the way the company treats its subscribers — most of them are mainly from referrals, even though it has an array of ambassadors to promote the brand. Having noticed that sincerity is an important requisite in this sector, Adaralegbe ensured that all his transactions are transparent. Reportedly, subscribers are always given the value for their money. Making sincerity and excellence a hallmark of his business was not an arduous task, for the businessman revealed that it was a value instilled in him by his parents.
“Back when I started, the problem was that people didn’t get value for their money. It was one of the things that made many entrust their property to me. I always make sure I give people the value for their money.”
Such occurrences, in his estimation, have dwindled over the years in the real estate sector as many now understood the importance of transparency in the business. However, he wished that the government would create an enabling environment for developers and for developers to adhere to the rules of the government to curb housing deficits in the country.
Easy-going, the real estate mogul’s simplicity is often taken for granted. There have been instances in the past when subscribers fail to pay as at when due. To avoid such reoccurrence, he has put measures in place. One of his objectives for the future is to go fully into construction. More changes, he revealed, would be happening in his company as he aims to take it to a higher level.
Having come from a humble background, Adaralegbe has a profound understanding of wealth.
“Wealth is not all about cash, cars or houses. It is about human capital. How many people are you impacting? It’s not about giving them money but what you are doing, how impactful it is in society. If you are doing something and it can affect three or more people within a given area, it makes you wealthy.”
When asked if he considered himself a wealthy man, he deflected the question like a pugilist, with laughter. However, he admitted that he has a wild lust for exotic cars.
Does he have a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari? Adaralegbe refused to divulge that information, deftly laughing and leaving that to my imagination.
