Kayode Ojo : Emerging Enigma Adds Another Glorious Year

As Engr. Kayode Ojo, an Ikoro born politician clocks 47 on August 1, 2017, the Bible says a man’s value is not quantified by what he has been able to amass but by the quality of life he had lived on the face of earth.

Going by this axiom, Engr Ojo by every standard lives a memorable life and he has imprinted his effigy in the hearts of the populace by his good conduct and philanthropic gesture, which had lifted many depressed souls and soothed their pains.

The former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill said: “an optimist will always see opportunity in every difficulty while a pessimist will always see difficulty in every opportunity”.

Kayode, being an incurable optimist saw the opportunity in his aristocratic background and the seemingly daunting challenges therein and these he harnessed favourably to catapult himself to a vantage position in his professional, social and political careers.

His late father , Chief Akanbi Ojo, was a renowned businessman, who touched the lives of many Ekiti indigenes during his lifetime. His father’s generosity and unquenchable philanthropy, earned the family enormous popularity and acceptability among teeming Ekiti
people.

All this natural endowment didn’t halt Kayode’s flair for goodness. He has been working assiduously to further expand the goodwill the nature has bestowed on them .

However, as charismatic as his background seems to be , it doesn’t give a finality that all was a bed of roses. It was full of thorns because of the polygamy nature, where every child has to grapple for survival as lizards engaged in a fierce territorial contest within a limited space .

Engr Kayode Olubunmi Ojo was born on August 1, 1970 into the family of High Chief (Dr) Joshua Akanbi Ojo (Eisaba of Ikoro Ekiti) of Ikoro Ekiti ,in Ijero Local Government area of our Great Ekiti State. Kayode didn’t act like the biblical ‘prodigal son’, who got carried away by the wealth of his father.

This enigma knew early in life that tough time never last but tough people do. His unflagging belief in this aphorism propelled him to struggle through thick and thin to carve a niche for himself in education and professional careers.

Glowing with passion to survive and blaze the trail, the young and dynamic Kayode attended Government College, Ibadan, Oyo State and Federal Government College, Idoani, Ondo State.

Because of his thirst for knowledge and scholarship, he graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in July 1991 from the Federal University of Technology of Akure .
He is also a professional member of the Nigeria Institute of Engineers and distinguished member of Nigeria Association of Corrosion Engineers and he is also COREN certified.

Engr. Ojo is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of SALTA Infrastructure and Construction Co. Limited. As the CEO of SALTA.

He grew the company from the scratch to an enviable multibillion naira Infrastructure and Construction Company in less than five years with the company dealing principally in acquisition of companies in the United States , Trinidad and Tobago as well as in the UAE.

Being a very gregarious and democratic person, he enjoys working with people and this he said has built so much prowess for him in business and leadership.

This quality spurred him to enter into partnership with some like-minded business wizards for the establishment of Atlas International Engineering Services (Nig) Limited, a company he serves as the Executive Director, Business and Technical Development.

Under his watch, Atlas stood tall as one of the major indigenous engineering Oil and Gas companies with multimillion dollar projects brief with International Oil and Gas Companies.

For close to three decades, he has served in numerous capacities for various Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria and USA, He is President and owner of Riserclad International Inc, ( Part of SALTA Group) Baton Rouge , Louisiana and Houston , Texas , USA and Atlas International Consulting Inc, Houston, Texas, USA.

He also serves as Non Executive Director of Cogent Energy SA, Geneva, Switzerland as well and Executive Director of Atlas Technical services Ltd, a technical manpower supplier to the Oil and Gas as well as other energy and production companies.

Having established a flourishing business empire, Kayode recently forayed into Ekiti politics with his intention to contest for the governorship poll on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

He said he wasn’t interested in the position to amass wealth but to better the lots of the people and give them a new lease of life.

The young virile political enigma began his political sojourn on an impressive note. He established a far-reaching impression that he has the capacity and innate potentials to fight for the members of his party and Ekiti in general if given the opportunity to serve.

Though, he has not officially unveiled his governorship intent, Ekiti people have begun to savour his liberality in terms of financial assistance to enhance commitments to education, healthcare services and other pivotal areas that are critical to human existence.

As Engr Kayode Ojo adds another glorious year to his age, I believe he will be more committed to put smiles on the faces of Ekiti populace who now see him as an emerging Messiah by his activities and carriage.