AS A PACESETTER IN PROPERTY BUSINESS, AKMODEL IS COMMITTED TO REBRANDING THE NIGERIAN BRAND GLOBALLY – DR. BUILDER ODEGADE, MD/CEO

Dr. Builder Abdulhakeem Odegade is a graduate of Building Technology from the prestigious Federal Polytechnic Ede in Osun State. Over the years, he has instilled optimum professionalism and infused quality service delivery into the Nigerian property and real estate business. Inspired by his father and mentored by his HOD, Builder Abdulhakeem Odegade’s company Akmodel Construction Company Limited has grown sporadically to become the leading lights in the country’s real estate sector taking thee brand to other African nations like Ghana, Ivory Coast and more. In this exclusive interview with Blissful Affairs International Magazine’s publisher Adaobi Enekwa, Odegade spoke on the challenges of real estate or property business in Nigeria and the ways out. He also delved on other topical issues. Enjoy the excerpts:

Can you tell us briefly about yourself and journey so far?

My name is Buildr Abdulhakeem Odegade. The journey commenced when I was at the Federal Polytechnic Ede. After years of waiting for JAMB, because I wanted to study Pharmacy at OAU but my father called mte and said son, you better go for what is good for you. My father was a contractor. He worked several years for Julius Berger during the construction of OAU and from there moved back to Lagos at the early 80s. As you see me I don’t k lw how too write CV because I’ve never searched for work. I have the orientation of employing people, paying salaries as at when due, that’s my vision at the beginning. So, when I now get to the school to study, am a hustler, working and I made myself available to the school authority to know the kind of talent that I had. So, I begin to work though they saw me then like a bricklayer so around 2003, that was when i registered Akmodel Builder as a name, it’s a construction company and what brought the name is my HOD Dr. Vilda Taliat Yusuf his own company’s name is Tolay Builder and I studied Building Technology and if you study Building Technology, you are called a Builder.

I now said my name is Akeem and my surname is Odegade, so that was how the name Akmodel came up. Before the registration of the name, I was given a project in school worth N1.5 million and I was fine N500,000. So I went to Intercontinental Bank to deposit the money so when I got there, they told me oga, you don’t have account number, I said which account number? They said it’s company’s account number not your personal account number. So I can’t cash the money after I have bought materials on credit.

So, I had to call my director then which is Architect Otitola that this is what is happening o. So I had to register my name. When I graduated I now changed the nameo to a limited liability company which is Akmodel Builder Construction Nigeria Limited. So, I now came to Lagos to come and serve at the building department of the Ministry of Works. Being a guy that have been in Lagos since 1997 when I finished my secondary school and following my father who was a contractor at Apapa

My father was a contractor in Apapa Local Government then and along the line, he called me and said Akeem, I want you to have more knowledge with Ojo & Sons, that was the company handling part of the construction of Zenith Bank Headquarters in Lagos. So I’ve had the creativity of how to do your own thing and not to reply on white collar jobs or government job. However, the real estate came in when I had clients in the diaspora that I used to buy lands for and one day, they asked me to get lands for them and build on it but one of them said, why can’t you the selling lands instead of you looking for lands from other people, before verification and other procedures. So, that was how I ventured into real estate and from there to farming, from farming to oil and gas etc.

Can you tell us about your experiences as regards real estate?

Well, Real estate is very sweet but it’s a career that if care is not taken, it can also run you down. when it comes to landed property verification, it is very, very tedious. One, from omo onile and you also have to take government into consideration not to fall into committed lands but the Lagos State government has made it easier. You just go to the Surveyor General office and they will check, verify and let you know if it is a committed land or an ablution or free from government intervention. If omo onile is telling you it’s our property, it’s our area, please don’t listen to them. Even if I want to get properties from Warri, Asaba, Enugu and other parts of the south east, I visit the state ministries of land and do proper verification because if you don’t, there will definitely be problems. There is what we due diligence in this processes and without it, you will have to refund client’s money.

What other challenges are in the business?

The first and foremost challenge is that Real estate is a capital based business which means you need a lot of money to delve into the business. Most of the properties available, you have to pay three times and they run into hundreds of millions in naira and if you can’t pay outrightly, they ask you to pay 30 percent initial deposit and spread the balance to three months. So, those are some of the challenges to face before moving to the omo onile side. The omo onile issue is even easy because you deal with the families or the community. I’ve bought a land from a family in Epe. The family is of three arms and I bought the land from one of the wives’ child who did not carry the remaining members of the family along. However, I have paid a sum of 18 million naira before I discovered that he did not carry others along and it turned to to a fracas. The Area Commander and DPO of that area have to intervene and it was resolved that I stopped paying him alone and start paying into the family account. That was how we resolved the issue.

Aside sourcing from families, how else do you source for lands?

We aleo source from the government. A state governments have lands they sell but at very high rates. We have a property at the back of Shoprite we bought from the Lagos State government but you still have a to go through families because they will tell you that the government is using power on them. However, buying through government will quicken your knowledge if a land is committed or is of acquisition. Like lands that is already unscripted with Dangote signs or Ministry of Health for example is a restricted area and a no go land. That is the difference.

Do you build houses at Akmodel?

Yes. We have houses for sale at reasonable rates based on clients’ affordability.

Some people go into real estate business because of money. Why did you venture into the real estate business?

I ventured into the business because I have passion for it and I want to leave a very positive and indelible records for my forthcoming generations. Many have gone into the business and left bad records which their children and generations are suffering today. I want my children to praise me for being a real estate practitioner and professional.

What is the magic that made Akmodel the envy of all it’s contemporaries today?

Am not going to say they envy us but we thank God Almighty, there is no magic behind our success. It’s just a result of hardworking, resilience and transparency. I am a goal getter and I like achieving my positive goals. This has enabled me get inspired to establish Akmodel Builder Construction Company in Ghana and Ivory Coast etc. I went to Ghana where I presented a paper on real estate and one thing struck my mind that if I could spend so much in going to Ghana and expose them to real estate business, why can’t I sell Ghana lands to Ghanaians? So, I established Akmodel Construction Company there and the government of Côte d’Voire (Ivory Coast) also got interested and that was it.