By Brown Chimezie
Bolaji Oshobukola is the founder of Real People Foundation and Chief Executive Officer of Odibola Global Services Limited, a property development company that started business in Rivers state in 2015 and expanded to Lagos and UK.
In this interview, he reveals his new projects, plans for the yuletide, and expectations from the new government to guarantee low-cost housing for the Nigerian masses.
Excerpts:
The year 2023 is coming to an end. What are you grateful for?
I am grateful to God for life and for the preservation of my family. This year has been awesome despite the ups and downs. We have every reason to be grateful to God. For me, the year is ending well.
Do you have any ongoing projects?
Yes, I have about three ongoing projects in Port harcourt; GRA precisely, namely, Elite Court, Crown Court, and Oxford Apartment. While the Elite Court is a luxury two story Terence, the others are Apartments with lift, and they are all smart buildings.
These names sound luxury and comfort? How do you come up with names for each project?
I am inspired by the concept I have in mind for projects, when you have a great concept, you will think about a name that will fit into such concept and that’s how all these names come about.
How affordable are they?
Well, our properties are very affordable considering what we build and the rate at which we put them. We don’t just build Luxury, in terms of structure, we don’t compromise in any way. We believe buildings should be legacies. As you know, the cost of things in Nigeria today is that considering the area we do this development, our luxury 2-bedroom is as low as 55m per unit. When considering the standard, it will be difficult for anyone who builds up to our standard to give the same offer.
There’s a high rise in price in housing and other commodities. How has that affected your projects ?
Most of our projects are off plan and you know how it usually works with off plan projects where you have a budget and at the middle of the project everything changes in the market but since people have trusted us with their money, we have no choice than to keep to our integrity and still deliver quality projects within timeline for them.
So, how do you make your profits considering the low rate prices and the luxury apartments you offer?
Well, for us, business is not all about profit but also to solve problems and contribute to the economy of Nigeria. Knowing that in doing so, we will have more patronage that will make the little we get out of these projects meaningful for us as people begin to see the quality we deliver. And like you know, we are also into luxury air bnb popularly known as short lets or short stay in this part of the world, we also use them as a leverage to augment our profit while we deliver luxury to the people at an affordable rate.
Building in PH and other states, especially Lagos, what are some of the issues experienced, and how did you tackle it?
For me, as a full-time Port Harcourt boy, it is easy to navigate around and get things done, and Rivers State Government encourages developers by making access to documentation and approvals stressless and hitch free. Unlike states like Lagos, where you have to go through a lot of bottle necks to get things done, and that’s why a lot of buildings in Lagos are without approvals. This has led to a lot of developers developing substandard projects. In Rivers State, you can not start any project without approval, not one project, but the process in getting the approvals is also easy , as I stated earlier. I must give kudos to the Rivers State Government, and that is why you see a lot of development going on in Rivers State and, like you know, is a virgin state for property developers.
The rate at which houses are being demolished in Lagos state is scaring investors, Nigerians are worried, and what’s your assurance that it would not happen to your projects?
Well, like I said, most of those projects are unapproved projects if you investigate very well because when the government grant you an approval, they monitor what you develop and for us at Odibola Properties we don’t like cutting corners; we always want to be at the right side of the Laws because as a company that is setting a standard and with a lot of young people running it, we wouldn’t want to be a bad models for the young stars coming behind.
So, we make sure we have all our approvals before you go on site to start developing in any of our projects.
Yuletide is here? What are your plans for your clients?
Well, we always give incentive to our clients before now and for us at Odibola what we do at the end of the year is to call most of our clients and party with them as they are family to us and we also make sure being family is not just in words rather we demonstrate it by make them part of our yearly celebration where we come together to eat, drink, talk about our success and how we intend to improve and innovate in the year to come and also have fun.
What’s your prayer for 2024?
Well, I see greatness and good things ahead, I believe the economy will be better, and there will be better opportunities for me as a developer. I see greater things, and I will also accomplish great things in 2024.
What are your expectations?
I expect building materials to reduce in price and more company coming into Nigeria to produce most of the things we import in order to reduce our cost of construction. I expect the government to work on the rate at which Dollar is going high in order to stabilise the naira so we don’t have money that can’t give us any value compared to other currencies. Let the government improve security because no business strives in an insecure environment.
How do you find time to relax irrespective of your tight schedule?
Well, I am a family man. I enjoys being around my wife and kids. When I want to relax I spend time with them and trust me, that gives me all I need in relaxation and most times I go for vacation with my wife where I put off my phone and take the thought of work off my mind.