By Henry Umahi
When multi-billionaire businessman, Dr. Adedeji Tajudeen Adeleke established Springtime Development Foundation (SDF), a non-governmental organization in 1996, through which he sponsored indigent students to higher education, he was living true to his nature. He is a Nigerian whose milk of human kindness knows no bounds. He loves giving succour to the needy.
Adeleke, a man of many parts, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pacific Holdings Limited, a conglomerate with interests in several sectors. Simple and unassuming, he belongs to a rare breed of men with the Midas touch and good heart. He goes out of his way to help and support people, through acts of philanthropy, to achieve their dreams.
Adeleke’s philanthropy knows no tribe and creed. He does no discrimination when it comes to giving. Born by an Igbo mother, the late Esther Nnenna Adeleke (née Akparah), on March 6, 1957, in Enugu to late Raji Ayoola Adeleke from Osun State, he lived in the Eastern Region with his maternal grandmother before moving to the Western Region. His mixed blood, as it were, and Christian upbringing make him to see everybody as one.
Over the years, he has been making impact in the lives of thousands of people without his left hand knowing what his right hand is doing. He has planted many churches and built schools, hospitals, roads and other amenities for the society without attaching any string.
Asked why his fountain of human kindness was running freely, even without blowing his own trumpet as some would do, Adeleke answered: “Whatever I do for anyone is between me and my God.”
Adeleke is exceptional in philanthropy. At a time, he was paying the school fees of over 2, 000 students annually in different parts of the world. To take his scholarship offering to a higher level, he decided to establish the Adeleke University, Ede.
It is believed that between one third and half of the students in that institution are on his scholarship.
Adeleke, who is father of pop star, Davido, while growing up, devoted so much energy in pursuit of education and he recorded remarkable success. In 1983, he bagged a PhD in International Business at Pacific Columbia University, Mills Valley, California, United States. In 2007, he obtained a second doctoral degree in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Phoenix, Arizona.
For his good heart of charity giving, Adeleke is the winner of The Sun EXCEPTIONAL PHILANTHROPIST award for 2020.