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MEN WHO WANT TO BECOME THE NEXT OONI

By Editor
26 September 2015   |   1:25 am
Born on December 8, 1967 into the family of John Oluropo Ogunwusi from the famous Ojaja Lineage of the Giesi ruling house of the Agbedegbede Quarters in Ile-Ife, Prince Ogunwusi’s mother, Margaret Wuraola Sidikatu Abegbe Ogunwusi was born into the family of Soji-Opa, a prominent Cocoa merchant in Ile-Ife.

Giesi-AdetunjiPrince Adetunji Ogunwusi
Born on December 8, 1967 into the family of John Oluropo Ogunwusi from the famous Ojaja Lineage of the Giesi ruling house of the Agbedegbede Quarters in Ile-Ife, Prince Ogunwusi’s mother, Margaret Wuraola Sidikatu Abegbe Ogunwusi was born into the family of Soji-Opa, a prominent Cocoa merchant in Ile-Ife.

He attended Subuola Memorial Nursery and Primary School, GRA, Agodi, Ibadan, between 1971 and 1977, Saint Patricks Grammar School Orita Bashorun, Ibadan, from 1978 to 1983. He had his A-Levels education at the defunct Oyo State College of Arts and Science, Ile-Ife from 1984 to 1986 and afterwards, proceeded to the University of Ibadan where he studied Agric Economics between 1986 and 1990.

After his education, Prince Ogunwusi joined the then Nigeria Intercontinental Merchant Bank in 1991, where he distinguished himself in loan packaging and investment arrangement for four years. In 1995, he assumed the position of Head of Credit and Marketing at Hillcrest Merchant Bank, which later became Intercontinental Bank Plc and now, Access Bank Plc. He became a managing partner at New Africa Investment Limited
between 2001 and 2007 after 10 years of meritorious service in the banking sector.

His exploits in the financial sector imbued him with 17 years of valuable insight into certain crucial fields of commerce and development finance including: structured and product financing, investment arrangement, large scale procurement, product development, business creation and marketing in the Nigerian economic terrain, while also utilizing the efforts of both local entrepreneurs and strategic partnership from overseas especially where foreign expertise were required. Prince Ogunwusi combined his experience in the Nigerian business terrain with a ‘never say die’ attitude because he realised from the onset that to survive in life, you cannot afford the luxury of giving up your dreams.

This couldn’t have been truer for a man who came to Lagos from Ibadan with nothing. In a short memoir written about his years at Intercontinental Merchant Bank, it was recorded that his bicycle was his major means of transportation to the office.

The Prince established Primewaterview Limited in 2005 although he became actively involved in the affairs of the company in 2007 after spending six years with New Africa Investment limited. He established the company with a lofty vision to become the best real estate company on the African continent. Prior to the advent of Primewaterview Limited in the Nigerian real estate industry, residential high-rise development was a no-go area for indigenous private development companies. The completion of Gardens 1 Estate (107 units of high-rise development) within 14 months and the immediate commencement of Gardens 2 Estate another high-rise development of 348 units before Gardens 1 was delivered, was a record in Nigeria’s real estate industry.

Within nine years of operations, Primewaterview under his leadership has been directly involved in the completion of over 700 units of various types of housing units on the Victoria Island Annex/Lekki Corridor. Most of his large-scale projects were either embarked upon or ongoing during the credit crunch and banking crises in 2009 giving credence to the fact that Adetunji never looks back when he sets his mind at a particular goal.

Currently, he sits as the Group Chairman of the Primewaterview Holdings comprising of Primewaterview Limited and PWV Management Services. A staunch believer in local content development, over 80 percent of his resources were sourced and developed locally. According to his aides, “It is better to be safe than to be sorry” is the Prince’s usual statement during project planning and throughout the lifecycle of a project, a testament to his meticulousness, integrity and scorn for cutting corners.

His insatiable drive to explore new horizons is remarkable for the inspiration it provides for both associates and underlings of the Ife Prince. Little wonder he was one of the first few Nigerians to explore the then budding Dubai real estate market where he facilitated good returns on investment for many indigenous businessmen and companies in the market.

Strategic partnering is another very important area where he excelled in business; the Prince has strategic partners in major countries of the world and has also facilitated same for many business concerns in Nigeria. Some of the countries where he has business interests and partners include: China, United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirate, Taiwan, Italy, Hong Kong, Spain and Australia, among others.

Prince Ogunwusi is unarguably well travelled; in fact his resourcefulness in real estate business and his passion for plying the field successfully are attributable to his quality exposure and experience garnered from many trips and business endeavours with the shrewdest, yet, daring game changers in foreign real estate markets.

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