Adebola Adams; born and raised in poverty ... transforming lives ... giving scholarships to many

Adebola Adams is an example of amazing grace; he established the popular Adams College in 1994 and still oversees the activities of one of the greatest tutorial centres in Africa.

Adebola is not just a riddle but also an intelligent trailblazer. He showcased the qualities of those whose passions had led to visions – and he, purposefully following the call, rides elegantly above limiting circumstances, treads dreadful paths that many could have abandoned, dares challenges that left several people incapacitated, soaring above adversities that made uncountable people part of frightful statistics, to erect a citadel in the city of opportunities, showing glorious shields of exploits and shining glamour of a hero for about twenty-five years – and still counting.

Adebola Adams was born into one of the poorest and uneducated families of Mafoluku Oshodi in the year 1972. He attended State Primary School and Bolade Grammar School, Oshodi for his elementary and secondary school certificates respectively (all thanks to Free Education) – and later gained admission to study Computer Science at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University where he graduated with First Class Honours. He also had his Masters in Education Administration from the University of Lagos.

After his graduation, the Great Ife offered him a lecturing job he turned down and Procter & Gamble also gave him a mouth-watering offer; a wonderful opportunity that many graduates could have jumped for but which young Adebola Adams considered a trap that could imprison an eagle in a cage like a parrot. Why?

Right after his secondary school, he discovered his passion for teaching – and he would gather the youngsters in his community, teaching them science related courses, most especially Mathematics for free and pumping words of encouragements into those guys, propelling them to aspire to greater heights – and in the year 1992, he actually established a tutorial centre as a sort of incubator to groom stars and rehabilitate destinies – and that became the most visible  element he could see in the dark that gave him the assurance that he could do more as a teacher than functioning otherwise.

In his words, he said, “I have passions to impart the youths in Mafoluku area and I love teaching – even when I was in Ife, I was teaching lecturers’ children. It is a natural gift in me.”  He followed his heart – and today, his products are everywhere. They can be found in international organisations, conglomerates, media, politics, medicine, science and technology, art and academics, at home and abroad.

What keeps Adebola at his goal despite financial constraints and other challenges? “Right from the onset, I embraced the concepts of hard-work and industry; there was no time I had ever been in dire need of money. I cannot imagine the last time I asked my parents for money. After my secondary school, I worked in a tutorial centre where I was not paid for 9 months before I eventually started mine and the joy of seeing destitute regain their destinies, seeing rejected and dejected becoming the celebrities gives me so much fulfilment that cannot be quantified in monetary terms.”

“It was my passion that keeps me growing stronger everyday; if I had taken up this for profit purpose, I would have since been distracted from my goals – and every year, I have travelled to several universities matriculation and convocation grounds to celebrate with my students.”

Adebola Adams grants scholarship to students who are orphans, visually impaired kids (one of them is Opeyemi, a final year student at Unilag whose parents abandoned because of her condition), and exceptionally brilliant ones who are financially limited. He bonds well with private and public schools within Mafoluku-Oshodi area, sponsoring their sporting activities, offering motivational talks that help challenge students’ mindsets and provoke them to aspire to a greater height. He also visits higher institutions to speak on entrepreneurial and capacity developments.

In 2016, 186 students from Adams College gained admission into University of Lagos and several others gained admission to OAU, UI, Uniben and other high-status universities and polytechnics. “I am mostly elated when I see these kids in matric gowns. I don’t just drive down to the schools for merriment and to snap pictures, I go there to encourage and refocus them because, ‘It is one thing to gain admission into university and it is another thing to graduate and graduate well!’” Adebola said – and the move has paid well because one of his products is the first Nigerian female student to graduate with First Class Honour and 5.0 CGPA from Unilag in 2017.

In the last JAMB exams, about twenty students from Adams College scored above 300. A feat that government and corporate organisations should use as a medium to market education rather than spending money on improbable reality shows that only benefits nonentities of the society and mislead Nigerian youths.

Adebola Adams is a man of undaunted abilities, a legend, a Christian with tremendous values and dignity; on his last birthday on July 13^th, 2017, he received almost 2,000 congratulatory messages full of prayers and appreciations, surprise birthday presents, visits from former students and acquaintances. His life is a testimony. His story is an inspiration. His styles are enticing; he has proved to us that, when you follow your passion, profit will follow you and your purpose will be a jolly-ride to prosperity.

He admonished the youths; “Don’t be too much in a hurry to get rich. Live beyond societal perversions; it easily mislead.”

Adebola Adams also wanted the Nigerian government to provide a conducive learning environment for our students, proper orientation for the populace, embrace truth and transparency by shunning corruption.