Life lessons from ‘Chief Coach of Lagos’: Abikoye Emmanuel’s inspiring journey”

Accomplished Real Estate practitioner, Abikoye Emmanuel Adekunle, has revealed why he is called the Chief Coach of Lagos by friends, family, admirers, and business partners.

Speaking in an interview with reporters, Emmanuel Abikoye, a native of Iludun Oro, Kwara State, disclosed that he was born and raised in Ajegunle, reputed to be one of the most notorious slums in Lagos state.

Growing up in Ajegunle, he said, toughened him up for the challenges of life.

“Growing up in the slum has always been a matter of survival for me and my family. We used to live in a one room apartment on a street very close to the canal. While growing up, I used to travel to the village with my parents, especially during the Christmas festive period. On few occasions whenever we came back to Lagos, I always felt terribly sick,” said Adekunle, the first child of a family of eight.

On why he is popularly referred to as the Chief Coach of Lagos, Mr. Adekunle, a co-founder of BRG Network Limited, touted as one of the biggest brokerage firms in Africa, said, “I was called coach by my friends because of my leadership skills, while playing football on the streets of Ajegunle.

“Then, when I was in the higher institution, I participated in school politics and I become the Student Union Sport Director and I was referred to as ‘Coachee’.

“When real estate came, because of my leadership skills and knowledge of the industry and how I trained people on how to sell real estate leveraging on the internet ,I earned the name Chief Coach”, added Adekunle.

While recollecting some amazing things that happened to him while growing up, Adekunle, who has a honourary doctorate, said: “My mother told me I started walking at seven months old and whenever she went hawking her wares I used to jump on her back and help in chanting “pokulowo e,” meaning whatever she is selling is not expensive. I think that’s where my entrepreneurship journey started.

“After school, I would hawk my mum’s wares around the neighborhood to assist with funds for the family. I have hawked kerosene, ankara fabrics, dusters, and many other things.”

Adekunle, who bagged a Higher National Diploma in Microbiology from Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, was conferred with a honourary doctorate degree in Luxury Real Estate Management and Property Development from the University of Panama.

He also has certifications in Real Estate Dynamics Skills and Strategies from the Metropolitan School of Business Management in the United Kingdom and Real Estate Marketing Certification from Lagos Business School.

He said his upbringing played a pivotal role in shaping his positive trajectory in life and career

“My parents are devoted Christians, most especially, my mum, as she will always force us to go to church and attend vigils. So as a result of this, I joined the church choir at a young age. As a church boy, even though, we were raised in the ghetto, I was able to maintain some moral vibes and values despite so many temptations to do drugs, cultism, frauds, hooliganism and other vices”, said Adekunle.

He said his biggest lesson so far is not to “oversell your projects and make sure you reserved units for yourself for company assets

“My most memorable moment is when we delivered our first housing projects, The Ambiance, 48 units of duplexes behind LBS Lagos”, added the Chief Coach of Lagos.