Elder Oleghibe Moore Kingsley is first a teacher, school proprietor, academic, realtor and real estate consultant, finance expert, writer/author and a public affair analyst. Elder Oleghibe Moore kingsley aka Daddy Kaycee to his teeming fans and students was born to the family of Late Chief Paul Moore and Deaconess Choice Moore Oleghibe on 15th October, 1972. I am a Nigerian from South East geo-political zone, precisely from Umuahia South of Abia State. I was born in Bariga, Lagos. I started my education early enough like children born in my generation. My parents got me enrolled into Temple Primary School, Bariga, Somolu Lagos State in 1977; from where I obtained my First Leaving School Certificate(FLSC) in 1983 with Distinction.
In September 1983, I was admitted into Ajayi Crowther Memorial Grammar School, Bariga and I spent 2 academic sessions there. My parents later relocated in August 1985 to the village due to the austerity measures introduced by the then government of the Military Head of State, in the person of Mohammed Buhari, which affected my continuity. However, I continued my education in a local commercial secondary school in Ahia Ukwu, Olokoro, Umuahia. The name of the school being Olokoro Secondary Commercial College. The school has since gone into extinction. I later became the Senior Prefect of the school- this was where I caught my first teeth with leadership. This academic sojourn took place between 1985 to 1988. On my return to Lagos on October 4, 1988, I lived with my uncle Chief David U. Oleghibe, who got me registered in a preparatory evening school where I was brushed up for preparation for the next West African School Certificate(WASC), which I eventually wrote in October, 1989. The result became my first major public academic breakthrough. I had six distinctions in all subjects with a credit pass in mathematics. The name of the school is Oduduwa Secondary School, Matori, Mushin, Lagos.
Thereafter, I could not further my academic prowess on the attainment of my academic success. I had to start fending for myself through menial jobs and other means within the suburbs around. It was certainly a dark period of my life I hate to discuss. There was a time in January of 1990 that my elder brother and I had to use palm oil to eat eba. The situation I found myself then was horrendous and precarious.
Life still went on. After some months of struggle, I got a teaching appointment in a commercial school on 8th April, 1991 by the name Action Secretarial School to teach about 5subjects. My salary then was N150 per month. This was how my sojourn into teaching and academic environment started. I had to stand to face my own fair share of life's vicissitude. This period was characterized with about 5years of writing University Matriculation Examination(UME) back to back. I really never failed. But I had perilous share of the injustice in the University enrollment system known as CUT OFF Marks AND QUOTA SYSTEM. These two encumbrances kept me off university admission for 5 wasted years. I will share with you one horrible experience. In 1995, I sat for UME and scored 243 having chosen University of Lagos(Unilag) as my first choice, course was Political Science. The cut off mark for that year was 243 which was incidentally my score. But in broad day light, that admission was a robbed off. I fought, wrote letters to the then Vice Chancellor, Professor Jelili Omotola. But never got any response and nothing came out of it. Reason: I was a minnow. This caused me very serious set backs particulary when I though I have gotten my breakthrough. I truely was obsessed with University of Lagos admission "badly". I became disillusioned, disenchanted and debased as to who I really was. I momentarily lost my identity. It took good counsel from family and friends with some forms of spiritual rejuvenation before I rediscovered myself.
At this juncture, I was far above 24years and I needed University education as a way to add value to myself and of course, the in-thing then among my peers was University degree. People mocked and jeered me as to why, with all I claimed to know, displaying dexterity and ken, I could not secure a university admission. I became withdrawn until Edo State University opened her Outreach Campus at Abule Oja, Yaba Lagos. This was happening in 1997. I got admission into the school to study Accounting. It was a 5year programme because it was on part time. We received our lectures at C. M. S. Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos. The programme was rich in content and quality if not richer than what obtains from the mother campus because academics and pedagogs from University of Lagos and Yaba College of Technology were employed as our lecturers. All thanks to the founder or convener, Dr Isimoya. I was again appointed the first Governor of that class. We were about 120 and I headed Accounting Class B. I graduated in 2002 but never earned my degree until 2007. Reason: the programme suffered a lot of political drawbacks from the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. So much was written against outreach centres then. This criticism later led to the establishment of National Open University of Nigeria(NOUN). Nevertheless, I earned my degree in Second Class Honours Division.
The Eze that was boy is now a man. So, I needed to marry and raise a family. This happened on March 11, 2000. My heartthrob is Deaconess Kelly Cordelia Moore Nee Nnamdi. She hails from Ahiazu Mbaise of Imo State, Nigeria, The marriage is blessed with five wonderful children the last two being a set of twins(boys). On gender basis, we have two girls and three boys.
By 2001 June 3 to be precised, I started my own tutorial business with the name CRUSADER ACADEMY having garnered some much experience from teaching in various tutorial centres in Lagos State. Crusader Academy is situate at 93, St. Finbarrs' College Road, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos. The Academy is about 17years old as at the time of writing in this article. The main idea behind the establishment of the school is to liberate young ones from academic doldrums and teach them innovative ways of learning through didactic and pedagogical methods. The School has impacted tens of thousands of lives since established.
My quest to become an academic will never let me be. It's a life long goal. Having earned by degree in 2007, I got enrolled in University of Lagos for my first Masters degree in Banking and Finance in 2009/2010. I was eventually appointed the Governor of my class. A position which eventually brought me closer to my lecturers and my leadership qualities were admired by my colleagues and lecturers because I adopted all inclusive style of leadership. It was a beautiful experience. The programme was intense and expository. I am happy I topped the class as the best over all student. A feat that was denied of me in 1995 now became a dream come true.
Immediately I finished the programme, I leveraged on the system and I applied for another academic programme in same Department- Finance. This time, it was MSc Finance. My set became the largest to have been admitted in the history of the Department. We were over 380students. It was massive. I again, was appointed the Governor of that set. When eventually we were split into two groups of Streams I and II, I became the Governor of Stream II and then later the Governor General of the two Streams. This time, the experience, the multi-cultural, the versatility, the whole thing that make up the system was something else. But alas, I won the admiration of my Head of Department then Professor Willy Iyiegbuniwe. The accolade I got was humongous. And for me, it was a litmus test of my leadership qualities. However, the cost of leading that class affected my academic performance as against was I achieved in my first Masters. In all, I graduated with a PhD grade.
After about almost two decades in the corridor of tutorial teaching and all related stuff that I embarked upon, I decided it it was time to change the trajectory of my career. Though, it was not an easy decision. Turbulent situations that Crusader Academy experienced in 2010 then were critical reasons for the sudden change. Albeit, it was an experience. First thing I did was to try the corporate world. I got engaged to Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc. I was recruited for the post of Executive Sales Rep. It was for me a new ground and the job dictates centred on marketing of insurance products. We had one month elaborate training at Centre For Management Development(CMD), Magodo. I remember I won a prize for being the first Trainee to close a business. Winning awards or prizes or being "first" in anything I do are a thing I cherish with so much gusto. However, the new ground for me was never to last. The programme was lofty but the organizers hijacked it because they had rapacious intention abi nitio. They wanted to muscle us to work as a way to make profiteering from our "sweats" but not for us to benefit because stipend was paid on productivity as against what happened with our colleagues in regular employment. Few of us with foresight were the first to see this modern day slavery. So, we disengaged ourselves from the programme. This period was between March - June 2011.
As a way to survive and put food on my family's table, I went back to assisting not-to-academically-inclined-students in the Faculty of Administration Unilag with their assignments and taking them up on tutorials. This paid off greatly. For once, I regretted my experience with Mutual Benefits Assurance. The only thing it reminds me of was the training of new knowledge and the few apparent good people I went there who have affected my life positively. My tutorial experience continued till 2012.
In the course of taking lectures in my second Masters, I met a very benevolent, magnanimous and ducky woman. I thank divine providence for making our paths cross. She paid my tuition and assisted me in every facet of my life. My family living standard increased and it was as if I had won a jackpot. Through this same woman I got into Lekki Gardens, where I worked as Special Duties Manager. I will not want her name mentioned. She hates publicity. My wish to God for her is that she will live long enough to reap the fruit of her labour.
Lekki Gardens for me was where I caught my first teeth with real estate. I got into Real Estate by serendipity. Real Estate is a big industry, largely unregulated as at that time. It is now Government has suddenly woken up to the economic potentials of real estate. Policies are being formulated with stakeholders as the major contributor. I was very eager to learn the ropes. It is really a big space. Many subsets exist and professionals of all kinds are needed to stir the industry. Sadly, there are lots of dupes and fraudulent characters in the real estate sector. When business transactions are not documented, one could easily be schemed out. There is no gentleman agreement particularly among "Agents". The Agents are largely uneducated, unrefined, fetish and erratic. This is the only area in real estate that needs urgent orientation and change.
Armed with the exerience garnered in Lekki Gardens, I got another job as Head, Properties with RIC Properties and Investment Limited, a subsidiary with Regency Insurance Alliance Plc. My position was to stir up the Property arm of the company into profitability. Sadly, the company through its holding company entered synergistic arrangement with a UK based property firm to sell hostel accommodation in Liverpool and Sheffield in UK. This was a big misplaced synergy. I tried as much as I could to convince the Board of Directors in our Management Meetings that we could pull through. I got vain and unfulfilled assurances from the Group Managing Director. I never really bought into the idea of selling properties offshore. The first embarrassing question I face then during marketing was "Sir, have you been there?" this for me was like selling a product I do not know its location; and to some, they saw it as another Ponzy Scheme (scam). Again, my employment there lasted for 7months- very brief.
In 2013, I registered a company with CAC by the name Eldakre Investment Limited. We started operations in 2016 after several attempts made to return to corporate world. I decided to create the world I desire. Eldakre Investment Limited is a Finance, Consulting and Real Estate firm. We are into prospecting, capital raising, training, SMEs, land documentations and acquisition. We are making good progress within our space. Eldakre Investment is in no competition with anyone. We thrive daily to improve on who we were the previous day.
This story continues............