•Com. Bolaji Abiodun, Com.Wale Olanrewaju, Dr. Tunde Adeyemo, Com. Femi Osipitan & Com. Bunmi Adigun
By Heritage Odih, Abeokuta
Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited is considering putting in place, a platform for journalists having existing and functioning ‘second address’ projects to access interest – free loan facility seamlessly.
The foremost real estate firm said the initiative when formalised would propel the beneficiaries’ aspirations further and encourage them to persevere on the path to self sustainability.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Pelican Valley, Ambassador (Dr.) Babatunde Adeyemo, disclosed this on Friday at The Podium within the sprawling Pelican Valley Estate Laderin, Abeokuta when he received members of the Ogun State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) executive.
The 4 – man delegation comprising the Chairman, Com. Wale Olanrewaju, State Secretary, Com. Bunmi Adigun, Com. Femi Osipitan (chairman, Information Chapel) and Com. Bolaji Abiodun was at the Pelican Valley Estate on courtesy visit to Dr. Adeyemo, where Com. Olanrewaju sought a symbiotic relationship and partnership with the firm in the areas of developing the first Ogun Journalists Estate and a Newsroom within Iweiroyin premises to be named after the late Mass Communication scholar, Professor Lai Osho, among others.
The multiple – award winning realtor noted that being an unrepentant advocate of second address, not only to the Nigerian journalists, but also to some of the nation’s politicians and political office holders, explained why he ventured into real estate business, combining it with news reporting to avert the risk of being economically vulnerable.
He urged journalists practicing in the State to start charting a path to second address and stay on it to ward off future financial insecurity.
He hailed the leadership of Ogun NUJ, Com. Olanrewaju, for his transformative jobs being done at the Council Secretariat Okelewo within a short time of coming on board, vouching that given the Comrade’s achievements so far, he could comfortably run any Local Government Area in Nigeria with zero federal allocation and still succeed.
The Anti – corruption ambassador commended his guests for the visit and expressed the readiness of the Pelican Valley to enter into partnership with the state Council in many mutually beneficial areas.
“Having considered the economic vulnerability of an average journalist in Nigeria, using my personal experience as a case study, I decided in the course of time to combine my news reporting with real estate business, so as not to lose my economic power and become economically vulnerable, which might eventually affect my objectivity in news reporting.
“As they say, ‘he who pays the piper dictates the tune.’ This singular conviction and adventure gave birth to the Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited and our numerous estates today.
“Today, Pelican Valley has not only become an household name but I, as the CEO of the estate firm, has become the poster boy of the real estate sector in Ogun state, having established one of the fastest growing Estates in the state.
“I am an unrepentant advocate of second address, not only to the Nigerian journalists, but also to some of our politicians and political office holders, who see political offices not as a service to humanity, but a business venture.
“In view of the above development and our zeal to bring in more journalists into the ‘second address’ drag net, Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited is proposing a platform where journalists who are already into an existing and functioning ‘second address projects’ can be encouraged with an interest – free soft loans to propel their aspirations further and encourage them to be on the path to self sustainability.
“This intervention should not be perceived as a national cake as disbursement would be personally scrutinised by us and will be one hundred percent based on merit,” he said.
Adeyemo noted that in recognition of the critical role journalism practice in Ogun State had played in the birth and life of Pelican Valley, the real estate firm humbly facilitated the building of the present Iwe Iroyin mosque, two years ago, among other soft and private empowerments to vulnerable members of the Council.
He, therefore, appealed to the national leadership of NUJ to look into the Union’s constitution and create a space to accommodate non – practicing professionals like him and others as full fledge members, urging the body not to cast its heroes away in perpetuity.
“We cannot continue to throw away our heroes,” he advised.
Speaking earlier, Com. Olanrewaju hailed Dr. Adeyemo for his landmark achievements in real estate business and attributed the success story of the Pelican Valley Nigeria Ltd to the upright and responsible manner the CEO had conducted himself when he was in an active journalism practice.
The Ogun NUJ boss described Adeyemo as a man of integrity and dependable character, saying these attributes earned him the trust and confidence of investors in his real estate business, also assuring him of the Council’s consistent support any day.
Olanrewaju, however, used the visit to intimate him of the basic facilities and infrastructural needs of the Council and solicited his support to address them.
