In his book titled “Success Secret of a Flying Pilot” which chronicle the triumph of a Public Servant in his City of Birmingham who suffered defeat in all ramifications at adolescent till age 40 but refused to buckle, the award winning Author used the words of God in the holy book of Genesis to buttress his affirmation, stating that no man is born without a plus of talent, goodness, substance, class and endowment.
Walters said for a man to excel, he must be a man who doesn’t take no for an answer. He must be resolute and ruthless and pursue his target by all means necessary devoid of illegality, positing that for those in business, morality is a must to be jettisoned for wealth to be accumulated.
He believed that posterity and history will be kind to only those who remained truthful, humble, meek, unassuming, unpretentious, undemanding and modest both in the periods of dearth and affluence.
The content of the 96-page book which i read three years ago reminds me of the pleasurable life of Sunshine Ilesanmi Anifowose, a young man from the innate hill of Ado-Ekiti. Like the Pilot in Dominic Walters’ book, Anifowose clocks 40 on the surface of earth today. How Time Flies!!!
However, unlike the Street Beggar in Dominic Walters’ Book who rose to become the Pilot of one of the country’s ex-Prime Ministers, the man Anifowose was born into a middle class and fantastically comfortable family.
At age 15, he drove his father’s 504 Saloon Car and Mercedes-Benz 1990 Car which were one of the few then in Ado-Ekiti. Together with his siblings, Anifowose consumed what he desired. He was a man envied by many but humility which was a virtue born with him never allowed him derailed. He is a man of modesty and reticence.
Born on June 8th 1978 into the family of late Apostle Joseph Anifowose in Ado-Ekiti, he attended St. Joseph Nursery and Primary School, Ado-Ekiti. After his primary education, he proceeded to the prestigious Christ School, Ado-Ekiti where he was groomed in learning and in character.
In 1998, he was admitted into the University of Ado-Ekiti now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti to study Geology and graduated with Honours. He also bagged a Masters of Business Administration from the same Institution in 2012, a feat that has helped him in no small measure on the management of business and Personnel.
Anifowose has been an Entrepreneur since age of 18, a legacy he inherited from his late Father. At age 19, he successfully set up the structures that propelled the take off of the defunct renowned Iyaniwura Bread, owned by the late former Finance Minister and Traditional ruler of Iloko-Ijesha, Osun Staate, Oba Frederick Olashore.
The experience that he gained during his one year compulsory National Youth Service at Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State between September 2002 to August 2003, though memorable, but propelled him never to look for white collar jobs after serving his father land.
On his return to Ado-Ekiti in 2004 from Delta, he incorporated “Sunshine Confectionaries”, a brand that has now catapulted him from a rejected to a chief corners stone. His “Sunshine Bread” is among the most patronized in Ekiti State today.
At age 26, he was already an employer of 36 people in his bakery situated at Odundun Street, Dalimore, Ado-Ekiti. At age 30, Anifowose had 62 people on his payroll when many of his contemporaries were wallowing from one firms to another in search for non-existing jobs. Today, his brands which included the fastest growing “African Kitchen” in Ado-Ekiti, have over 80 employees.
A man of vision who did not allow his agrarian environment to kill his vision, at a time, the man Ilesanmi who had been consuming what he so desires was forced by men of the underworld to start eating whatever he could lay his hands upon. That was his experience when he lost his father who was gruesomely murdered in his sleep 21 years ago in Ado-Ekiti.
The rumblings in the wind as Anifowose tasted hunger were visible to the blind and audible to the deaf. He felt all was over but like a valiant soldier without a dint of fear, he matches on. He re-event, re-plan and re-strategize and God in his infinite mercy crowned his efforts.
Anifowose is cool, calm and he talks less which makes him hear more; he looks less which makes him sees more. All these attributes attracted Anifowose to Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State.
His public service appointment was the first to be announced on July 6th 2014 by Governor-elect, Ayo Fayose as Personal Assistant, Administrations and Special Duties, a position he retained when the governor was inaugurated on 16th October 2014 with the Directorate of Human-capital Development popularly known as “Stomach Infrastructure” as an addendum.
Every Christmas, Easter, Sallah, Month end and New Year are always busy for Anifowose’s Directorate of Stomach Infrastructure. The rate at which his name is being chorused by the poorest of the poor and the downtrodden goes beyond the cosmos.
Every where he walks, he does so imperially and majestically with the crowd of motley accord at his back. At a time, he was nick-named the Atayese of Osoko Kingdom. Anifowose is Anifowose because his name is Sunshine.
An Associate Member of the British GOWAC Institute of Business and Administration, his leadership qualities booms daily to the admiration of his boss, Ayo Fayose, a populist that today sets the pace for the self-acclaimed philosopher kings in the Nigeria political firmament.
To say that his Stomach Infrastructure Initiative sustains the popularity of the Fayose administration in the grassroots is an understatement. He gives without a pause and like the clapping of a mimosa, his generosity is indisputable.
He has been honoured within and outside Ekiti State for times without number. In recognition of his contributions to the development of humanity, the congress of Ekiti Students in the University of Lagos in 2015 declared him as Omoluabi Per Excellence of the Year.
In 2016, the leadership of Junior Chambers International (JCI) honoured him with Youth Icon Award in recognition of his leadership qualities. In 2017, Anifowose was honoured by the Student Parliament of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos as an Icon of Human-capital Development.
A writer with zeal, the board of trustee of the Nigerian Literary Union (NLU) earlier this year, honoured Anifowose as Life Membership of the organization in recognition of his writing prowess which is hidden to many people. Same this year, the Students Union Government (SUG) of his alma-mata, the Ekiti State University announced him as Ambassador of the year 2017.
Sometime, his quietness may annoy you but never mind, he is just being careful not to rush into taking a decision. Without being immodest, let me say very expressly that a man that can manage a combative Ayo Fayose can manage any character anywhere.
At 40, Anifowose is a hero who deserves every accolade a hero deserves. I thank God for him and his wife. Many had died but he’s still alive doing wonders. No one knows how mountain absorbs the heat of scotching sun. God can not be questioned and his words are irrevocable