By joshua From Boreholes To Boardrooms: Idah Installs Prince Olatunji Olusoji As Ene-Umola Ata-Igala
By Abu Micheal
Sunday, 21st June 2026, the ancient city of Idah, headquarters of the Igala Kingdom, will stand still as Prince Olatunji Olusoji is installed as Ene-Umola Ata-Igala by His Majesty, Matthew Alaji Opaluwa Oguche Akpa, Attah Igala and President, Kogi State Council of Chiefs. The title, meaning “Pillar of the Ata-Igala Throne,” is a crowning moment for a man whose journey has taken him from the quiet diligence of boardrooms to the dusty roads of Kogi communities where he has sunk boreholes, paid school fees, and rebuilt hope.
Prince Olatunji Olusoji, the Asiwaju of Ayere and Bashorun Akinjagula of Ogidi Kingdom, is Group Chairman/CEO of Grosvenor Global Services Ltd and chairman of several reputable boards in oil and gas. Yet his name resonates more in classrooms, rural clinics, and villages than in corporate towers. Since 2013 he has made it a personal mission that no child, man, or woman should go to bed hungry, miss school, or lack clean water. Every academic session he clothes and equips students across Kogi West, while scholarships and school fee support have pulled hundreds of indigent children out of poverty. Through the Prince Olatunji Olusoji Foundation, PROOF, he has drilled several solar-powered boreholes across Kogi West, Central, and East, turning water scarcity into history for many families. His touch extends to healthcare outreach, farmer empowerment, rural markets, security infrastructure, and support for tertiary institutions, including the recent ₦10 million pledge for the Ogidi Ela Community Centre.
The decision of the Attah Igala has been met with nationwide commendation. Barr. Ladi Ahmed Jatto, OON, Project Coordinator of Kogi State ACRESAL, described the honour as a fitting recognition of Olatunji’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to community development. She noted that his interventions in water, education, agriculture, and security have uplifted thousands of lives, and that the title affirms what Kogites already know: true leadership is service to humanity.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has repeatedly praised Prince Olatunji as a true son of Kogi whose private efforts complement government’s drive for inclusive growth.
As Prince Mathew Kolawole observed, hard work may be quiet but it always finds its voice, and Prince Olatunji’s life proves that service, not noise, crowns a man.
Jumabee, Abu Micheal, Publisher, The Nigerian Post Newspaper, said “This conferment is a powerful reminder that integrity and service still command respect in our society. Prince Olatunji Olusoji has proven that true influence is measured not by boardroom titles, but by boreholes sunk, children schooled, and communities revived. From boardrooms to rural roads, his life embodies the kind of leadership Kogi needs. On behalf of The Nigerian Post, we celebrate this honour and pray that the title Ene-Umola Ata-Igala brings him greater wisdom and strength to keep building bridges across ethnic, religious, and political lines for the good of our people.”
Prince Olatunji holds multiple awards, chieftaincy titles, and honorary doctorate degrees, yet those who know him say the honours have not changed him. Drivers, students, market women, and traditional rulers all describe him as humble, accessible, and results-driven.
Sunday’s installation is therefore not an endpoint but another chapter in what Kogites call a work in progress in the political and developmental evolution of Kogi State.
From Idah to Ogidi, from Ayere to Lokoja, his story is being written as proof that impact built in boardrooms can transform lives in villages. As elders in Idah put it, this is history being made. A man who gave water to the thirsty, schooled the poor, and fed the hungry is now being crowned a pillar of his people.
Abu Micheal, Journalist, Publisher, Member ANIPR, MNIM, Editorial Board Member, Guild of Interfaith Media Practitioners Nigeria, MCIA