By joshua The People’s Pillar: Prince Olatunji Olusoji Crowned Ene-Umola Ata-Igala For Decades Of Service
Olatunji
By Abu Micheal
Sunday, 21st June 2026, Hard work, they say, is always noticed by the people, and it will always be rewarded. That truth will be on full display this Sunday in Idah 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 honour comes after years of quiet, consistent service that has touched every corner of Kogi State without regard for ethnicity or religion.
Prince Olatunji Olusoji, the Asiwaju of Ayere and Bashorun Akinjagula of Ogidi Kingdom, first built his reputation in business as Group Chairman/CEO of Grosvenor Global Services Ltd and chairman of several reputable boards in the oil and gas industry. Yet Kogites know him more for the lives he has changed than for corporate titles. 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. At the start of every academic session he clothes and equips students across Kogi West, while his payment of school fees and scholarship support has pulled hundreds of indigent children out of poverty and into classrooms. Through the Prince Olatunji Olusoji Foundation, PROOF, he has sunk several solar-powered boreholes across Kogi West, Central, and East, giving communities what they had lacked for decades: clean, portable water and relief from water-borne diseases.
His interventions extend far beyond water and education. Prince Olatunji has funded healthcare outreach programmes, empowered farmers with inputs and training, supported rural market development, and provided security infrastructure to make communities safer. He has donated generously to tertiary institutions and community development projects, including the recent ₦10 million pledge towards the Ogidi Ela Community Centre commissioned during the Ogidi Day Festival 2026. His foundation’s work in agriculture has improved food security for rural households, while his support for rural infrastructure continues to open up remote areas for commerce and mobility.
The conferment of Ene-Umola Ata-Igala has drawn warm testimonials from leaders across the state. Barr. Ladi Ahmed Jatto, OON, Project Coordinator of Kogi State ACRESAL, described the title as a fitting recognition of Olatunji’s outstanding humanitarian services and visionary leadership, noting that his legacy speaks of compassion in action and affirms what Kogites already know: true leadership is service to humanity. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has repeatedly commended him as a true son of Kogi whose private generosity complements government’s drive for inclusive growth and grassroots development. Prince Mathew Kolawole added soothing words, saying the honour proves that when service is sincere, recognition will surely follow.
Prince Olatunji is also a recipient of several national and international awards, multiple chieftaincy titles, and honorary doctorate degrees from reputable institutions in recognition of his contributions to education, youth empowerment, and community development. Despite these honours, those who know him say he remains humble and accessible. Students call him “Oga,” market women call him father, and traditional rulers call him a bridge-builder. Sunday’s ceremony in Idah is therefore more than a chieftaincy installation. It is the people’s way of saying thank you to a man who chose service over showmanship. As Kogites gather to witness the crowning of Ene-Umola Ata-Igala, the message is clear: decades of hard work, philanthropy, and selfless service have earned Prince Olatunji Olusoji his place as a pillar of his people, and his story remains a work in progress in the future of Kogi State beyond the next term.