Sunday 16 October 2016

The true life Story of the founder and CEO of Araa group Adefowoju Ayodele

How I move from slow learner to a problem solver.

This day over two decades ago I was birth to this world. The world was filled with overwhelming joy, Family and friends celebrated with joy that has no bounds at the unique arrival of His Royal Majesty, the Royal bell rang at the arrival of a noble King...surprised at this? Don't get too confused. I was born a king into Giesi Royal Family of Ile-Ife Osun state, Nigeria.

At my birth, it was all rosy and life was pretty good for my parents. However, just like the saying that no condition is permanent, after sometime, the tide turned for my parents in the negative direction, consequently subjected my childhood to a period of suffering. I became a victim of circumstance.....an event i could not control. As a child I was feed many times with Garri water instead of baby food, packaged with used pieces of cloth instead of baby napkin or pampers. I suffered every hardship that you could ever think of. To the glory of God, I never suffered from any form of diseases associated with malnutrition....instead; I was growing like a normal child. However, it was clear that i was heading for a journey of becoming a nobody. It was so obvious!

Years later, a glimpse of luck shun on my parents, things became a bit comfortable for my parents...we were happy....and at least i got a feel of proper meal after a long time. At this time my parents made a decision to relocate to Ibadan as things have changed for good this period.

We moved to Ibadan when i was 6 years..I was enrolled into one of the best schools in Ibadan at the time ( Ise Oluwa Montessori Nur/Pry School). Life in Ibadan was heaven on earth, I would go to school in AC school bus, and my parents gave double for all that I lost for almost 5 years of my life.

Hmmm, there's a saying that today is a product of yesterday, despite this my "new life " my past came starring me on the face...so sad my previous experience had left in me a terrible stigma- a very low IQ. This made everybody including my teachers tagged me “a slow learner everybody in school name tagged me a slow learner all because I couldn’t understand things at the speed of other pupils in class. I lived with this stigma for many years. I got used to the nickname, it became a part of my life...I was growing with it. At a point, this bad stigma became an excuse for my failure as i stopped making efforts to improve and I would dodge hard works in school under the guise of "a slow learner" I accepted failure as fortunes..What a shame! 

Some years later my Dad became a pastor and we relocated to Lagos. Prior to this period, series of events had unfolded leading to a slight drop in our family finances. However, we got to Lagos and my Parents became full time pastors. God in faithfulness to His words stood by us and helped us when we needed him for help. Nevertheless, I was still poor and unsound academically. At this point my parents stood in gap spiritually...They cried to the God of heaven....and he heard their cry. I want to appreciate my mum and my dad for their prayers, encouragement and all round support unleashed on me.

My parents believed so much in me...and because of that they would not stop praying until something happened. However, some people believed I could never be better.. (It never matter anyways.....what mattered at the time was that my parents believed in me. Shield.

Upon our relocation to Lagos I was enrolled into about three different schools largely due to my inability to perform brilliantly....what a bad experience for a growing child!! My parent were only trying their best to locate and enroll me in a school where the magic would be done, this was to fulfill the scriptures that says faith without works is death.

Finally, I was enrolled in Yetkem international school Ajasa. As usual, I was the most horrible student in my class, i was academically backward. Always filled with shame and encountered lots of distain treatment from my co-students. Many of my class mates refused to be my friend, I was a lone ranger...I was indeed lonely...despair and depression was the other of the day for me.
In all of these, God in His mercy positioned an Angel on my path- Miss Egunleti.  I will never forget my good teacher Miss Egunleti , she would  call me several times to encourage me. She told me "Ayo dele. ...you have the seed of greatness in you, just believe...you can be great" she further said Ayo rethink and begin I did as she said and to the glory of God, her words yielded tremendous change, I made a one day decision that changed my nickname and story forever!

My decision marked the beginning of a new life, beautiful experience. Focusing on making it, my eagerness for success turned me into a competitor for the first and second positions in class. I began and continued to top my class with colorful flight, this was with my good friend Ifeoluwa Arishoyin who happened to be the only student that could compete successfully with me..And so it was till I graduated from primary school.

My new God given brain made me jump from primary five to JSS2 in Tomia community secondary School Agbado Lagos. In my junior waec I was part of the best five results in the school.

God was so faithful that I made my O'level result once and gained admission without delay to study Accounting Education at Olabisi Onabanjo University,  Ago Iwoye,  Ogun state.

I graduated with a Bsc(edu) in Accounting even, the devil tried to destroy my GP but God proved Himself by divine intervention and I went for service in the year 2010.

After service, I've been gainfully employed and have moved from one establishment to the other.

In the year 2015, while worshiping the God of heaven in a service at Winners chapel, i heard God clearly spoke to my spirit, He said to me in clear terms...."Son, it’s time to create your own business" in that service he delivered into my hands the name "ARAA GROUP" an umbrella for "Araa Educational Consulting Firm", "Araa Foundation” and”Araa Voice”

Araa Foundation is a platform to give back to the society, while Araa Voice is an online information center which provides current educational information to students, parents, teachers, school owners and many other educational information users around the world.

God gave me a new life, a new name, a new brain, a new focus, a new glory, changing my story from "a slow learner" to "a solution provider". Ayodele that was a nobody is now a force to be reckoned with in all ramifications of life.

Dear readers, if you think it’s over for you, i make bold to tell you today that " it is not over for you yet" All you need is to Rethink and BEGIN, put your faith in God, listen when He speaks and make a move at His instruction. He gave me a business and I took steps to building the business at His leading, thus, today an establishment less than a year has spread to about 10 countries ( still counting) providing working solutions to problems with the right keys.

Today am glad to be a year older with series of great testimonies, I am a mentor that lots of people( young and old) are looking up to, I am a leader with positive impact on my followers and above all, I am a big brain wrapped with working solution to problems. I am a Child of God whose overall aim in life is to populate the Kingdom of God and at the end gain  Christ the crucified.

Finally, unto Him who's able to keep me from falling...be Glory ever more.

Happy birthday to me.