ska 2020
The SKA Legacy is actually 29 years today! Remember, that in the processing of updating all the company documents, I discovered SKA Ventures was actually registered [by my dad] December 9th, 1991, so decided I continue doing these writeups the same day as the “anniversary” every year. Still building the empire by God’s grace as I dream bigger and bigger.
Now, down to business. Asides from name change and merger [between from last year Café Euphorie and Bites N’ Treats to become BNT Gourmet Café] there has very little growth, mostly due to COVID-19 pandemic and various global lockdown measures.
PROFILE
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, SKA Ventures is a leading, privately-owned, diversified business conglomerate. It is constantly raising the bar for excellence in innovation and service through the several companies it owns and oversees all over the world. Through the dedication of its employees worldwide, SKA Ventures remains one of the most admired, dynamic and profitable companies in the world.
HISTORY
SKA Ventures began from Pearl Kreations on Monday, January 28th, 2008 in Hamilton, Ontario, while Sylvester Kay-Adade was a freshman at McMaster University. Circa September 2009, the vision for The SKA Group was conceived. The following year, it was implemented.
On September 21st, 2010, The SKA Group was officially registered in Canada under the laws of the Province of Ontario. As Pearl Kreations became more successful, its profits provided the necessary capital for the exploration of new industries. The explorations birthed Property Management Firm, Ransrive Realtors, in November 2009; Think Tank, Sylver Productions, in August 2011; and Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) Advisory Firm, Herança Financial in April 2013.
During its expansion into Nigeria in 2014, it was discovered that The SKA Group could not be registered in Nigeria as his father, Sylvester Adade, had coincidentally registered SKA Ventures Limited in December, 1991. In 2018, The SKA Group adopted SKA Ventures as its new name and resumed business operations under the name.
Presently, SKA Ventures owns BNT Gourmet Café, Herança Financial, Pearl Kreations, Prestige Academy, Ransrive Realtors, Suave Clothing, Sylver Productions, and Vecasyer Hotels & Towers, as well as controlling interests in Centerprise, RCubed-Merit, and Spinners.
MISSION
SKA Ventures will relentlessly provide superior quality products and deliver exceptional service, while thriving to be the best and exceed expectations in all its business and social endeavors.
VISION
SKA Ventures aims to be recognized as the global brand with a drive for innovation and heart after perfection.
VALUES
Integrity
We believe in consistency in the right values.
Fairness: There is no discrimination; everyone is equal and every job is vital to our brilliant success.
Hard work: Excellent results are not manufactured, but accomplished through hard work. We understand that and are very familiar with it.
Lawfulness: All our actions and activities are in total obedience, and in complete accordance with the law.
Quality: All our products and services are always held to the highest standards.
Leadership
We believe in leadership by example.
Accountability: We account and take responsibility for our actions, and conduct ourselves responsibly and transparently in all situations and at all times.
Entrepreneurship: We are creative, innovative and ready to take calculated risks.
Perfection: We are performance-oriented and put our best into everything.
People
Like every family, we trust respect and trust each other, and that attitude flows right from the top to the branches. The people make the company, and our people are the best employees, executives, and partners; hence, we are the best company.
Service
We make everything about our patrons because it is.
Community: A good community produces good people. Our people are good people because they come from good communities. In order to maintain the balance, we give back through caring for the environment, maintaining old and raising new fundamental structures, and providing basic necessities to lacking communities.
Customers: Customer service is paramount to us because without our clients and customers, we would be non-existent. We are committed to continually provide value through our products and services.
SUBSIDIARIES
Every business venture is held to the highest standards, operated efficiently, and pacesetters in their respective industries.
BNT Gourmet Café is a chain of state-of-the-art cafes designed for and with the quintessential business executive in mind.
Herança Financial is a global business advisory firm which deals in the provision of top-notch advice and solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Prestige Academy is an educational institution which delivers quality, unparalleled educational services. These services include entrepreneurial education, financial management education, middle school education, high school education, private tutoring, and renowned etiquette & grooming classes.
Pearl Kreations is a collectibles company which manufactures, retails and supplies superior quality pin back button-badges for a variety of corporate events and personal purposes.
Ransrive Realtors is a property management firm which provides temporary and permanent accommodation through the letting and sale of commercial and residential properties.
Suave Clothing is a unique clothing venture which retails luxury accessories from reputable brand names, manufactures and sells its own line of bespoke dress shirts, dress pants and suits, and provides wardrobe consultation services. It also produces a biannual online style publication called The Suave Series.
Sylver Productions is an innovative firm which provides unique products and services that meet untapped customer needs. It developed, manages and operates proprietary services like CityMail™, TixItUp™, Datlik™ and Wefyl™.
Vecasyer Hotels & Towers is a collection of the most stylish hotels and resorts worldwide, which offer 5-star accommodation with first class professional treatment and services.
SKA Ventures also has partial ownership of:
Spinners (75% ownership), an agency which provides expert advertising services and solutions to its clients. It also uses its ace designing skills and creative wordplay to make befitting logos, catchy names and impressive slogans for its clients’ businesses, events and products;
RCubed-Merit (51% ownership), an outfitting firm which highlights and optimizes the potential for various living spaces by redefining the outlook of the rooms, offices, homes and work spaces through the reorganization and restructuring of their overall presentation; and
Centerprise Global Resources (49% ownership), a personal development agency focused on better self, better employees, better business.
All subsidiaries operate independently, but are overseen from its headquarters, SKA Tower, under the leadership of the Chief Executive/Group Managing Director.
malfunction
Are you malfunctioning?
And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth – Genesis 1:28 [AMP].
You’ve been blessed and commanded to be fruitful.
Are you being fruitful? Being fruitful doesn’t just mean having children, it means to be productive. Being fruitful is about impact, adding value.
If you’re not adding value, you’re malfunctioning. A clear sign of malfunctioning is poverty. Poverty is a result of no value. Poverty isn’t a lack of resources, it is a lack of productivity.
God will bless you, but you need to make a move.
You’re already blessed with gifts and talents. Ask Him to reveal them to you; then, harness them and put them to use – become productive. As you add value, God will crown your efforts with success.
Stop malfunctioning.
201020
What a total and absolute shame.
October 20th 2020 has to be one of the darkest days in the history of democracy in Nigeria; in the history of Nigeria, period.
At a time when Nigerians in and outside the country are fighting and kicking against bad governance, oppression and police reform, the Nigerian government resorts, once again, to systematic oppression; acting like #EndSARS is a plague.
I still can’t wrap my head around why some officers of the Nigeria Police are acting like the #EndSARS protesters are the enemy. These protesters aren’t anti-police; they are simply fighting for an improvement in the way the job of the police is carried out, as well as better compensation and benefits for the work they do! The entire movement transcended a demand for the government to shutdown the SARS unit; it’s a demand for an end to police brutality, an end to police corruption, an end to police impunity, an end to police misconduct; in fact, it’s about a complete overhaul of the current Nigerian Police System.
I think it was highly insensitive to, amid the outcry of the Nigerian youth, dissolve SARS one day, and the next day, rebrand it as a SWAT unit. The priority isn’t an elite anti-robbery unit. Nigerians are clamoring for better trained, more efficient police officers; a complete police reform, not better packaging!
But no, instead of taking the proper corrective measures, cowardly elements in the government and in power tried hiring thugs to disrupt the protests. That didn’t work. They tried hiring thugs to hijack the protests. That didn’t work. They hired thugs to cause mayhem at different locations [unrelated to any of the protest sites]. Finally, they had an excuse to abruptly and forcefully end the protests, a curfew.
Rather than storm the locations of the mayhem, the Nigerian government declares war on its youths at the Lekki toll gate. Soldiers of the Nigerian Army, sworn to protect Nigeria and Nigerians, fire lethal rounds at unarmed peaceful Nigerian protesters as they waved their Nigerian flags and sat in the street singing the Nigerian National Anthem.
This government has failed at all levels in its most fundamental duty – to protect the lives and properties of its citizen.
If the Nigerian President [and his cronies] had any dignity and self-respect left, he’ll step down. I think, one more time, he has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that he cannot lead with wisdom and integrity.
It is my prayer that from the ashes of tonight, a new Nigeria will rise. There has been way too much innocent bloodshed, and their deaths must not be in vain.
May the souls of our murdered brothers and sisters rest in peace. Thank you for your sacrifice.
granddad
Dr Oluwöle Banköle was a Grade A Human Being. He was simply awesome; loved and revered by many. I never quite understood the pillar he was, and what he meant to so many people, until his funeral. He was simply Granddad to me; the only one I knew, and the best ever.
He was a caring and loving family man. Family was very important to him. For as long as I can remember, he was an ever-present figure in my life. Growing up, he was at almost every birthday and family functions. Most recently, despite all odds, he made it to my wedding ceremonies last year.
He was always so cheerful. I don’t think I ever saw a frown on his face. He had a such a lovely smile and infectious laughter to go with his bubbly personality. I mean, his presence could literally light up a room! If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought he was the happiest man on earth; maybe he was.
I loved going to visit him. When I was younger, it was secretly about the little treats and/or money he would give my younger sister and I (mine was usually more 😁), especially when we visited him at his clinic. As we munched on our snacks, he would sometimes teach us something about the human body and bones. Even at that age, I could tell he really enjoyed being an osteopath. I remember when he made me his willing assistant in the treatment of my sister’s legs. He thought me how to massage them in between her appointments with him. That was fun.
As I got older, my visits were less frequent because I lived outside the country, but they became more about family history and life lessons. I love a good story, and he had an abundance of really good ones he was always happy to share. I got to learn a lot about my great grandfather, J. B. Bankole, from his stories. I was sometimes amazed by how much he could accurately recall in such great detail.
When I made the shift from medicine to entrepreneurship, he encouraged to me to keep at it, and develop myself into the leader I could be; even bought me “The Spirit of Leadership” by Dr Myles Munroe. His support meant a lot of me.
He was a consummate gentleman – kind, principled, smart, and very well spoken. If you’re close to me, you’ll know I have a very low threshold for poor grammar. In the not-so-distant past, I could cut someone off mid-sentence to make a correction🤦🏾♂️. I’ve gotten better; now, I’d try to let you finish. Well, it would seem that trait is genetic. One of the reverends during the wake mentioned that about him, and shared his experience – after a sermon, granddad met up with him to correct his pronunciation of “sword” i.e. it’s pronounced “sawed” not “swored” 😄. That cracked everyone up.
I miss everything about him – especially his laugh, two-cheek pecks, and stories. The last time we spoke, he thanked me profusely for calling (as he usually did) and told me every thing has a beginning and an end; he’d had a good life, no regrets, and looking forward to going home to rest.
He lived an exemplary life and left behind a brilliant legacy; I’m blessed and honored to be his grandson. May his gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace.
OSTEOPATH CHIEF DR. OLUWOLE OLUFEMI BANKOLE
Early Years, Education and Training
Dr. Oluwole Olufemi Bankole was born on September 12, 1931 to Late Pa Josiah Babatunde Bankole, the first black cashier at the Barclays Bank D.C.O. as well as Late Phebean Asake Bankole, an Awori porcelain trader at Ita-Garawu [in old-time], Isale-Eko, Lagos. He had nothing but a stellar upbringing; educated at the famous Abeokuta Grammar School, under the tutelage of Late Reverend Ransome Kuti. It was very clear from early childhood that he was destined for greatness. At the age of 24, he went the way of the elite Lagosians back in the day, when JBB (as his father was popularly called) opted to send him, and a handful of his siblings, to London for further studies in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece. He worked and toiled in his digs until 1964 when he graduated from yet another elite institution – the Royal School of Osteopathy, now known as the University College of Osteopathy.
Professional Life
In London, he started his private practice and grew it into a tight and reputable Osteopathic practice. The pictures he sent home to his mother, as well as his two children in Nigeria (Fehintola Oludolapo and Olujimi Olumuyiwa) are still engraved in our memories. He was so dark and handsome in his white Doctor’s Scrubs. However, being the only child of Phebean Asake was quite traumatic for both mother and child. In those days, traveling to London was like traveling to the moon. The years turned into decades and both mother and child missed each other greatly. The die was cast. It was just a matter of time before he came back home. The demise of JBB in May, 1975 became the remote cause for his ultimate return home. First, he visited for his father’s burial, followed by a full-scale return home to Nigeria in 1980. Soon after, he opened the Dr Oluwole Bankole Osteopathic Clinics – one on Queens Street, Yaba, and another on Brown Street, Oshodi. He practiced and treated patients from then well into his eighties.
Character
Dr. Bankole was a man of the people, extremely soft-spoken, and he really wasn’t good at losing his temper, except when hungry. Late Phebean knew that too well – he had to “re-train” his mother on the essence of timely meals when he returned home. We all still remember his healthy advice – “you need five medium meals a day within a space of three hours from each other.” At any other given moment, he was full of life and vivacity. An avid Lawn tennis player and swimmer, he was very health conscious and agile.
As an osteopath, he once treated his eldest son, Jimi, who still marvels at how and where his father found the energy to contort his body during treatment. Dr. Bankole was very, very good at his trade.
Professional Bodies & Associations
In addition to being the Founder of the Osteopathic Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Dr. Bankole was also a member of numerous professional bodies and held executive positions at some, including being: President of the National Complementary and Alternative Medical Association (NACAMA) / Nigerian Council of Physicians of Natural Medicine, Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Registrar of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria (MRTBN), Provost of Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET), and Senior Lecturer at Lagos State College of Health Technology – School of Complementary Health Sciences.
Dr. Bankole was also an active member of a number of Christian associations and groups, including Egbe Agba – Folawiyo Bankole Memorial Methodist Church Nigeria, Christian League – Folawiyo Bankole Memorial Methodist Church Nigeria, Boys’ Brigade – Folawiyo Bankole Memorial Methodist Church Nigeria, and Praise Band – Folawiyo Bankole Memorial Methodist Church Nigeria. He was also President of the Men’s Fellowship – Methodist Church Nigeria (Lagos Mainland Diocese).
Dr. Oluwole Bankole was happily married with many lovely children and grandchildren.
reason not to
You probably shouldn’t give them a reason not to.
I was basking in my first act of defiance. For as long as I can remember, my dad was pro-clipped nails and pro-short hair. Around him, I could never successfully keep long nails (which he called “claws” 😄), or grow my hair beyond a month. Anytime I thought I was finally growing either, out came the razor or clippers 🤦🏽♂️.
You could imagine my surprise finding a picture of him from the 70s. Like a lot of our parents, he was in an afro 😲. My dad didn’t have a leg to stand on. Fortunately, at the time, I was 18, and in his books, practically an adult.
That’s me about a year after the great discovery, with my ‘fro and little goatee, beaming from ear to ear. Sometime after this photo was taken, I was offered the opportunity to leave Benin Republic and continue my education in Canada. However, I had to attend an interview, first.
“You probably shouldn’t give them a reason not to”.
That was my dad’s advice to me the day before my student visa interview at the Deputy High Commission of Canada. I knew what he meant, and he wasn’t wrong. The ‘fro had to go 😭. At least, it was my decision, sort of.
To be honest, I looked smarter in my fresh haircut and clean shaven face. Though, I ended up looking a lot younger than 19, and I was told so 😑. By God’s grace, I was able to answer all questions intelligibly, and looked responsible doing so. The rest is history.
“Never judge a book by its cover” is a nice sentiment, but in the real world, you are constantly assessed, addressed, and related with based on how you’re perceived; and how you’re dressed plays a big role. How you present yourself matters. That’s just the way it is.
The onus is on you to always put your best foot forward.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Don’t give anyone a reason not to.
