NairaBET chairman Oloye Akin Alabi, who won the ticket of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) to contest for a seat in the Federal House of Representatives has etched his name in the folklore in Oyo State football for his remarkable contributions to the state’s foremost football team Shooting Stars Sports Club Of Ibadan.
Alabi, will contest in the 2019 general elections in his bid to become the representative of Egbeda/Ona Ara federal constituency of Oyo State in Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives.
Before now the 41-year-old business tycoon pondered on acquiring Shooting Stars Sports Club, in 2016 but despite cooling off interest he consistently supported the team with several sponsorship packages.
A brand new 32-seater coaster bus was donated to the Oluyole Warriors at the start.
“As you all know Oloye Alabi is a very generous man and he has been of huge support to the team and everyone who has worked with him, “Edith Agoye, 3SC’s head coach said of the business mogul to Complete Sports Nigeria
“Again, with the fans and the community. As I know him he was extremely generous, very generous generally. A generous man.”
An ardent supporter of Manchester United, Alabi’s sporting interests also extended to basketball and golf as well.
On his dream as an evolving entrepreneur, Alabi said: “I consumed a lot of knowledge, be it from books, audio materials, training sessions, and seminars.”
“My dream is actually to have a strictly online business. But I know there is money in the streets as well.”
“I don’t regret doing retail though. I just wish we could have an environment where I could be strictly online. Retail gives you more credibility, which is what one of our competitors has done well by growing a huge agent network.”
“Another advantage to having a network of shops is it makes it easier to pay customers. This is because loose change is still not fully banked or electronic in Nigeria.”
He, however, vowed that he will continue to touch lives irrespective of the outcome of his election into Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives in 2019.
Nevertheless, Premier League glory was an impossible dream for Agoye this season with 3SC who had been in Bet9ja Nigeria National League more recently than Nigerian Professional Football League.
“My father loved politics. As a young boy, I would accompany him to party meetings. So that’s how I fell in love with politics too. I have come to understand that politics is the most powerful tool you can use to impact society.
“There are other tools you can use but that is the most powerful. You can only do so much with personal wealth. While billionaires like Dangote will run away from handling capital projects like the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Benin-Ore road or Zaria road, an ordinary minister can face it head-on. That’s how powerful government is,” he told TechPoint.
With Alabi emerging the representative of Egbeda/Ona Ara of Oyo State at the Federal House Of Representative, 3SC and indeed sports in the ancient city of Ibadan, Oyo State may just get a new facelift.
