I founded community bank in US to help minorities — Nigerian engineer, Ajimotokan

Bolaji Ajimotokan

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Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Hub Federal Credit Union, Houston, United States, Bolaji Ajimotokan, tells BIODUN BUSARI why he started a community bank, among other issues

How did your childhood experience look like?

Nigeria was a functioning country when I was growing up. I went to the University of Lagos at a time when we paid less than N1,000 for school fees. We spent like N15 on food. So, it was a time when things were okay.

However, jobs were frozen in the country. I can say we had a fairly decent country at the time. There were challenges, but things were not rough.

I graduated from the University of Lagos in 1993. I proceeded to do my master’s at Cardiff University, United Kingdom. I got a Master’s in Business Administration in Information Systems. So, my background was interesting.

Did you have any experience with the military regime?

The military era shaped some of my childhood experiences. The government usually closed schools, especially universities, and the peak of that was the June 12 crisis, when former military president Ibrahim Babangida annulled the presidential election.

At that time, some of us, as young chaps, were thinking of contributing to the Nigerian economy, but the military guys made it so tough. That was the beginning of our mindset to go abroad and further our education.

I thought I would just have my MBA and return to the country, but as God would have it, while in Cardiff, I got a job in the United States. Instead of going back to Nigeria after my education, I just crossed over to the US.

How convenient was it for graduates to finish their first degree and move abroad for their master’s at the time?

In my situation, it was self-funded. I think it’s more complicated now. But during my time, when you had your certificate and met the requirements for admission into any school, you got your admission. You could either pay the school fees or get a scholarship.

It was straightforward, nothing complicated. Once you got admission from the school you wanted to go to, you went to the embassy, applied for a visa, and that was it.

What kind of job made you cross from the UK to the US?

My first degree is in civil engineering. But while doing my MBA in Information Systems in Cardiff, I got a job as an information systems analyst at St. John’s University in the US. The job came at a time when the whole world was concerned that companies might collapse in 1999.

So, American companies and institutions were hiring many computer-knowledgeable people to come to the US to better manage information systems. I got the job around that time.

What was your experience in your first job?

At St. John’s University, we were setting up computers and networks. Primarily, we were upgrading what we called the BIOS of the computers, making sure the computers were compatible with the Year 2000 problem, which was the slogan at the time.

I worked there for about three to five years, and it was from that experience that I started a network in front of an IT company. From there, we went on to do something similar for smaller companies.

That was the experience at the time. During my career, I also consulted for some Fortune 500 companies, like HP and MasterCard, in the technology space.

How did you cross over to starting your own business?

My first business started in 2005. I started with motivation — wanting to be an entrepreneur and employer of labour, and wanting to positively affect people’s lives.

I was in insurance, taxes, and financial services. At one point, I tried to come back to Nigeria in 2010. I dabbled in Nigerian politics for a little bit, but it didn’t work out. Then I relocated back to the US in 2016.

What were the peculiar challenges you faced when setting up your business in 2005?

Starting one’s own company is a risk. The challenges were there in marketing and customer acquisition, going into business. These were the main challenges. But the fact was that we had a product for the market that was selling.

What informed your decision to return to Nigeria for politics and later relocate back to the US?

I still had my base in Nigeria when I was in the US. Some of my people told me we should go back and give to the country. The motivation was to make Nigeria better in all areas we could think of.

So, on getting back to Nigeria, I realised that Nigeria is a political economy. My base called for me to come and lead them in politics. I eventually ran for the House of Assembly in Lagos State in 2015. I didn’t win the election, but circumstances around me at the time led me to relocate to the US.

It wasn’t what I really wanted to do. In that election, I contested the seat in Agege constituency. I didn’t understand politics enough in Nigeria, and I contested against the current speaker (Mudashiru Obasa). He’s a very powerful politician, as we all know.

Did you grow up in Agege?

Yes. I grew up around Oniwaya area of Capitol Road in Agege, Lagos.

How will you compare Nigerian and American politics with your experience when you contested?

Well, I’d say the difference in the politics of both countries, in context, is the populace itself. Nigeria is a political economy. Nigerians vote based on who brings the most money, while Americans don’t do that. Americans vote based on their conviction and conscience. That’s the fundamental difference.

So, that’s why sometimes, I look at Nigerians when they complain that our leaders are not doing what they’re supposed to do, after they already got paid before they voted for them.

In America, people vote based on what they want. In Nigeria, regardless of what you have as a programme for people, you still have to give the populace money for them to vote for you.

Will you venture into politics again if you have the opportunity in the US?

It’s a different dynamic in the US. Politics in the US is both local and race-based. It’s based on your race, whether you’re Black, White, or Latino. It’s heavily race-based.

But now and then, we do have outliers who send the right message and have the right funding for their campaigns.

But I didn’t pursue my political career in the US because the environment was not friendly enough for me to take advantage of it. So, I stayed in the private sector.

How is your company contributing to the US economy?

The Federal Credit Union is just like a bank, but structured differently. It’s like a community bank — a financial institution where people come together, pool their money and resources, do business with their money and resources, and make and share profits.

That means anybody who deposits money in the bank becomes a part-owner and shareholder. That’s how a Federal Credit Union works. In the case of banks, we have some shareholders who put a lot of money down and enough reserves to start operations and share the profits of the bank.

The good thing about a Federal Credit Union is that the fees are lower compared to a regular bank. Also, we can do everything a regular bank does. It can have an individual savings account or business savings account, a checking account, a fixed deposit, and we can provide loans.

The goal is to bring financial empowerment into our community in Houston, or, I would say, in the state of Texas. Our community is a minority community that includes Africans, African-Americans, and Latinos. The goal is to deliver affordable financial services to that community so they can enjoy perks or benefit from reduced rates in banking.

Also, we do tax preparation and tax planning. The goal is to help our clients prepare their taxes at the end of the year and to help high-net-worth clients plan for their taxes. Apart from financial services, we offer jobs to our community and provide financial literacy.

Are you concerned about Japa in Nigeria, where youths and professionals are massively relocating abroad for better opportunities?

Japa is not limited to Nigeria. We have Indians and Chinese whose countries are better, but they are also leaving for better opportunities. Everybody is looking for an opportunity to get better.

It’s a global phenomenon.

If you look at Mexico and Venezuela, the same thing applies to their people. When you check people in this category, it shows that the economies of their countries are not robust enough.

This happens when a country cannot absorb the motivation and skill set of those people, compared to what they will get outside their country.

What do you think the private sector can do better to help the Nigerian economy?

Nigeria is more of a public-sector economy than a private-sector one. In Nigeria, the government’s decisions drive a lot of the private sector. The Nigerian economy is a political economy, where the government runs the show.

In the US, private companies own the resources. Any type of system can work; either a government-backed economy or a private-backed economy. The fundamental thing is that we need to be honest and united to make progress as a people.

I think those elements are missing in Nigerian society. The people in the public and private sectors should work together for the progress of the country.

Would you like to share some of your success secrets with Nigerian youths?

I will just say: be real, honest, and truthful. The highest courage anybody can have is integrity. Those are the secrets of my success. Anyone can succeed with these qualities. Aside from that, it is good to pray to God for His blessings because we all need that. It’s not by our power, it’s not by how strong you are, it’s by God’s grace and mercy.

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