Ecclesiastical evidence abounds to affirm that God does not look at people or issues through the same prism from which human beings perceive matters.
As mortals, we give primacy to mundane parameters as appearance or outward adornments, height or whether the person is oozing opulence or simply look at nobility of a person’s birth before ascribing value or judgment to such a person.
The story of David’s ascension to the throne of Israel summarises how God makes His choices. Prophet Samuel beheld the firstborn of Jesse named Eliab and, looking at his outward qualities, concluded “here comes the Lord’s anointed king who will govern over Israel.”
But just before that thought could settle in the prophet’s mind, God told him that is not the man for the job. The story of Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), is the story of a young, wise and brilliant man who has enjoyed the exceptional grace of God.
His father (of blessed memory) was a cocoa farmer from the mainly agrarian Iwo Ate town, in Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State. His mother is a trader-cum-farmer.
It was thanks to Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s matchless leadership and quality governance that the town at that time boasted some basic municipal amenities like school and a dispensary.
I can imagine the joy on his father’s face when the news was broken to him that his wife was delivered of a baby boy later christened Zacchaeus Adelabu Adedeji.
While his father desired functional education for Zacch, the first child of the family, the greater joy for the cocoa farmer would be that the birth of Baby Zacch means an extra hand on the farm, heir apparent to the cocoa farming business.
This perception perhaps prevented Zacch’s father from noticing the unique stars in the sky that heralded the arrival of a special child to the family, the humble background notwithstanding.
The family did not realise they have been gifted a global talent whose brilliance and expertise will be acknowledged beyond the shores of Nigeria.
While his father was looking at a child who will grow to become a helping hand on the farms, God was looking at a precious gift that will bring honour to the family name.
Growing up for Zacch was not easy as there was no silver spoon in his mouth at birth. But with the grace of God upon his life, he was determined never to allow the circumstance of his birth dictate how far he could go in life.
While going to school, he was also assisting his father in his cocoa farming. Zacch could not have chosen any other course in his post-secondary educational pursuit other than accountancy. He was his father’s book-keeper for the sale of cocoa produce.
At the Federal Polytechnic in Ede, Osun State, where he studied Accountancy for his Ordinary National Diploma, Zacch came out flying with a distinction.
Rather than return for his HND, he opted to further his studies at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where he read management and accounting and finished with First Class honours.
He did not allow the death of his father at about the time he was starting at Ife to extinguish his hope of having a functional university education. Zacch’s special talent as a brilliant accountant quickly singled out from the new recruits at P&G.
He saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in needless expenditure and deployed his financial wizardry to catapult the company’s profit to new heights.
For this exceptional display, the company dispatched him to one of the best business schools in Switzerland to share his experience with them.
This feat earned him a seat at the management cadre of the American goods company earlier than any young recruit by the firm. He rose to become the Corporate Finance Manager for West Africa.
It was while making his mark at the firm that he met a great leader, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (of blessed memory), sometime in 2009.
He was just attending to what he would ordinarily consider a routine payment query when they met. Ajimobi was happy to meet a young chap from Oyo State making waves at such a company.
From that time, a journey of mentoring, love and support that would remain with Zacch for a lifetime started. It was a meeting that also changed his trajectory from the private sector to the public sector.
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