The History of Alajọ Shomolu

I’m sure you must have heard the popular saying/aphorism “ori e pe bi ti Alajọ Shomolu”- (you’re as intelligent as Alajọ Shomolu), at one time or the other in your life. But if not, then sorry!

This is a brief rundown of how the phrase came to be, together with the history and development of the Thrift collection business in Nigeria.

 Ride with me!

Before most Fin-tech startups came up, the most popular means of saving was with thrift collectors. One of the most popular of these thrift collectors was one Taiwo Olunaike Alphaeus, popularly known as Alajọ Shomolu.

Taiwo Olunaike Alphaeus

He was born on September 16, 1915 in Isonyin, Ogun state. He was one of the surviving duo of a triplet birth at a time when multiple birth was believed to be a taboo that brought misfortune to the land. One of the triplets died at infancy while the other was sacrificed to the gods. When he was 12 years old, he moved to Lagos where he had his education. After which he took up an apprenticeship role under a tailor, for nine years. In 1950, he followed his uncle to Cameroon, where he learnt all about the thrift collection business from a neighbor, for four years.

The business worked in such a way that the clients contribute daily, weekly, or monthly predetermined amounts to the collector, who takes the first contribution as his/her own fee. This business is called ‘ajọ’ in Yoruba, ‘esusu’ in Igbo and  ‘akawo/adashe’ in Hausa. Sir Alphaeus returned to Lagos to start his own thrift collection business called the “Popular Daily Alajọ Ṣomolu”. At first, people did not trust him, as expected, but overtime, all that changed after many testaments of his photographic memory spread.

Sir Alphaeus’s integrity and honesty was not just what made him popular. It was his mental acuity. He practiced this business at a time where calculators or computers were not so popular, but he could recall transactions, their dates and details without reference to any documents. His brain was very sharp, fast and accurate. He was practically a moving bank. In fact, it was said that he not only paid back clients the exact amount that was due them, but he paid the exact notes and coins they contributed (if you gave him an old and rusty coin, he’d return that same old and rusty coin). This gift was what made him the number one mobile banker to many traders in neighboring towns, streets and markets in Lagos.

He practiced this business until he was 95 years old in 2010. Despite that his children had advised him to stop the business, people still continued to come to him to deposit their money. He had so much earned their trust. He built his first house in Ijesa, which he later sold to the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. He also  built another house in Bariga,Lagos state. He died on August 11, 2012.

Sir Alphaeus in his old age

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