{"id":7484,"date":"2017-12-16T06:39:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-16T06:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/gbagi-the-man-who-turns-nothing-to-something\/"},"modified":"2021-01-26T18:20:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T18:20:09","slug":"gbagi-the-man-who-turns-nothing-to-something","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/gbagi-the-man-who-turns-nothing-to-something\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenneth Gbagi, the man who turns nothing to something"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"7485\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/gbagi-the-man-who-turns-nothing-to-something\/gbagi1-e1485102960287-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?fit=308%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"308,280\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kenneth Gbagi\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Kenneth Gbagi&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Kenneth Gbagi&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?fit=308%2C280&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-7485\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?resize=800%2C727&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Kenneth Gbagi\" width=\"800\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?w=308&amp;ssl=1 308w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?resize=300%2C273&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Kenneth Gbagi, the man who turns nothing to something .<\/h2>\n<p>ABOUT three decades ago, a former military governor of defunct Midwest Region, Major General David Ejoor (retd), residing on Deco Road, Warri, Delta State, was amazed when a young man, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, turned up with bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment and descended on a swampy terrain, which residents of the area had turned to a refuse dump.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The ex-military governor thought that only the Federal Government, as it were, would have the wherewithal to embark on a colossal project of reclaiming such a large expanse of marshy terrain and asked the young man standing before him who he was and his mission.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_127553\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 308px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-127553 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/aebb266e07d4ac7f8a7f4e647ab0c268-10.jpg?resize=308%2C280&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"308\" height=\"280\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.vanguardngr.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/lazy-load\/images\/1x1.trans.gif?ssl=1\" \/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-127553 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/aebb266e07d4ac7f8a7f4e647ab0c268-10.jpg?resize=308%2C280&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"308\" height=\"280\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Kenneth Gbag<\/strong>i<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though he told him that his company, GKO Properties had acquired\u00a0 \u00a0the dumpsite, the former military governor did not believe that anybody could turn the \u201crejected land\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0to something. So he\u00a0 waited to see what the young man was up to.<\/p>\n<p>On that inhospitable surroundings\u00a0 \u00a0stands today\u00a0 \u00a0Delta state\u2019s\u00a0 \u00a0version of Computer Village, Lagos, a 500 Shopping Plaza named after his father, Robinson, and by far, the biggest shopping mall in the state, providing a means of livelihood, directly and indirectly for 4,500 Deltans.<\/p>\n<p>Gbagi, criminologist, industrialist and lawyer, recalled his encounter with the elder statesman with nostalgia, saying, \u201cI was moved with the passion to do the impossible at the time. And also to fulfill the promise I made in the presence of my father to his friends, who complained that there were no shops to do business in Warri, that I would provide shops for people to do business when I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Listening to the <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/property-center-nigeria\/\">real estate<\/a> mogul, Olorogun Gbagi, it was clear that his father, who died when he was 16 years old, greatly influenced his life, as he disclosed, \u201cEverything I am today was shaped by my father\u201d, adding \u201cEjoor\u2019s wife is one of the proud owners of one of the shops at the Robinson Plaza on Deco Road today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blessings from Ibru patriarch<\/p>\n<p>It was not only Major General Ejoor that saw the business wizardry of Gbagi, the late Olorogun Micheal Ibru of the Ibru dynasty was another Urhobo man that noticed it early. Gbagi disclosed that on one of the days he visited the former patriarch of the Ibru family, he asked him to kneel down and pulled his own cap, which he put on his (Gbagi) head to bless him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was praying that where he (Michael) did not get to in business, that I, Gbagi, another Urhobo man should surpass it. In fact, the prayer was from his heart and my respect for him never ceased,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Uncountable investments<\/p>\n<p>Today, Gbagi, has investments in real estate with over 700 properties to his name. His Robinson Plaza, Warri branch, is a magnificent work of art; several times bigger than the popular Computer Village in Lagos state. It has over 500 shops that generate billions of naira yearly.<\/p>\n<p>His properties alone are worth billions of naira. He singularly built two churches, his hotels, cinemas and other businesses too numerous to mention.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, \u201cmy properties are so many to the extent I do not even remember some of them. Just the other day, I asked my manager to bring out a file of my properties, I couldn\u2019t recognize some of them!.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kenneth Gbagi is the owner of WoodRidge <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/choosing-the-perfect-hotel-for-your-stay\/\">hotel<\/a> in Warri, Delta state as well as Geekay Hotel, Warri. Recently, he became the first man in Warri to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/investing-how-to-invest-like-warren-buffett\"   title=\"invest\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">invest<\/a> in a 5-star hotel when he became the owner of Golden Tulip Hotel franchise in Warri. He also has a franchise that established the Silverbird Cinemas at Warri.<\/p>\n<p>He has many business plazas that he rents out which rake in billions of naira yearly. Kenneth Gbagi has invested a lot in tourism. He has so many hotels in the 3-7 star classes. The Woodridge Hotel, Warri is worth N50-N60 billion, There is also WoodRidge hotel, Lagos, The Woodridge Cottage, Abuja. The Golden Tulip, Effurun, Warri is not less than N6 billion in construction alone. The Diamond Tulip, Abuja at Aviation Village still under construction is expected to cost about N72 billion.<\/p>\n<p>One of the highest investors in Delta \u2013 Uduaghan<\/p>\n<p>Seeing Gbagi\u2019s investment, former governor of Delta state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, once described the former Minister of Education, as a committed Deltan and great industrialist, who was deploying his resources to build industries in the state.<\/p>\n<p>The governor, who spoke when Gbagi visited him at Government House, Asaba, in 2013, asserted, \u201cKenneth Gbagi is one of the highest investors, if not the highest indigenous investor, in Delta State.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He thanked Gbagi for his faith and continuous investments in the state and urged other well placed Deltans to emulate him.<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining that he loves creating wealth and providing employment for people, Olorogun Gbagi has just converted the Woodridge Hotel at Petroleum Training Institute Junction, Effurun on the Effurun-Ughelli expressway to another 600-shopping plaza named after his father and added a petrol station at the sideline on the busy road.<\/p>\n<p>Okowa to inaugurate fresh projects<\/p>\n<p>The state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, will be inaugurating the new shopping plaza and petrol station\u00a0December 19.<\/p>\n<p>Gbagi told\u00a0Saturday\u00a0Vanguard in Warri, \u201cBeing an industrialist is something that is visible to the eye, something that you have done to generate social uplifting, something that you have done that will outlive you, something that you have done that children yet unborn will come and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking at it from that point of view and without mincing words, there are people who hitherto have stolen <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/get-quick-loan-for-real-estate-investment\/\">funds<\/a>, those funds are locked up in banks or are in abroad, in homes, bunkers, soaka-away pits, those funds do not add to society uplifting people. Yes, I will like to see somebody else with such understanding, creation of wealth like entrepreneurship, but I do not know of any yet in the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, the governor of Delta state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, will be commissioning one of our 52 mega petrol stations that Falconday <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/the-benefits-of-solar-roofing-for-your-home\/\">Energy<\/a> will be opening\u00a0 \u00a0at\u00a0 \u00a0PTI Junction, Effurun and a 600 -shopping mall named after my beloved father, who is my mentor. He was the one that actually shaped me to be what I am in life, named Robinson Gbagi Mall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The entrepreneur and politician said, \u201cYou will recall that I played a pivotal role in the emergence of Okowa as governor of Delta state, especially in Delta Central senatorial district.\u00a0 \u00a0He is the governor of the state and the chief security officer; the man looked upon as the father of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe discussed and we agreed that he will come to commission the investments on\u00a0December 19\u00a0the first of the 52 Falconday mega filling stations.\u00a0 \u00a0However, we have one at Ugbolokposo, Oginibo, that is already operational and another one on the expressway, between Warri and Sapele on the way to Lagos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow what is unique about our stations is that they will not do anything less than\u00a010.00 pm, while some of them in areas where security will not be an issue will run for 24 hours. It is our way, irrespective of how little, in putting food on the table of our youths and generating employment because if you employ one person properly, it touches a lot of persons in several families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Preoccupation now<\/p>\n<p>While he is presently handling cases on pro bono basis for the less privileged,\u00a0 <strong>kenneth Gbagi<\/strong> is also putting up appropriate structures and recruiting competent managers to manage his businesses to ensure that they do not suffer if anything happens to him tomorrow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a> Vanguard <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kenneth Gbagi, the man who turns nothing to something . ABOUT three decades ago, a former &hellip; <a title=\"Kenneth Gbagi, the man who turns nothing to something\" class=\"hm-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/gbagi-the-man-who-turns-nothing-to-something\/\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Kenneth Gbagi, the man who turns nothing to something<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[4751,132,2890,1430,12908,543,127,2892,684,1007,1432,1431,416,41,84],"class_list":["post-7484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opportunities-in-new-markets","tag-amazing","tag-commission","tag-construction","tag-filling-station","tag-home","tag-home-buying-guide","tag-homes","tag-kenneth-gbagi","tag-lagos","tag-owners","tag-petrol","tag-petroleum","tag-properties","tag-property","tag-real-estate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/gbagi1-e1485102960287.jpg?fit=308%2C280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90936,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7484\/revisions\/90936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}