Rasaq Akanni Okoya: Giving Succour To The Poor

Unlike his contemporaries, who turn their back on the poor when they are in need, Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya (CON), offers them his shoulders to lean on.

This, he demonstrated for seven days, from the penultimate Monday, when, instead of affluent business partners, socialites, public appointees, and leading politicians, he hosted the battered, beaten, rejected, and abandoned as special dignitaries at his 86th birthday celebration.

And rather than opening the doors of his palatial house to a lavish party of wining and dining, the revered octogenarian, industrialist and philanthropist, held an impactful medical outreach, where the poor who could not afford costly medical services converged to get attention.

When he chose compassion over celebration to mark his 86th birthday, it was a moment that blended gratitude, grace and generosity, reinforcing a pattern that many have come to identify with the billionaire industrialist.

Born on January 12, 1940, Lagos, to a tailor Tiamiyu Ayinde Okoya and Alhaja Idiatu Okoya, his early life revolved around his father’s tailoring business, mending clothes and selling accessories. By age 17, he saved £20 from these tasks, supplemented by his mother’s £50, to launch imports from Japan—lace, watches and household goods that filled a market gap.

This venture marked his transition from apprentice to entrepreneur, as he identified opportunities in the growing consumer needs of post-independence Nigeria. “Consistency, perseverance, hard work, commitment, passion and integrity” became his mantra, as he later shared, fuelling decades of expansion without cutting corners.

His philanthropy took another dimension on Monday, January 5, 2026, when Okoya, the chairman of Eleganza Industrial City Limited, transformed his 86th birthday from a potential lavish spectacle into a monumental humanitarian outreach, flagging off the week-long Okoya @86 Medical Outreach at his sprawling Oluwanishola Estate, Lekki-Ajah Expressway, Lagos.

Many of the beneficiaries ordinarily would not have gained access to him, but he granted them unhindered entry. His reason was simple, yet profound: good health is the foundation of a good life.

Still, he is not unaware that many Nigerians lack access to quality healthcare.

To bridge that gap, he unveiled the Okoya @86 Medical Outreach, which he designed to deliver free, quality healthcare services to people who might otherwise be denied such care due to poverty, limited education or lack of information.

As a result of this, residents from near and far-flung communities trooped out in their numbers. Men, women, young parents, and the elderly not only gained entrance but also experienced the comfort of the classic Eleganza chairs as they sat patiently in the over 300-capacity hall of the expansive castle, hopeful and grateful as medical professionals attended to them with dignity and care.

Over 1,000 residents from Ajah, Jakande, Ikota, Iru, Egunshi, Eleko, Epe, and beyond, benefitted from the billionaire’s medical outreach.

Fondly called “Eleganza” by generations, his legacy transcends boardrooms and factory floors—from the ubiquitous Eleganza biro that fuelled pupils, students, market leaders, artisans and professionals across Nigeria, to decades of inventive industrial prowess.

At 86, he penned a new chapter not with ink, but with empathy, prioritising health as the foundation of life amid widespread access barriers. His reason rings simple yet profound: good health enables prosperity, yet poverty, limited education and information gaps deny it to many Nigerians.

Far from a token gesture, the initiative has been described by many as unprecedented as the beneficiaries were delighted about the gesture of accessing the ordinarily expensive healthcare services for free.

The outreach delivers free comprehensive services—prostate cancer, HIV, tuberculosis screenings, dental care, eye checks, breast and cervical cancer detection, family planning, lab tests, and medications—plus food packs and N10,000 transport fare per beneficiary, as announced by the consultant for the Okoya @86 Medical Outreach and retired permanent secretary, Lagos State Health Services Commission, Dr Jemilade Longe.

Addressing the crowd, Okoya shared his personal journey, revealing a prostate cancer diagnosis six years prior that early detection overcame.

He said, while he has been fortunate enough to enjoy quality healthcare throughout his life, many around him are not so fortunate.

He narrated: “Six years ago, I even had prostate cancer, which I detected on time, I was operated on and I am happy with it. This birthday is not about me — it is about giving people the chance to live healthier, happier lives.

“Health is wealth. I prayed to God to see this year. If we detect health challenges early, we won’t have problems.

And this is why I am grateful today and say I should extend what I have been enjoying to my community so that everyone can know the status of his or her health and this is why we are here with this medical outreach.