‘Who is Sho Salako – our new President/Asiwaju for Odu’a Organization of Michigan? In his own words, quoting from his Wealthy Mind website:

“As I pondered about what to write about myself, I remembered answering this question at an earlier time. Early one morning as I viewed my Facebook news feed for worthy status updates to contribute to, an interesting post by someone who I believe would be a precious friend caught my attention.

“His question pricked a deep part of my consciousness because it is a question that I had asked myself years earlier: ‘…Why are you here on this earth? What is your mission on earth? What are you here to achieve?’ I instinctively knew that the enquirer is someone of inner greatness and worthy of a noble response.

“Who am I? I am Shola Salako, husband and father to three awesome boys. I live in Michigan; however, I was born in New York and raised partly in New York and Nigeria, West Africa. Immediately after the birth of my first born, I experienced what many call a spiritual awakening and I started to question everything. It was during that strange phase that I re-discovered my purpose and mission in this physical life.

“My purpose in life is quite clear and simple: I am agent of hope to a countless number of hopeless people on this planet — people with dreams and aspirations but without an opportunity to fulfill them. I am meant to meet numerous individuals in various desperate situations and offer them solutions that would change their lives forever for many generations.

“The origin of my name, Olushola, is from the Yoruba tribe of Western Africa. It means “God creates wealth” in a literal sense. After my awakening and learning my purpose, I found myself deeply meditating on myself and my name.

“I started viewing myself and my name from different perspectives: my parents – the ones that gave me the name, my Creator – the One that creates wealth, and myself. From my parents’ perspective, I was a gift of wealth from God and they expected their wealth status to improve as I grow. From God’s perspective, I am a gift of wealth to the world. That leaves one more perspective: mine. I am wealth.

“So who am I? I am an embodiment of wealth and my purpose is to free others financially. I would meet a desperate factory worker in poverty-stricken Ukraine who aspires to own a toy factory so as to improve the future of her hungry children. I would meet a garbage scavenger in Thailand who has a dream to rid his country of garbage. I would meet a poor family of bean cake sellers at a bus stop in Lagos, Nigeria who aspire to mass-produce bean cakes in packaged materials. I would be the necessary change and investor in the lives of these people – ones who have been written off by society. My simple acts of kindness and charity would change the destinies of entire generations.

“My mission dictates that I shine my inner light onto all the people of the world that are trapped in darkness, infecting them and helping them to reignite their inner light which hopelessness had almost extinguished. My light shines brightly to all reminding something deep within them of a time of true abundance. The aim of my being and this website is to trigger inner change within you.

“This is who I am: an agent of hope to the hopeless.” (Also see: Agents of Hope)

Omo-Omo baba-baba agba ọkunrin Papa Omopariola ni Ogbeni Shola Salako. In regards to his genealogy, here is some information he had shared on Facebook about his lineage on his maternal side:

“My great grand father, Omopariola, was an Araba of Ile-Ife. He left the planet in the mid-sixties.

“The #Araba is the worldwide supreme priest of the #Yoruba #Ifa spiritual science/religion. Similar to the Pope in Catholicism, my great grandpa was the highest custodian of the Ifa mysteries and was responsible for divination for the Ooni/king and the Yoruba African peoples. As the first Omopariola and Araba, his house is built next door to the Ifa temple and still stands till this day on Oke-Itase (high place of #worship).

“Though another priestly family currently holds the Araba sacred duties today, my grand uncle, Baba Ifa is the Ifa custodian for the Omopariola #lineage. He has some great stories! I would like to specially thank my mother Morisade Omolola Omopariola-Adeyeye-Salako, for indulging me in my quest for knowledge of my roots and family history. Also thanks to Facebook motivators in the diaspora such as Obafemi Origunwa, Aminat Tokunbo Oladipo and Baba Kefentse Akim Bandele, just to name a few, who maintained Yoruba traditions as passed down over the ages.

“Uncovering and sharing this information may be perceived controversial or even heresy, but I am very proud of my family heritage and those that came before me. It is quite an adventure knowing what it is to be a Yoruba. To deny my ancestors, it is deny myself.

“I would like to encourage everyone to traces their sources. You may be surprised what you uncover, and it may help explain certain peculiarities in your lives. Quite a journey. I greet all Omopariolas and omo Oduduwa everywhere!”

‘Shola Salako

Founder, Wealthy Mind
Founder/CEO Agent of Hope
Asiwaju/President, Odu’a Organization of Michigan