Nigerian prince Akeem Adenuga who gave up his royal life to become a plumber for Thames Water in London has launched his own charity to provide clean water for his community back home.
The 63-year-old arrived in the UK in 1994 for study. His career in plumbing began in 2000 when he took on a job as a trainee leakage technician at Thames Water.
Adenuga’s brother, King Asunmo Aderibigbe, is the paramount ruler of Odo-Ayandelu, Agbowa-Ikosi, a small town two-hour drive from Lagos.
Adenuga, who lives in Tottenham and is a huge Arsenal fan, now leads a team of 24 engineers who find and fix hidden subterranean leaks across the city.
With his new charity Merry-Gold Water, the prince hopes to give something back to the community he left behind.
Adenuga held a virtual charity launch on Saturday where he invited people from Nigeria, friends from America and Ireland, and some from Thames Water.
The charity aims to raise an initial £20,000 to provide clean drinking water in rural and vulnerable communities in Lagos.
He wants to create boreholes with taps that everyone in the community can access.
Adenuga said a lot of his friends do not know his heritage because he is a private person, according to Daily Mail.
He added: “But this charity that I have launched will be a big surprise to them. I have not even told my brother, who is the king, what we are planning.
“I am very proud of that heritage, but in England I am just a leakage engineer and I love what I do.
“But you cannot forget your roots and I want to give something back.”
Adenuga is married and has five children.
