Encomium
+ Highlights the icon’s achievements
The Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), in Lagos, on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, organised a colloquium in honour of the Founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Otunba (Dr) Olasubomi Balogun. Tied to its 11th CVL Leadership without Title (LWT) Sector Leadership Tributes series entitled The Advance of African Capital, the event was packaged by Prof. Pat Utomi led CVL to recognise the numerous achievements of Otunba Balogun as a true pioneer in the Nigerian financial services sector, following his 80th birthday celebration which held recently.
According to Prof. Utomi, Otunba Balogun was not the first Nigerian to set up a financial service venture. In the 1920s, several Nigerians did and they all failed. In the 1950s, there was a repeat of those experiences resulting in the Central Banking Ordinances of the 1950s that typically shut out indigenous banking entrepreneurs until First City Merchant Bank came along.
The City Securities, an initiative of Otunba Balogun, the precursor to First City Merchant Bank, would really be the first ever sustained enterprise initiative in modern financial services in Nigeria. This credit, goes to Olori Omo-Oba Akile, Ijebu, Otunba M. O. Balogun, the first Nigerian to set-up an ultra-modern specialist child care in the magnitude of Otunba Tunwase National Paediatric Centre.
The event which had industry egg-heads in attendance, discussed The Advance of African Capital, featuring Dr. Alex Otti, Group Managing Director/CEO, Diamond Bank Plc, Prof. Adedoyin Soyibo, a professor of Economics and distinguished service fellow, Mr. Fred B. Olayele, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Canada Forum as well as Mrs. Eileen Shaiyen, Founder/CEO H. Pierson and Mr. Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce as panelists.
Also in attendance among other prominent dignitaries included a member of the Board of First City Monument Bank Limited, Dr Paul Udofa, the ED, Lagos/South West, Mr. Olufemi Bakre, ED Service Management and Technology, Mr. Nath Ude, the Div. Head, Human Resources, Felicia Obozuwa, as well as the Group Head, Marketing and Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Kalu, just to mention a few.
