TOP NIGERIAN BUSINESS LEADERS WHO SUCCEEDED THEIR FATHERS

Top Nigerian Business Leaders Who Succeeded Their Fathers

Most successful entrepreneurs, politicians, musicians or professionals crave for their children to take after them, continue the success story and carry on the family legacy. However, to the chagrin of some of the greats, their children or wards simply don’t take interest in their parents’ careers. For some who do they just couldn’t replicate their parents’ success or continue the family winning streak.

The following are a few of the successful business leaders in Nigeria across various sectors who have with stringent trainings, hard work and unwavering commitment succeeded their parents and are excelling, with some even doing better than the old hands. 

Samad Rabiu

Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu CON is a Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist born 60 years ago in Kano State, north western part of Nigeria.

His late father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, was one of Nigeria’s foremost industrialists in the 1970s and 1980s. But after Samad studied at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, he returned to Nigeria at the age of 24 in 1985 to oversee the family business.

This was when his father, Isyaku Rabiu, was being detained by the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly not paying rice import duties.

But Samad has taken the business legacy to another level currently worth over $3.2billion USD as the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate concentrating on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture and producing revenue in excess of $2.5 billion.

The BUA Group now has 7 subsidiaries across key areas of human needs namely BUA Sugar, BUA Oils, BUA Cement, BUA Ports and Terminals and BUA Estate.

He is also the chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI) and has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.

Just recently, Samad Rabiu led BUA Group launched $100m Yearly Fund for Social Development, donated N200 million to Sokoto State University towards the construction of an ICT faculty building; donated 1.35 billion Naira to CACOVID to support the fight against the deadly virus as well as the donation of 100million Naira to the Kebbi State Government to support victims of the recent flooding in the state. Samad has turn out to be even more successful than his father and he is living on the family legacy.

Ladi Balogun

Ladipupo Oluwaseunfunmi Balogun popularly known as Ladi Balogun is the Group Chief Executive Officer of First City Monument Bank Group, Chairman FCMB Pensions Limited and Chairman Credit Direct Limited.

He was formerly Managing Director of the FCMB Bank before moving up the ladder as Group Managing Director in 2017 while Adam Nuru assumed his former role.

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Interestingly, the business that grew into the banking giant that is now known as the First City Group was founded by his father, Otunba Subomi Balogun in 1982 as a private limited liability and later granted a banking license on 11 August 1983. It was the first bank to be established in Nigeria without government or foreign support, thanks to Chief Alex Ekwueme – the then Nigeria’s Vice President.

Otunba Subomi ran the company successfully first as a merchant bank and later as a full scale commercial bank which was listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2004 and also in the United Kingdom.

Ladi, the first son and scion of the Balogun aristocratic dynasty joined the business in 1996 as Managing Director while the father was Chairman. Since Ladi took over the leadership of the Bank from his father the Company has grown in leaps and bounds, even acquiring other underfunded banks.

Now 87 years old and retired, an elated Otunba Subomi Balogun, the highly revered banker was full of praises for his beloved son publicly calling him “a worthy successor to his banking empire” at a dinner by the Harvard Business Alumni in Lagos recently.

Ladi’s success didn’t come easy – it was a combination of training, hard work and effective leadership which helped him take the banking group to enviable heights. Ladi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom in 1993 and an MBA from Harvard Business School, United States of America in 2000.

He began his banking career in 1993 at Morgan Grenfell and Co Limited and worked at Citibank in New York before returning to Nigeria as an Executive Assistant to the Chairman / Chief Executive of First City Merchant Bank Limited (which later became Plc) in 1996. He currently has over 20 years’ experience in commercial and investment banking in Europe, the United States of America and Africa.

As a financial service industry leader and technology enthusiast, he led the transformation of the family owned merchant bank to a prominent commercial bank currently with 4 million customers and about 4,000 employees.

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He initiated and led the establishment of two successful subsidiaries: a leading consumer finance business and a UK banking operation.

Both during his time as bank’s Chief Executive Officer between 1996 and 2017 and as Group CEO since 2017 till date, Ladi has been overseeing the non-operating holding company, FCMB Group Plc, steering its digital transformation and pursuing interests in investing for social, environmental and economic transformation.

In 2001, the name of the bank was changed from First City Merchant Bank to First City Monument Bank following the bank’s transformation to a universal bank. He has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.

Under his leadership and with his father’s support, not only is the bank well capitalised as required by regulators but in February 2012, following regulatory approvals, FCMB acquired 100% shareholding and began the integration of Finbank in its existing operations.

FCMB is worth NGN: 181.2 billion with total assets worth N1.7 trillion (as at December 2019) from a mere merchant bank 39 years ago.

Obafemi Adedamola Otudeko Jnr.

Obafemi, a chartered accountant and successful business leader, is the son of the famous business mogul, Oba Otudeko. Obafemi is the Managing Director of Honeywell Group Limited (HGL), providing strategic direction and oversight of the Group’s portfolio companies and investments, smoothly driving the family business following his father’s path.

Obafemi was earlier the Executive Director at the Group where led the Group Corporate Development and was responsible for its comprehensive transformation into a world class admired company. He also coordinated the Group’s efforts in the completion, capital raising, and opening of the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos.

He had joined the Honeywell Group in 2003 as Senior Manager, Projects (Oil & Gas), and in his over seventeen-year career at the Group, has led several key initiatives. In addition to his responsibilities at HGL, he is a non-executive director at First Bank of Nigeria, Honeywell Flour Mills, and Anchorage Leisures. He also previously served as a non-executive director of Airtel Nigeria where he had garnered cognate experience which he now brings to bear on the family business.

He brings to bear at the family business his experience during his time at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he led and managed various audit and consultancy engagements for major banks and non-bank financial institutions in Nigeria, as well as other special projects. He has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.

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He obtained his BA (Hons) in Accountancy Studies from the University of Huddersfield, UK and is a qualified chartered accountant, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), an alumnus of the London Business School, and a member of the UK Energy Institute.

He has completed several executive education programmes on corporate leadership, general management, and corporate finance, and is an alumnus of the London Business School and INSEAD Business School. A member of the UK Energy Institute, Obafemi was also the second Vice President of the Nigerian Gas Association between 2011 and 2015.

Married with two children, he is a keen horse rider and polo player, as well as an avid literature and football fan.

Bella Adenuga

Bella Disu (nee Adenuga) is a 34 year old versatile business leader following the path of her billionaire father, Chief Mike Adenuga Jnr. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston with a BA in arts. She is currently studying at the North Eastern University for an MS in Leadership.

Bella is a Group Executive Director at Globacom, a position she has held since June 2004, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Cobblestone Properties. She was also appointed to the board of Julius Berger Plc on June 30, 2017. He has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.

Bella is an integral part of the team managing the Globacom family business with her experience across various boardrooms.

Mr. Olakunle Ade-Ojo

Olakunle Ade Ojo is the son of billionaire, Michael Ade Ojo, synonymous with the Toyota brand in Nigeria.

Olakunle is the Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Ltd. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Reading, and also holds an M.Sc in Automotive Product Engineering from Cranfield University, both in the United Kingdom.

He returned to Nigeria as the Business and Strategic Development Manager of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited and rose through the ranks to manage the family business. And so far, he is doing a good job of it. He was an Executive Director at Toyota Nigeria Limited until his appointment as the Managing Director of the company. He has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.

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Aminu Babangida

Aminu is the son of Nigeria’s former military Head of State, retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Aminu attended Regents Business School and Westminster Business School in London where he obtained a BA in International Business and an MA in International Business Management respectively. He has worked on the trading floor of Trafigura BV, London, UK and was appointed to the board of Unity Bank Plc in 2011.

His appointment as the Chairman of Unity Bank makes him the country’s youngest bank Chairman ever. He is also the Co-founder of Phoenix Energy. Though General Babagida is known more as a military head, his son represents the family interests in the business space. He has been one of the top Nigerian business leaders.