Chief (Dr.) Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye, OON

A Man and His Footprints

                                                           

Chief (Dr.) Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye,OON was born on 7^th September 1940 to Pa Joseph Osunkeye of  Ijemo, Abeokuta and Mama (Chief) Dorcas Taiwo Osunkeye, Otun Iya-Ijo of African Church, Ifako-Agege both of blessed memory.  On this auspicious occasion of his 70^th Birthday, we are gathered here in joyous mood to thank God, celebrate and honour a prominent Son of Nigeria, who has been an achiever and a role model for this generation. We are not here because of his great industrial achievements and influence that are many and far reaching. Neither are we here because of his wealth, though we know him as a man of considerable means. We are here because he is one of those rare breed that continues to strengthen our faith that there is hope and bright future for our dear country Nigeria

Chief Osunkeye’s modest background notwithstanding, by the grace of God and by dint of hard work, he has become a pathfinder and beacon to many who want to be successful in business and in service to humanity.  Chief Osunkeye is the Chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc,   Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria Chapter, Home & You Limited, and Pilot Securities Ltd (a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange).  

In 1999, Chief Osunkeye was requested by the International Chamber of Commerce Headquarters in Paris, to revive the Nigeria Chapter. He has piloted the ICC Nigeria since then, as the Chairman and together with other members of the Board, he has taken the Chamber to greater heights. On the 10^th Anniversary of the ICC Nigeria, Chief Osunkeye received letter of commendation from the Chairman at the ICC, International Headquarters in Paris that “……under your leadership, the Nigerian National Committee has become one of the most active ICC Committees on the African continent…., allow me to congratulate you for your dynamism, creativity and courage in defending the ideals of the International Chamber of Commerce”.

Chief (Dr.) Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye,OON has a long list of honours, which are genuine acknowledgement of his contributions to the society. He holds a Doctor of Science Degree in Agriculture, (Honoris Causa), from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, UNAAB.  He is an honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (FNIPR), honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, FNIFST, Distinguished Merit Awardee of the University of Ibadan Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, Outstanding Volunteer Awardee from FATE Foundation for voluntary work as Instructor, Consultant and Mentor to Nigerian youths seeking, through the Foundation, to alleviate poverty and create wealth, and also ICAN Merit Awardee from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria for outstanding contribution to the Accountancy profession.

In addition to these, Chief Osunkeye is a Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, London (FCCA), Fellow, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), Fellow, Institute of Directors, London, Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Management, (FNIM), Fellow, Institute of Directors Nigeria.  He was also a member of Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, (ICAN) 1977 to 1978.  He was Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ikeja branch 1995 - 1996, and at national level, National Vice President of MAN), Member of Council and Honorary Life Vice President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Foundation member of Council of the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (1982 to 1994), Chairman, Nigerian Accounting Standards Board  1987 to 1990, He was appointed  by  the Federal   Minister of Trade to represent Nigerian Associations of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture, NACCIMA, on the Federal Government 1986 Import License Allocation Committee, member of the Board of International Accounting Standards Committee, IASC, London, 1984 to 1987 as a representative of ICAN, Nigeria, member of the Advisory Committee on Industrial and Agricultural development in Ogun State, May to July 1985, Chairman of the M.A.N. Joint working party to advise on Industrial policy of the Lagos State Government in 1987, member of the Consultative Assembly on the review of Company Law 1988 to 1989, member of the committee for the N100 million National Appeal Fund for Sports Development in 1988. 

He is a Past President of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the umbrella organisation of employers in the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria.  He was the Chairman (2002 – 2009) of the Director Development Committee of the Institute of Directors, dealing with corporate governance issues and best practice for Directors. He served as an external member of the Senate of the University of Lagos (2002 - 2007), where he received an Award of Excellence in recognition of his immense contributions to the emergence of Entrepreneurial Studies in the University of Lagos. He is a member of the Governing Council of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo and he is a Facilitator at the Lagos Business School of the Pan-African University.

Chief Osunkeye’s road to greatness started in 1954 when he was admitted to the King’s College, Lagos. He left King’s College in 1958 and started professional Accountancy training with Messrs Akintola Williams and Co. in 1959.  Two years later, he attended the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan (NCAST) for intermediate Professional Accountancy examination. He devoted another two years to professional training at another respected firm, Peat Marwick, Cassleton, Elliot and Co. He also attended the famous College of Commerce, Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England, where he studied for his final professional examinations in Accountancy.

In 1965, he passed the final exams of Association of Certified and Corporate Accountants, ACCA.  He also passed the finals of the UK Institute of Taxation. It was a double victory. Chief Osunkeye worked briefly in the United Kingdom with a leading firm of Chartered Accountants. He later returned to Nigeria in 1967 and worked for UAC Nigeria. That was the first step of a long and glorious journey that has taken Chief Osunkeye to the height where he is today.

                                                                                                           

At the UAC, Chief Osunkeye distinguished himself as an Accountant, working in many companies owned by the conglomerate. He joined Nestle Nigeria Plc (formerly Food Specialities) as Management Accountant in February 1972 and was promoted to Divisional Manager status as Finance and Administration Manager on 1^st November 1972. He was appointed an Executive Director of the company on 1^st January 1973, in charge of Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budgets, Distribution, Personnel, Supplies and Administrative Services.  He was at the same time Company Secretary from November 1972 to July 7 1979. In order to gain International experience and exposure he went on transfer and secondment in September 1978 to Nestle affiliated companies in the Far East, working in Malaysia and the Philippines. Following a brief spell in Nigeria, he was off again to Nestle International Headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, attached to the Instant Drinks Department for three months. During this period, he went on familiarization visits to Nestle facilities in West Germany, France and England. In further preparation for future responsibilities, he attended the 19-week Programme for Executive Development at the world famous International Management Development Institute (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He returned to Nigeria in December 1980 and was appointed Deputy Managing Director and Head of Marketing Division with an onerous task of implementing the reorganization of the Sales and Marketing structure of the company.

By June 1988, Chief Osunkeye was promoted Managing Director of Nestle Foods Nigeria Plc and in 1991, he took full charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive. Eight years later, the Egba Chief bowed out in honour as he retired voluntarily. And in acknowledgement of his leadership qualities, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company with effect from June 1999, a position he still holds till today.

Indeed, Osunkeye is a stickler for excellence and hardwork. This shows in his record of performance. During his 27 years service at Nestle he facilitated the building of a modern manufacturing complex at Agbara Industrial Estate. He also supervised the construction of one of the largest Distribution Complex in Nigeria at Otta for dispatch of products to all parts of the nation.  He persuaded Nestle to go into large-scale farming and developed a 1000 hectares farm under cultivation, off Kaduna-Abuja Road, where Soya beans, maize and sorghum were planted to supply the Agbara Factory. The company trained about 70 contract farmers and many more out-growers who are still supplying Nestle factories with Soya beans, Sorghum and Maize. He also supervised the construction of a Sorghum Malt Extract factory to substitute local Sorghum for imported Malt Extract, thereby saving Nigeria $40 million annually in foreign exchange as at 1990. As the MD/CEO, Chief Osunkeye built another factory, also in Agbara Industrial Estate costing N500 million in 1996 to utilize local Soya beans to produce Enzymatic Hydrolyzed Plant Protein Mix in substitution for imported basic raw material for Maggi Cube. Nestle is presently making further substantial investments, building a new factory on a 36 hectare land on the Abeokuta/Shagamu Expressway, in Ogun State.

For this 70-year-old chartered accountant and industry guru, life is an avenue of service to humanity. The window of opportunity offered by Nestle Nigeria Plc was judiciously utilized. Under Chief Osunkeye’s leadership, Nestle donated N250 million to the International Federation of Red Cross Society for a focused HIV/AIDS Youth education programme in Nigeria.  The company also promoted Nutrition education in Nigeria through the Maggi Women Forum, Nestle Nutrition Duchess Club, Nestle Nutrition Secondary School Competition, and sponsorship of international workshop on Nutritional rickets. Other contributions include the promotion of Sustainable Agriculture Initiative in Nigeria through collaborative research on improved soyabean varieties with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB).  For this purpose, Nestle has donated over N30million to UNAAB in the collaborative effort to improve soya beans yields and production by local farmers in the South West region to enable them have stable, sustainable income, and thus improve quality of life of rural farm families. Nestle is also involved in a joint venture with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan on cowpea seedlings with high protein content, the development of sports (basketball, lawn tennis, etc) in Nigeria and the promotion of Nigeria’s food culture through the Annual Maggi National Cooking Competition, Maggi Family Menu and Maggi Sokoyokoto TV Programme.

As Chairman of the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc. (GSK) Chief (Dr.) Osunkeye has steered the policy direction of the Company towards ensuring greater access of Nigerians to better quality pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products while expanding opportunities for Nigerian employees. Under his leadership GlaxoSmithKline has embarked on N20 billion investments to upgrade facilities for manufacturing healthcare products.  This will immediately make GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria a center of manufacturing excellence in Nigeria.

Chief Osunkeye’s focus has been to ensure that the companies that he leads as Chairman of the Board are good corporate citizens of Nigeria, participating in ensuring the betterment of the people, improving the qualities of their lives and showing good examples to other corporate players. For example, in Sabongida Ora, Edo State, GlaxoSmithKline established a Primary Healthcare Centre for vaccination with the aim of meeting the health needs of the underserved people of that community. There are other projects across the length and breath of Nigeria such as the Child Health project in Karu Local Government Area of Nassarawa State of Nigeria, established and funded by GSK in 2003 and the Primary Healthcare Centre in Somolu community in Lagos State, to provide healthcare delivery service to the people of the community. On the average the Centre attends to 150 patients on daily basis.                                  

                                                                                                                                                    

Chief Osunkeye has been on the Board of Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc. for 10 years and he is currently the Chairman of the Board.  In that capacity, he leads the Board in policy formulation, strategy and corporate social responsibility, especially in the area of community development. Lafarge Cement WAPCO, which is currently in the middle of a N70 billion investment in the LAKATABU Cement Project in Ewekoro, has an impressive list of achievements in community development to make life better for its host communities. 

                                                                                               

Some of the life impacting intervention projects of Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc include, the construction of the Accident/Emergency Centre at the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital (OSUTH), Sagamu; donation of a Defibrillator and Incubator (INCA Series) to OSUTH; Construction of a Maternity Centre at Itori, Ewekoro; Construction of boreholes in Sagamu, Iperu, Ewekoro and Ifo Local Governments. Under the guidance of Chief Osunkeye, the economic empowerment provided by Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc by its Lapeleke Electrification Project and provision of street lights, coupled with Construction of Police Stations in Ewekoro and Sagamu as well as motor park for Ewekoro Local Government were worthy of mention.

                                                                                                                   

On the Egba/Ogun State home front, Chief Osunkeye has been involved personally in a number of initiatives. He established in 1991/92 a linkage programme between Nestle and the University of Agriculture Abeokuta to conduct research with a view to growing Soya-beans in the catchment area of UNAAB. After about 4 years, the effort proved a success. Today farmers within UNAAB extension area of Ogun and Oyo States are growing Soya beans with improved yields, which they sell to Nestle and other organizations and thus enhance their economic well-being as well as helping to develop the rural areas. The town and gown concept between Nestle and UNAAB in Soya bean production has impacted positively on the lives of the people in the model extension villages in the South West Region.

In 1998, Chief Osunkeye and Nestle Nigeria donated the “Dr. Osunkeye Food and Nutrition Research Library” to UNAAB.  Chief Osunkeye is one of the first persons to donate two prizes at UNAAB, which are awarded annually to the best graduating students in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management.  Chief Osunkeye pioneered and instituted the first prizes, with N1million to encourage learning, character and pursuit of excellence by the students of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State.  The prizes and awards are to be in the fields of Accounting, Entrepreneurship/Business Administration, and Information and Communication Technology. A life Patron of Abeokuta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Osunkeye donated a Computer System to the Chamber in April 2002, to facilitate the use of information technology. In the same year, he made a donation to provide Computer Systems for the “Dr. Osunkeye Food and Nutrition Research Library” at UNAAB. It is often said that for great men, there is a latent desire to do something of worth, that will leave lasting significance and make life better for others. It is not surprising then that Chief Osunkeye also generously donated towards the building of the Centre For Entrepreneurial Studies of the Pan African University, Ajah Campus and the building of NECA House in Ikeja Business District, Lagos.

                                                                                         

Chief Osunkeye is a donor and co-sponsor of the Egba Science Education Foundation started by Chief Tunde Abudu and a few other prominent sons of Egbaland.  The purpose of the Foundation is to create awareness for Egba sons and daughters to study science and technology as the path to future economic growth and development, so that they are not left behind economically. The above activities and donations demonstrate Chief Osunkeye’s abiding interest in the socio economic progress of Egba and Ogun State as “charity begins at home” as the saying goes.

                                                                                                                                      

It is indeed therefore fitting that a man who has done so much to promote commerce, industry, agriculture, education, entrepreneurship, pursuit of excellence and social services and showed by the very force of his personal example that the best is attainable should be encouraged to do more.  The shoe of Babalaje has always been a large one, considering the line of great men who have gotten this honour before Chief Osunkeye.  Now, they would be very proud, if they know, that a great man and worthy patriot adorns the high ranking prestigious title of Babalaje of Egbaland. There is no doubt that Chief Osunkeye, exempler of this generation, an industrialist of repute, a devoted husband and father, a devout Christian, patriot of Egbaland and Nigeria, would further take this great title to even greater height.

Chief Osunkeye, a Christian by faith and an Anglican by choice, devotes substantial time, talent and treasure to church and religious activities. He is Adviser Plenipotentiary to the Diocesan, Diocese of Lagos West; by that appointment he is a Member of Synod, the Diocesan Board, the Greater Chapter and the Standing Committee of AVMCC. He is a Diocesan Layreader of the Diocese of Lagos West.  He is a Diocesan Altar Server and the 1^st President of the Guild of Altar Servers of the Diocese of Lagos West. In his pursuit of evangelism, he donated his land for building St. Jude’s Anglican Church at Omole, Ikeja  in addition to contributing substantial funds which helped ensure early completion and dedication of the Church by the Lord Bishop of Lagos West Diocese in November 2007. He continues to donate to many other Churches within and outside the Diocese.  He was a member of the Board of Trustees of The Eminent Anglicans Resource Group.  In 2000, the Primate appointed him the Chairman of CHONACO – (acronym for Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion) Property Management and Development Committee presently managing Church House, 29, Marina, Lagos. He was the Chairman (1993-1996) of the Space Development Committee that built the Vining House of AVMCC. He is a Past President of Christian Friends Society. He is a member of the Torchbearers Society and the Anglican Youth Fellowship of AVMCC.  He is a Patron of the Choir and Patron of three Societies in AVMCC.  He is a recipient of the Meritorious Award of Honour of the Diocese of Lagos West, Cathedral Silent Eminent Donor Awardee by the Cathedral of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta; recipient of Episcopal Commendation of Egba Diocese, and a Centurion Fellow of Remo Anglican Diocese. Chief Osunkeye and his wife Chief (Mrs.) Osunkeye participated in GAFCON held in Jerusalem, Israel in June 2008.

On the social scene, Chief Osunkeye is a member of many prestigious Clubs starting with the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos, Lagos Dining Club, the Island Club, Lagos, Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, Abeokuta Club, The Club (Sheraton), member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Ikeja. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.

Married in 1965, Chief Osunkeye has enjoyed a happy home traceable to the faithful support and unflinching prayers of his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Abosede Modupe Osunkeye (nee Soyoye). Like the Babalaje himself, Chief (Mrs.) Osunkeye is also from Ijemo and their marriage has been fruitful and value adding as evident by the fruit of the union. Chief (Mrs.) Osunkeye, the Otun Iyalode of Ijemo and the Atayese of Ake Christians, is an industrious woman and the mother of five lovely children, who are all doing well in their chosen professions spanning Banking, Accountancy and Stockbroking, Pharmacy, Marketing and Law. Now that she is a grandmother, many times over, she is devoting more of her time to charity work and to Christian evangelism as a licensed Diocesan Layreader of the Church of the Diocese of Lagos West, (Anglican Communion).

In recognition of his significant contributions, through the private sector, to the industrial, commercial and agricultural development of the country, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye was honoured with the National Honours Award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2003 by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.       

To God be the Glory.

                                   

Chief (Dr.) Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye, OON