By
J.K. Randle
Two ‘Area Boys’, By J.K. Randle
Let us now pause and dwell on what Harvard University has to say regarding the subject matter:
“I tried finding out if there’s such 75 years longitudinal study correlating success in life with childhood chores.”
Answer: Yes — but it’s not a single “Harvard chores study”. The claim comes from two different Harvard-affiliated sources that get mixed up:
First, the Harvard Study of Adult Development/Grant Study.
This is the 80+ year longitudinal study people usually mean: Started in 1938, tracking 724 Harvard students and later their children.
It found that “love and work ethic” were the two biggest predictors of adult happiness and success.
Researchers linked early work ethic to childhood chores. Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Stanford Dean, cited the study in her 2016 TED Talk, saying “Professional success in life comes from having done chores as a kid, and the earlier you started, the better”.
The study itself didn’t publish a paper specifically on chores. Lythcott-Haims pulled that insight from the broader data on work ethic.
Secondly, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011.
This is the actual study that directly tested chores and outcomes: 9,971 U.S. children followed from kindergarten 2010-2011 to 3rd grade.
It found that frequency of chores in kindergarten was positively associated with self-competence, prosocial behaviour, academic ability, peer relationships, and life satisfaction in 3rd grade, even after controlling for sex, family income, and parent education.
Kids who rarely did chores had higher odds of scoring in the bottom 20 per cent on those measures.
Published in Journal of Developmental & Behavioural Paediatrics in 2018.
This study is often misattributed to “Harvard” because it’s widely cited by Harvard’s Making Caring Common project.
There’s no single Harvard paper titled “chores and life success”, but both sources support the idea:
Grant Study: 80+ years of data linking work ethic developed in childhood to later success.
ECLS-K study: Direct longitudinal data showing kids who did chores in kindergarten had better self-competence and academic outcomes three years later.
Both suggest giving kids responsibilities and chores correlates with better self-efficacy, prosocial behaviour, and work ethic later in life. Correlation ≠ causation, but the pattern holds across datasets.”
This should galvanise us to cast our net beyond Professor J.T.K. Duncan and Professor J.T. Da Rocha-Afodu – to beam the searchlight on the rest of Nigeria.
Let us start with Mr Ernest Sisei Ikoli, who was a pioneer student (1909) of King’s College, Lagos. He chose journalism as his career path to greatness. Although he was an Ijaw from Twon-Brass/Nembe Area (present-day Bayelsa State), he made his name big time in politics with Lagos as his base. He was only 33 years old when he became the first editor of “The Daily Times of Nigeria in June 1926. He is remembered as one of Nigeria’s first-generation nationalists who used journalism and politics to push for Nigeria’s Independence on October 1, 1960. Sadly, he died three weeks later at the age of 67. He was buried in Lagos. His widow was formerly Mrs Fani-Kayode, the mother of Chief Remi Fani-Kayode (ex-King’s College, Lagos; and ex-University of Cambridge) who later became the Deputy Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria.
As for Dr Taslim Olawale Elias (1914 to 1991), he attended Model Primary School in Isale Eko Area, Lagos and proceeded to Igbobi College, Yaba. He studied law at University College, London and obtained his LLB in 1946; LLM in 1947 and PhD in 1949 – becoming the first African to get a PhD in law from London University. He was the key record-time drafter of Nigeria’s 1960 Independence constitution.
Elias obtained both his Master’s and doctorate in record time.
During the Second World War, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He was a research fellow from 1954 to 1960 at Nuffield College/Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University. He was Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1972 to 1975. His crowning achievement was to serve as the first African President of the International Court of Justice (in the Hague, Netherlands) from 1982 – 1985. One of his sons – Taoheed Olufemi Elias has followed in his footsteps and is currently serving as a judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice.
The family house of Justice Sir Olumuyiwa Jibowu (1899 to 1959) is still in the Apongbon/Offin Area of Lagos. He was actually born in Abeokuta (Ogun State), cf and it was from Abeokuta Grammar School that he gained admission to study Civil Law at Oxford University in 1919. He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple, London in 1923. He was expected to become Nigeria’s first indigenous Chief Justice in 1958, but a petition blocked it and the post went to Sir Adetokunbo Ademola. His wife, Lady Deborah Jibowu of Ido-Ile Ekiti, Ekiti State, was a teacher at King’s College, Lagos from 1949 to 1950.
Unknown to most people, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (“Zik”) could with some justification claim to be an Area Boy from Lagos. He grew up and lived at 146, Bamgbose Street, Lagos (Popo Aguda Area) while attending Methodist Boys High School, before proceeding to Lincoln University/Storer College, Columbia University in the United States of America.
He spoke Yoruba fluently. He was actually born on November 16, 1904, in Zungeru (now Niger State), but he was of Igbo origin, from Onitsha, Anambra State.
He was Nigeria’s first President and one of the most important figures in Nigeria’s independence movement.
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe (November 16, 1904 – May 11, 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the first native governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism as well as one of the major driving forces behind the country’s independence in 1960.
Azikiwe founded a newspaper, the West African Pilot, and later co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon, a political party of which he was the secretary and later president. He was elected into both the Western and Eastern Houses of Representatives, and later became Premier of the Eastern Region (1952-59).
Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, politician and one of the founders of modern Nigeria, was born at Zungeru, the son of a clerk. Azikiwe was educated in Nigeria and the United States.
In 1937, Azikiwe founded a newspaper, the West African Pilot, and later co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon, a political party of which he was the secretary and later president. He was elected into both the Western and Eastern Houses of Representatives, and later became Premier of the Eastern Region (1952-59). At the Federal level, he served as Senate President, Governor-General (1960-1963) and later President (1963-1966). Azikiwe is best remembered for his commitment to the Nigerian nation.
In 1937, Azikiwe returned to Nigeria and worked as an editor and essayist before getting directly involved in politics. He became a member of the Legislative Council in 1948, and he later served as premier of the Eastern region (1954–59). At independence from Britain in 1960, Azikiwe became Governor-General of the Nigerian Federation, and President in 1963, when the country was declared a republic.
In the Nigerian-Biafran civil War, from May 1967 to January 1970, Azikiwe first backed his fellow Igbo, travelling extensively in 1968 to win recognition for Biafra and to ask for help from other African countries. However, in 1969, realising the hopelessness of the war, he threw his support behind the federal government in favour of a united Nigeria.
From 1978-1983, Azikiwe led the Nigeria People’s Party; he was its candidate in the presidential elections of 1979 and 1983. He retired from politics in 1986.
In addition to being an important figure in the history of Nigerian politics, Azikiwe had broad interests outside that realm. He served as chancellor of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka from 1961 to 1966, and he was the president of several sports organisations for football, boxing, and table tennis.
Two former “Olori Ebi” (Head of the Family) of the Tinubu family deserve mention. Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu grew up at 21, Ricca Street, Lagos (Oke Popo Area). He lived with his uncle Disu (“Brother Loco” who had retired from the Nigerian Railways Locomotive (“Loco”) Corporation. The Ashimi family lived in the same house. Dr Jide Idris (ex-King’s College, Lagos and Harvard University), former Lagos State Permanent Secretary, and later Commissioner for Health, is the nephew of Alhaji K.O. Tinubu. His late mother, Biola, was the sister of Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu. Also, the current Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu (ex-St. Gregory’s College, Obalende), is the grandson of Disu. From the same household, Lateef Ashimi attended Ahmadiyya College, Agege and proceeded to the University of London where he obtained a master’s degree (LLM) in Law.
Perhaps I should add that Alhaji K.O. Tinubu, who died twenty years ago, was also the uncle of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Across the road was Kola Ishola-Bankole who attended St. Gregory’s College and thereafter proceeded to the United States of America where he studied architecture. On his return, he set up an architectural firm with Dr Alex Ekwueme. Right from his teenage years and adulthood, K.O. Tinubu was a very diligent student. He attended Methodist Boys’ High School but remained a very devout Muslim. He joined the police and rose rapidly. He attended the University of London and obtained a master’s degree (LL.M) in law. He served as the commissioner of police for the entire Western Region (now Oyo; Oshun; Ekiti; Ondo and Ogun States) as well as Minister of Health during the Murtala/Obasanjo regime.
Just five minutes’ walk from Ricca Street, Adekunle Lawal, who was a contemporary of Kafaru Tinubu at Methodist Boys’ High School, lived on Tokunbo Street, Lagos. Adekunle Lawal joined the Nigerian Navy and rose to the rank of Commodore. He was the Military Governor of Lagos State from July 1975 to 1977.
After MKO Abiola, being the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, declared himself as the President of Nigeria in 1994 at Epetedo in Lagos, the military launched a massive hunt all his apostles, the king of which was Bola Tinubu. After the arrest of MKO Abiola, Tinubu and others were declared wanted by the Federal government, and ransom was placed on their heads. The military wanted to charge them for Treason!
Tinubu went underground. His Uncle, a senior police officer, Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu, was worried. Nobody knew where Tinubu hid. However, Tinubu suspected that his family members would be in agony and fearful for his life. He decided to show his face to his family members to keep their hearts at peace and then return underground. He went to Alhaji Kafaru, who was extremely happy to see him. It was a sigh of relief for Tinubu’s family. Kafaru, being a senior Policeman, advised Tinubu not to go underground again. He said, “Ahmed, you can’t hide forever from the Federal Government. They’ll get you, but they may kill you and lie that you were trying to escape or using force against security agents. Therefore, report yourself at a police station; even if they kill you at the police station, we will all know that it is the Federal government that killed you. Please do as I say”.
Tinubu walked into a police station in Lagos, introduced himself and said he had come to surrender himself, being a wanted man by the Military Junta. Immediately, the policemen on duty started charging their guns and shouting “move move” as if he was caught. A man who reported himself.
Tinubu was locked up in a small cell meant for four people, but which was now occupied, with inclusion of Tinubu, by over 30! Tinubu saw some of his colleagues who he didn’t know had earlier been arrested. Beginning of hell for a Mobil Executive who had chosen a different path for himself!
After several months in Prison, a judge approved the bail of some pro democracy activists. Bola Tinubu was one of them. The judge is now today’s Emir of Ilorin. The military junta was mad at the judge, especially for releasing Tinubu. They plotted a final blow for him.
Tinubu had information not to go to his house immediately after he was released. You know Tinubu’s family in Lagos is one of the best families on earth. They never took their eyes off their son. So Tinubu didn’t go to his house to sleep the night he was released. He went elsewhere. That same night, his house was bombed! Alas! Following a tip-off, Tinubu took the NADECO route and escaped to the Benin Republic.
Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu was the man who took Tinubu to all Progressive leaders in Lagos in 1989 when Tinubu first told him about his mission to join politics. Kafaru handed Tinubu over to people like Tajudeen Olusi and others to guide and support “Bi oju ba ye oju ki ohun ma ye o, Bola d’owo yin o”. And even after Kafaru’s death, Progressives in Lagos never betrayed the Tinubu Family.
Alhaji Kafaru Tinubu, the seed you planted in 1989 in politics has grown beyond the Senate or governorship, which you witnessed; he has now become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 🇳🇬. Certainly, you will be happy in paradise as you’re reading this.
Twenty years ago, just like yesterday. Rest in Peace Baba Kafaru Tinubu.
He died in October 2003.
Another “Olori Ebi” of the Tinubu family was Alhaji K.A.B. Olowu, who was from Isale-Eko Area. He attended C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos, followed by Loughborough University, England, where he trained in sports. He was an outstanding sportsman and later became the sports master at King’s College, Lagos. As fate would have it, he was the captain of the Nigerian Team to the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia in 1956 while my father, Chief J.K. Randle, was the Chef-de-Mission. After leaving King’s College, Alhaji K.A.B. Olowu joined the Nigerian Prison Service and rose to the rank of Superintendent. He was in charge of Agodi Prisons, in Ibadan, Western Region. One of the inmates was Lt-Colonel Juventus C. Ojukwu who was my classmate at King’s College. He was in detention over allegations that he participated in the 15 January 1966 coup d’etat. Alhaji K.A.B. took great care of him.
Perhaps I should add that the Tinubu family house at Kakawa Street, Lagos was only a stone’s throw from Campos Square.
Olowu was born in Lagos, Nigeria on 7 June 1924 to B. M. S. Olowu and R. A. Olowu (née Tinubu). He is the first grandson of Madam Tinubu and Saka Tinubu, part of a wealthy Yoruba family. He attended Saint Paul’s Primary School, Breadfruit Street, Lagos, where in 1936 he began his sporting career. He represented his school in the Empire Day Athletics in commemoration of the British Empire Day, which was celebrated in Britain and its colonies before the independence of Nigeria in 1960. He later attended CMS Grammar School, Lagos, where he was the sports prefect (Prefectus Ludorum). He started working as a civil servant before he won a Federal Government scholarship to study Physical Education at Loughborough College, Leicestershire, England in 1952. He graduated with honours in 1955.
Olowu was among the first group of Nigerians to participate in the Olympic Games. He represented the country twice at the Olympics in 1952 and 1956, respectively, in the long jump and relay race. He also took part in the Commonwealth Games of 1950, 1954 and 1958. He won silver medals in the long jump and sprint relay at the 1958 edition.
Olowu served in athletics in many other capacities. He was a prominent member of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria for several years. He was an official at the 8th Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica in 1966. He was the Nigerian team manager to the 1976 Summer Olympics, Montréal, Canada. All the African countries eventually boycotted the Canadian games because of the presence of the then apartheid South Africa at the games. He served as the chairman of the Lagos State Sports Council. He was the chief starter at the 1973 All-Africa Games held in Lagos, Nigeria. He also served as captain and as a coach of the national teams at various times.
After he retired from his athletics career, Olowu worked in the Nigerian Prison system, but his love for sports was never far behind. He set up the sports complex at the Nigerian Prison in Kirikiri, Lagos, where he worked for some years and set up the then Prisons Athletics Club, which produced many athletes for Nigeria. Olowu was married to Aminat Olowu (née Abina) until her death. He was the Chairman of the Olowu Descendants Union, and he was also the head of the Tinubu Family. He had many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Olowu died on 14 August 2019 at his daughter’s family hospital and was buried the next day according to Muslim rites. He was 95 years old.
I attended the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. I lodged in the same hotel as the United States of America Basketball Team (“The Dream Team). When I bumped into six feet, seven inches tall Hakeem Olajuwon (“The Dream”); the first thing he told me on learning my name was that he was an Area Boy from Isale Eko.
He added that his mother had lost eleven pregnancies before the legendary Dr Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi took her under his wings and consigned her to bed under special care for several months at Massey Street Hospital for children.
A former professional basketball player of dual Nigeria–United States nationality.
Hakeem Olajuwon was born on January 21, 1963, in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a former professional basketball player who held dual Nigerian and American citizenship and played as a centre. His nickname is “The Dream”.
Hakeem Olajuwon attended the University of Houston for college, where he led the Houston Cougars to the Final Four three times. In the 1984 NBA draft, Hakeem Olajuwon was selected by the Houston Rockets with the first overall pick. He played for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors during his career. In the 1993-94 season, Olajuwon, who was named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award winner that season, led the Rockets to an NBA Championship. He became the first player in NBA history to win the regular season MVP, the Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the Finals MVP in the same season. The Rockets won consecutive NBA Championships, defeating the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, and the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O’Neal. During his NBA career, Olajuwon was selected to the NBA All-Star team 12 times, the All-NBA First Team 6 times, the All-NBA Second Team three times, and the All-NBA Third Team 3 times. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice, was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times, and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team four times. He led the league in rebounding twice and in blocks three times. In 1996, Olajuwon won an Olympic gold medal with the USA Dream Team and was named to the 50 Greatest NBA Players of All Time.
On November 9, 2002, Hakeem Olajuwon announced his retirement, and the Rockets retired his No. 34 jersey on the same day. As of 2019, his total career blocks ranked first in league history. On September 1, 2008, Olajuwon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, he was selected to the 75 Greatest NBA Players of All Time.
In 1996, Nigeria made history by becoming the first African nation to win Olympic football gold, defeating Argentina 3–2 in an unforgettable final at the Atlanta Games!
Nigeria twice came from behind in the final to defeat a heavily favoured Argentine side. The winning goal came in the 90th minute when Emmanuel Amuneke scored to seal the victory.
The Dream Team, led by stars like Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, and Emmanuel Amuneke, stunned the world — and paved the way for future African achievements in global football.
A golden moment for Nigeria. A golden moment for Africa.
Nowadays, the names of many of the Nigerian football team that lit up the 1996 Olympic Games are known across the globe: the mercurial talent of Jay-Jay Okocha – so good they named him twice; the languid genius of 1.97m Nwankwo Kanu; the backflip celebrations of Celestine Babayaro – the list goes on.
But before that historic performance in Atlanta, the world was largely unaware of the burgeoning talents of the young Super Eagles.
That doesn’t, however, mean the squad hadn’t already signalled their potential to the world. Keen followers of football would have been aware of the impressive performances of a country whose senior national team had won the 1994 African Cup of Nations, before succumbing 2-1 to eventual runners-up Italy in the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup.
And the truly eagle-eyed football fans would have also made note of the fact that, with the Olympics being essentially a U23 tournament, the members of the Nigerian team who had won the 1993 U17 World Cup in Japan would be coming of age at just the right time.
Even so, this was the Olympics, and the usual suspects would be ready to compete, including the South American giants Argentina and Brazil.
Argentina’s squad for that year’s Games included future legends Hernan Crespo, Javier Zanetti and Matías Almeyda.
Brazil, for their part, could count on an all-star cast that included Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and a certain 19-year-old forward who would go on to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award on three separate occasions.
Olola Olabode Ogunlana, commonly known as F. O. Ogunlana, was born on June 29, 1932, in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, to an educated and culturally conscious Yoruba family. His father, who valued ancestral traditions, insisted that all his children be born in their hometown of Ogere Remo, despite the family residing in Lagos at the Shitta family’s compound on Martins Street.
Shortly after his birth, Ogunlana was taken back to Lagos for his naming ceremony, marking the beginning of his urban upbringing in a diverse colonial-era environment. Ogunlana described his childhood as particularly exciting, shaped by the harmonious coexistence of Muslims and Christians in his community, which fostered values of mutual help, togetherness, and social wellbeing. In 1942, during a wartime evacuation, he spent time in Sagamu, where he learned a traditional Yoruba song emphasising the comforts of home, reflecting early exposure to local customs and resilience amid historical upheavals. This period also sparked his lifelong interest in Scouting; he joined the movement that same year at age 10, drawn to its emphasis on outdoor activities, leadership, and community service, which aligned with the communal values instilled by his family and surroundings.
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has named Olola Frederick Olabode Ogunlana as the winner of its 2025 International Lifetime Achievement Award.
The judges made their selection because of his long-standing contribution to the insurance industry spanning 73 years. He is the author of five books and was one of the founding members of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, West African Insurance Companies Association, African Insurance Organisation and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
His career is also marked by his involvement at Lloyd’s of London, where he was an underwriting member for 10 years. He is deeply involved in various charitable and educational organisations. His passion for youth development is evident through his active participation. Graeme Trudgill, BIBA Chief Executive said: “Olola Frederick Olabode Ogunlana’s exceptional career and lifelong commitment to personal and professional development make him a true pioneer in the insurance industry and an inspiration to many. And he still carries on to this day at the remarkable age of 92.”
In 1978, Olola F. Ogunlana incorporated SCIB Nigeria & Co. Ltd., originally known as Standard Chartered Insurance Brokers Nigeria Limited, as a joint venture between FIM Consultants Limited and Standard Chartered Insurance Brokers Limited (UK). This establishment positioned SCIB as a key player in Nigeria’s insurance brokerage sector during a period of economic transformation, leveraging Ogunlana’s extensive experience in underwriting, broking, and risk management to build a firm focused on professional service delivery.
As chairman and CEO from inception until he retired from executive duties in 2002, Ogunlana oversaw the company’s evolution into a prominent insurance brokerage and consulting firm, guiding its growth amid Nigeria’s evolving regulatory landscape. Under his leadership, SCIB expanded its service offerings to include comprehensive risk advisory and brokerage solutions, adapting to post-indigenisation policies that emphasised local participation in key industries. The firm’s commitment to integrity, knowledge, and corporate governance—core principles instilled by Ogunlana—helped it navigate challenges such as foreign divestments, including Standard Chartered Bank’s global exit from non-banking operations, which led to the adoption of the SCIB name.
Ogunlana’s ongoing role as non-executive chairman has sustained SCIB’s influence, with the company marking its 40th anniversary in 2018 by setting ambitious goals for regional expansion and aiming to become Africa’s leading broker. His vision has contributed to elevating industry standards through emphasis on professional development, aligning with his broader efforts as a founding member and past President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. This legacy has positioned SCIB as a benchmark for ethical practices and training initiatives in Nigerian insurance.
Following his retirement from full-time employment in the insurance industry in 2002, Olabode Ogunlana established and continues to support an insurance training centre in his hometown of Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Initiated in 1985, the centre was originally designed to equip young Nigerians with skills to become chartered insurance practitioners, but it has since broadened to provide management training across various sectors. Now managed by his son, Solanke, the facility remains operational as a community resource for professional development, reflecting Ogunlana’s commitment to youth empowerment through education and skill-building. Ogunlana has also extended his philanthropic efforts to Scouting initiatives on an international scale.
As a longtime board member of the World Scout Foundation, he has contributed to global youth development programmes, leveraging his extensive experience as Nigeria’s former Chief Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of Nigeria and Chairman of the Africa Scout Region to support educational and leadership opportunities for young people worldwide.
His involvement underscores a dedication to fostering moral and practical growth among youth, principles he has championed throughout his life. In community projects, Ogunlana has actively promoted Yoruba culture and heritage as a means of cultural preservation and empowerment. Since the mid-1970s, he has worn traditional Yoruba attire exclusively—even during international engagements, such as meetings with British royalty—to encourage cultural pride among Nigerians, particularly the youth. He has conducted extensive research on Yoruba origins, culminating in ongoing doctoral studies and plans for publications on topics including the historical impacts of the slave trade and contemporary social issues like modern slavery. These efforts aim to educate and empower communities by reinforcing cultural identity and addressing historical injustices.
Born in 1932, Ogunlana demonstrates a commitment to lifelong learning in his later years, returning to formal education after his retirement in 2002 by enrolling in a refresher course in Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts Academy. This pursuit built on his earlier postgraduate studies in the UK and aligned with his cultural research, exemplifying his belief in continuous personal and communal growth even into advanced age.
Born on December 11, 1938, in Oyubia, Akwa Ibom State. Engr. Dr Edet James Amana attended Methodist College, Uzuakoli and King’s College, Lagos, before proceeding to Imperial College, London, where he attained his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (First Class Honours) in 1963/64 and PhD in Structural Engineering later.
On graduation, he worked as a Senior Engineer in the Consulting Office of Flint and Neill and Sir Bruce White Wolfe Barry and Partners Consulting Engineers, both in London between 1966 and 1969. His work in the UK was in General Civil and Structural Engineering Design and Consultancy. Notable among his projects are the 1,000ft. Crystal Palace Television Mast (1966-1968) and his prize-winning design of the Hogarth Temporary Flyover, London. He was also involved in the design of port and harbour works, including the port of Dammam. The Port of Dammam (officially known as King Abdulaziz Port) is located on the coast of the Arabian Gulf in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, roughly 5 nautical miles off the coast and just South of Ras Tanura.
The prominent Nigerian civil engineer Chief Dr Edet James Amana (Engr. Dr E. J. Amana) consulted on the Port of Dammam early in his career, conducting port and harbour structural work before founding the Amana Consortium Limited.
From 1969 to 1972, he was a senior engineer with Shell-BP Petroleum Development Co. Ltd., where he applied his experience to the design of civil engineering facilities for the oil industry.
Amana left Shell BP in 1972 to found the firm of Amana Consortium Limited. The firm has handled the engineering studies, design and contract supervision of various roads, highways, bridges, and building structures all over the country. He was on the team which prepared the Abuja transportation master plan, and his company was responsible for the Transportation studies for the Niger Delta Integrated Regional Master Plan. Amana was a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers Committee for the design of the Second Niger Bridge between Asaba and Onitsha. He became a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in 1981.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management and Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a foundation Fellow and Past President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering. Amana is a past president of the Association of Consulting Engineers Nigeria. He has been honoured by several organisations for his professional achievements, including Merit awards by Nigerian Society of Engineers Uyo and Calabar branches and the Nigerian Society of Engineers 50th Anniversary Distinguished Merit Award.
He was honoured with an honorary Doctorate Degree in Engineering (DSc. Honoris Causa) by the University of Uyo. He is a recipient of Nigeria’s National Honour and decorated with the rank of Officer of the Order of the Niger.
Koleade Adeniji ABAYOMI (S.A.N) was born in Lagos on August 20,1940. He had his education at the C.M.S. Grammar School and King’s College, both in Lagos.
He studied Law at the University of Durham and graduated with LL.B Hons. Thereafter, he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School for the vocational practical training course in October 1965. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1966.
He was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship in October 1966 for postgraduate studies in Law at Clare College, Cambridge. He obtained the postgraduate degree of LL.B (now LLM) at Clare College, Cambridge University in 1967 and a doctorate (PhD) degree from Cambridge in 1970. He was also a scholar at Clare College, Cambridge University and a Commonwealth Scholar at Cambridge University.
Abayomi returned to Nigeria in 1970 to start a lecturing career at the Council of Legal Education, Nigerian Law School. He was first engaged as Lecturer Grade II and later became Secretary to the Council of Legal Education and Director of Administration from 1999-2001. In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Director-General and Head of Lagos Campus of the Nigerian Law School, and he became the Director-General of the school in November 2004.
Kole Abayomi was a member of the Nigeria Constitution Drafting Committee from 1975-1976, Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Board 1976-1979; Vice-Chairman of the Lagos State-owned Ibile Property Corporation between 1976-1979 and Chairman, Lagos State Ibile Holdings 1991-1992.
He was a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law; Co-founder/President, Nigeria Society for Legal Research and Development; member, National Committee on Law and Administration in Nigeria (1981).
He was a member of Metropolitan Club, Ikoyi Club, Lagos Dining Club, and Lagos Luncheon Club, all in Lagos.
Kole Abayomi was conferred with a Chieftaincy title, ‘Otun Iba Isale of Lagos’, by His Royal Highness Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II, the Oba of Lagos, in 1979. His Royal Highness Oba Rilwan Akiolu made him the ‘Baba Isale’ of Lagos in 2005.
Due to his immense contribution to the noble profession and excellence in academia, Dr Kole Abayomi was conferred with the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2005. Not long after, he was decorated with National Honours as an Officer of the Order of the Niger by President Olusegun Obasanjo in December 2005.
He retired from the public service as the Director-General of the Nigeria Law School in November 2005. Being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and because of his love for the Noble Legal Profession, Abayomi decided to go into private legal practice.
His legal publications include: Wills-Laws and Practice, Mbeyi, Lagos 2004; Concepts and Characteristics of Wills in Law of Wills in Nigeria 2001: Contribution in FRA Williams Through The cases, 2001; Students Handbook on Legal Drafting and Conveyancing for Students at the Law School, (Chief Contributor); 2001
He is survived by his wife, six children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie is a former Archbishop of Lagos who has been an influential voice in Nigerian religious and social affairs, critical of both military and civilian governments, and an advocate for social justice, apostolic tradition and good governance.
Born on June 16, 1936, in Lagos, Nigeria, he hails from a royal family of Uromi in Edo State, with his father, Prince Michael Okojie, being the son of King Ogbidi Okojie of Uromi, and his mother, Lucy Adunni Okojie (née Afolabi), of Yoruba descent.
Okogie’s journey in the Church began with his education at various institutions, including Holy Cross School in Lagos, St. Patrick’s School in Sapele, St. Gregory’s College in Lagos, and seminaries in Ibadan. He furthered his studies at Urban University in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in sacred theology.
Ordained a priest on December 11, 1966, Okogie’s early career included serving as a pastoral assistant at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Lagos and as a chaplain in the Nigerian army during the Civil War. He also held positions as an instructor at King’s College and as the Director of Vocations for the Lagos Archdiocese.
Okogie’s rise through the Church hierarchy was swift. He was consecrated as the Titular Bishop of Mascula and Auxiliary Bishop of Oyo in 1971. Just two years later, in 1973, he was appointed Archbishop of Lagos, a position he held until his retirement in 2012.
Throughout his career, Cardinal Okogie has been an influential voice in Nigerian religious and social affairs. He served as President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and led the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria from 1994 to 2000. Known for his outspoken nature, he has been a vocal critic of both military and civilian governments, advocating for social justice and good governance.
On October 21, 2003, Pope John Paul II elevated Okogie to the rank of cardinal, making him the third Nigerian priest to receive this honour. As a Cardinal, he participated in the conclaves that elected both Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope Francis in 2013.
Cardinal Okogie has been recognised for his contributions to religious harmony and social justice, receiving awards such as the Hallmarks of Labour Role Model Award. Even in retirement, he remains a respected figure in the Nigerian Catholic Church and continues to be a voice for social conscience and positive change.
Unknown to most Nigerians, Okogie and the late Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, a devout Muslim, were first cousins.
Alex Ekwueme was born to Igbo parents in Oko Town, in present-day Anambra State, on October 21, 1932. He died on November 19, 2017, at a clinic in London. He had to be flown there after his relapse to a coma, which he fell into as a result of his fall in his Enugu residence.
Ekwueme started primary school at the St John’s Anglican Central School, at Ekwulobia, then he proceeded to King’s College, Lagos. As an awardee of the Fulbright Scholarship in the United States of America (being one of the first Nigerians to gain the award), He attended the University of Washington where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and city planning.
He obtained his master’s degree in urban planning. Ekwueme also earned degrees in sociology, history, philosophy and law from the University of London. He later proceeded to obtain a PhD in Architecture from the University of Strathclyde, before gaining a BL (honours) degree from the Nigerian Law School.
Ekwueme was a distinguished architect. He started his professional career as an Assistant Architect with a Seattle-based firm, Leo A. Daly and Associates, and with the London-based firm Nickson and Partners. On his return to Nigeria, he joined ESSO West Africa, Lagos, overseeing the construction and maintenance department.
He then went on to create a successful private business with his firm – Ekwueme Associates, Architects and Town Planners, the first indigenous architectural firm in Nigeria. His practice flourished with 16 offices spread all over Nigeria and was wound up in preparation for Ekwueme assuming office as the first executive vice president of Nigeria. Ekwueme had presided over the Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria.
He was chairman of the board of trustees of the Nigerian Institute of Architects. Before Ekwueme gained national and international limelight as the vice president of Nigeria in 1979, he was actively involved in the socio-economic development of his community. In addition to his many public service roles within his community, Ekwueme started an active Educational Trust Fund that has been responsible for sponsoring the education of several hundred youths to universities in Nigeria and abroad. Ekwueme was a member of the housing sub-committee of the Adebo Salaries and Wages Review Commission in 1971. He also served for many years on the board of the Anambra State Housing Development Authority.
Ekwueme was the first elected Vice President of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983 during the Second Nigerian Republic, serving under President Shehu Shagari as a member of the National People’s Party.
Ekwueme participated in the 1995 National Constitutional Conference in Abuja, where he served on the Committee on the Structure and Framework of the Constitution. His famous proposals at the NCC for a just and equitable power sharing in Nigeria based on the six geopolitical zones have now come to be accepted as necessary for maintaining a stable Nigerian polity. Ekwueme mobilised the group of 34 eminent Nigerians who risked their lives to stand up against the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha during the era of military rule in Nigeria. He was the founding chairman of the ruling party in Nigeria and was the first chairman of the party’s board of trustees. Ekwueme was a prolific philanthropist, public servant, and a man of peace.
He was a member of the board of directors of Canada-based Forum of Federations. He was also a member of the Economic Community of West African States Council of Elders. Ekwueme was the leader of the team assembled by the National Democratic Institute for pre-election monitoring for the parliamentary election in Zimbabwe in 2000. He was the leader of the Organisation of African Unity observer team to the Tanzanian Presidential and Parliamentary election in 2000. Ekwueme co-led the 28-member NDI/Carter Centre-sponsored Observer Team to the Liberian presidential run-off election in 2005. Ekwueme was called upon by the ruling party in Nigeria to head the Reconciliation Committee in the wake of intra-party discord and after the recent presidential election.
Ekwueme was the Ide of the Oko kingdom in Anambra State, where his younger brother, Professor Lazarus Ekwueme, reigns as the traditional ruler. He was also honoured by the council of Traditional Rulers in the old Aguata as the Ide of Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State comprising forty-four (44) towns.
He was honoured with the Order of the Republic of Guinea and Nigeria, the second-highest national honours of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. Ekwueme was the benefactor and patron of the “Alex Ekwueme Foundation”. The Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, was named after him on his death.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme as fearless and an epitome of integrity. “As Vice President, he set an excellent example of loyalty, discipline, team spirit and fidelity to the nation. He was fearless, and with the courage of his convictions, he led the G-34, the group of eminent Nigerians who confronted military dictatorship in its darkest and most fearsome days in Nigeria’s history. He contributed significantly to the return of democracy in 1999,” Osinbajo said.
Ekwueme, Nigeria’s first elected Vice President (1979–1983), married Dr Helen Boyo-Ekwueme, a respected pathologist, and was closely tied to the Boyo family of Warri, Delta State. Their union, which followed a notable 13-year courtship, produced children and stood out as a strong, enduring partnership in Nigerian public life.
He was buried on February 2, 2018.
Professor Olawale Sulaiman, CON, (born 1969/1970) is a Canadian- and American-trained neurosurgeon, academician and physician executive of Nigerian heritage. He is the CEO and chief medical director of RNZ Global Ltd, a healthcare development, operations and management company he started in 2010. He is also the chief medical officer of RNZ Clinic.
The government of Nigeria awarded 19-year-old Sulaiman a scholarship to study medicine in Bulgaria, where he received both a Master of Science and Doctor of Medicine from the Medical University of Varna. The University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, awarded him a Doctor of Philosophy in neuroscience.[5] His neurosurgery residency was completed at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Sulaiman received two postgraduate fellowships: a “complex nerve reconstruction” fellowship at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and a “complex spine surgery” fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He was system chairman of neurosurgery and co-medical director at the Ochsner Neuroscience Institute until January 2019 and then served as the medical director, international medicine, African Region, Ochsner Health system. He was a professor of neurosurgery at Tulane University. Currently, a visiting professor at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and adjunct professor to University of Abuja. He is the CEO and chief medical director of RNZ Global Ltd, a healthcare development, operations and management company he started in 2010. On May 17, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Health Science, Ila-Orangun, Osun State.
On August 26, 2019, the governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, named Sulaiman as his “Special Adviser on Health Matters” to overhaul the state’s healthcare system. The next month, from September 23–27, Sulaiman participated in a Kwara State initiative that provided 26.9 million Nigerian naira (equivalent to US$104,229 in 2025) for 500 free surgeries at General Hospital, Ilorin.
While working as the Chairman of Neurosurgery at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, USA, Sulaiman negotiated a reduction in his annual salary by 25 per cent to free up time for him to travel to Nigeria every month to participate in education, training, and provision of medical care to Nigerians, including free neurosurgery and spine care. Through his position in the USA, he has trained hundreds of medical students, resident doctors, and fellows as well as facilitated the training of Nigerian Doctors at his hospital by providing scholarships. Furthermore, he has facilitated the involvement of prominent American healthcare companies in Nigeria by providing hands-on training and education to neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, and resident doctors. He has also been involved in countless medical missions where thousands of Nigerians benefited from free medical and surgical care. He also co-founded RNZ Foundation with his wife, Mrs Patricia Sulaiman, to provide free medical services for Nigerian patients and training for healthcare professionals.
Sulaiman was born in 1969 or 1970 in Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria; he later described being born into a poor polygamous family as one of ten children. Sulaiman later moved to Ajasse Ipo.
He is married to Patricia, a nurse practitioner, and they have three children, Rahim, Zaynab, and Najeeb.
He was shortlisted as one of the 60 most influential Nigerians at “Your Views” Nigeria at the 60th Diamond Jubilee series (Morayo, 2020), in recognition of his selfless humanitarian services and career achievements at home and abroad. Nigerians in Diaspora Commission also shortlisted him as one of the top +600 most prominent Nigerians at the 60th Independence anniversary. He was conferred with the Distinguished Citizen Award in 2019 by the Nigerian Canadian Association of Calgary (NCAC) presented by Adeyinka Olatokunbo Asekun, the Nigerian ambassador to Canada. Recently, he was also awarded the rank of Commander of the Order of the Niger by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Fowler was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 23, 1933. Her father was Peter Moore. She attended the CMS Girls School, Lagos, but qualified with a Cambridge Certificate at the Queen of Rosary College, Onitsha, in 1951. She initially worked as a teacher and started to train as a nurse in London. She left and met her future husband, who was a consultant in Lagos. They married in 1953 and had three children.
Fowler trained to be a lawyer at the Middle Temple and studied at the University of London. She was called to the UK Bar in 1962 and the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1963. She worked for two groups of Lagos lawyers before launching her own company, where she specialised in insurance law.
Fowler founded the Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls in January 1991. The school was named after her daughter who had died.
Her husband, Vidal Fowler, died in 2015. On 8 September 2025, it was announced that Fowler had died at the age of 92.
Prof. Wensley Vidal Mobolaji Fowler (1923–2015): Pioneer of Anaesthesia in Nigeria.
Wensley Vidal Mobolaji Fowler was born in 1923 in Lagos, into a family that valued education and discipline. His father, William Fowler, was a retired accountant.
He attended Igbobi College, Lagos and the University of Glasgow, where he studied Medicine beginning in 1945.
He graduated with an MB ChB in 1950, and furthered his clinical training in surgery and pathology in 1951.
At a time when specialised medicine was still developing in Nigeria, Fowler distinguished himself as the first Nigerian to specialise in anaesthesiology. He was a pioneer in introducing structured anaesthetic practice in the country.
His work helped improve surgical safety, patient care standards and medical training in hospitals.
In 1960, he achieved a major milestone by becoming a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons.
He later rose to the rank of Emeritus Professor of Anaesthesia, contributing significantly to medical education and mentoring future generations of doctors.
Wensley Vidal Mobolaji Fowler is remembered for pioneering anaesthesia as a recognised medical specialty in Nigeria and elevating surgical standards across the country.
His contributions laid the foundation for modern anaesthetic practice in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
A figure balancing personal life with a demanding medical career
Such images humanise pioneers whose work often speaks louder than their personal stories.
From Lagos to Glasgow and back, Wensley Vidal Mobolaji Fowler built a legacy that transformed Nigerian medicine.
He remains a key figure in the history of healthcare in Nigeria—proof that vision, education, and dedication can reshape entire fields.
Chief Leila Fowler named Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls after their daughter Vivian, who died young in a motor accident.
Dr Michael Olawale Omolayole was born in 1928 in Ijebu-Imusin but grew up in Lafiaji Area of Lagos under the watchful eyes of Mr Ade Onojobi, who was a tutor at King’s College. Young Michael attended St. Gregory’s College, Obalende. He was a brilliant student and thereafter proceeded to the University of Ibadan as one of the pioneer students. After graduation, he returned to St. Gregory’s College, where he taught science. He had his tertiary education at University College, Ibadan (now The University of Ibadan), where he graduated with a BSc. (Hons) in Mathematics/Physics (London) in 1952. He attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, UK, for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education between 1953 and 1954, after which he attended Harvard Business School in 1973 for the Advanced Management Programme (AMP).
Omolayole has attended several local and international courses as follows: TWI Trainers Course of the Federal Ministry of Labour (1959), Unilever Management Development Course, UK (1960), Ford Foundation Course for Senior Management (1961) and Unilever General Management Course, Holland (1967).
He was a science master at St. Gregory’s College, Lagos from 1952 to 1953 and Senior Science Master from 1954 to 1958. As the Senior Science Master, he assisted the principal of the school in introducing the HSC science subjects in 1957. He left teaching to join Lever Brothers Nig. Ltd, where he worked as training manager from 1958 to 1959. During this period, he introduced the City & Guild London Course for operatives and technical assistants. Later, he served in the company as deputy personnel manager from 1959 to 1961 and as manager/head of department from 1961 to 1964. During this time he succeeded in transforming the climate of the organisation from one of turbulence to that of harmony. He was the driving force behind the refusal of the company’s staff to take part in the general strike of 1964.
He was appointed personnel director from 1964 to 1971, and Vice Chairman of the company from 1971 to 1975. It was during his reign as Vice Chairman that the company introduced International Management Exchange through which Nigerian managers could travel abroad to work as expatriates. Lever Brothers Nig. Limited would later become a public liability company and was renamed Unilever Nigeria Plc. Omolayole became Chairman/Managing Director of Unilever Nigeria Plc. in 1975 and held the post until 1984. These years saw the company’s manufacturing capacity expand almost three times, including a Green Field site at Agbara, Ogun State.
He has also held several extra-curricular appointments, such as being the Chairman of the National Bank of Nigeria Ltd. from 1973 to 1975; Visiting Professor to the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos (for only a semester) in 1976; and Non-Executive Director of UAC Nigeria Ltd. from 1969 to 1974. Omolayole was involved in organising the company’s first public offer. He later served as Chairman of CAPL (formerly ICI Nig. Ltd.) from 1984 to 1997; AIICO Nig. Plc. from 1993 to 2003; and BOC Gas Nig. Plc. from 1994 to 2002. He served as Director of Nestle Nig. Plc. and Van Leer Nig. Plc. from 1994 to 2000 and 1984 to 2004 respectively.
Omolayole has also held the following appointments: President, U.I Alumni Association Lagos Branch (the first of its kind in Nigeria) 1958-88; employers’ delegate to the ILO Conference in Geneva (1966-67); member, National Labour Advisory Committee (1966-1975); member, National Wages Advisory Committee (1968-72), member, Board of NISER (1968-1972) and vice-chairman, Centre for Management Development (1972-1978).
He was also a delegate to the World Management Congress (CIOS), Munich 1972, Caracas 1975, New Delhi 1978 and Lima 1981; participant, World Council of Churches Seminar, Accra 1972; chairman, University of Ibadan Endowment Fund (1973-2005), chair, Board of Trustees, U.I Alumni Association 1973 to date; Doyen, Rotary Club of Apapa from 1973 to date, member, AEISEC International Board of Advisers, Brussels (1978-1982) and chairman, Federal Government Commission on Housing & Rent (1976).
He was also appointed chairman, AEISEC Advisory Board of Nigeria (1976-2012); member, Governing Council, Ogun State University (1982-1991); chairman, Federal Government Negotiating Team (1988), president, Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria (1988-1990), director, Nigeria-French Insurance Co. Ltd. (1988-2000); member of Senate, University of Lagos (1990-1992) and director, AFN Insurance Brokers Ltd. (1990 to date).
He was adviser (member PAC), Federal Government of Nigeria from 1985 to 1993; member of the National Manpower Board from 1962 to 1974; Pro-Chancellor, Ogun State University from 1966 to 1975; chairman of Council of Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration from 1972 to 1982; as well as Adviser to World Bank, Washington DC, from 1991 to 1994.
Omolayole was one of the founding members of the Nigerian Institute of Management and served as its president from 1971 to 1976, and is now the Chairman of the Committee of Past Presidents. He was the pioneer President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and has been one of its founding members since 1968. He served as President of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) from 1980 to 1986 (the longest serving President) and has been a member of its Governing Council since 1960. He served for eight years (1986-1994) as President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCC) and is now its Honorary Vice President. He was the Pioneer Vice President of Chemical Employers’ Federation from 1978 to 1980. Dr. Omolayole holds membership of clubs such as the Rotary Club of Nigeria District 9110, the Metropolitan Club of Lagos, the Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria and the Oriental Club of London.
Omolayole has been awarded honorary fellowships of several institutions, including the Nigerian Dental Association (1985), Yaba College of Technology and Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour (2012). He was honoured with the Ijebu-Imusin Community Merit Award in 1990. He was the recipient of the Life-Time Achievement Award by This Day Newspaper, and was presented with the AEISEC International Award in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2011. He was an ILO Consultant to East and Central Africa for about 10 years.
Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi CON (born December 20, 1953) is a Nigerian lawyer and investment banker. He is chairman and managing partner at the private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners. Ogunlesi was the former head of global investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston before being promoted to chief client officer and executive vice chairman.
Ogunlesi comes from Makun, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is the son of Susan Olorunfemi Peters and Theophilus Ogunlesi, the first Nigerian professor of medicine at University of Ibadan. His family is of Yoruba origin.
Ogunlesi attended King’s College, Lagos. He received a B.A. with first class honors in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University in England. In 1979, Ogunlesi received a JD–MBA from Harvard Law School and later Harvard Business School. During his time at Harvard, he was on the Harvard Law Review.
From 1980 to 1981, Ogunlesi served as a law clerk to associate justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. Ogunlesi was an attorney in the corporate practice group of the New York City law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he had been a summer associate while studying for his M.B.A.
In 1983, Ogunlesi joined the investment bank First Boston as an advisor on a Nigerian gas project. At First Boston, he worked in the Project Finance Group, advising clients on transactions and financings and has worked on transactions in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. From 1997 to 2002, he was the Head of the Global Energy Group of the by then renamed Credit Suisse First Boston. In 2002, Ogunlesi was appointed Global Head of CSFB’s Investment Banking Division. Also in 2002, he served as a member of Credit Suisse’s executive board and Management Committee. From 2004 to 2006, Ogunlesi was Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of CSFB.
In July 2006, Ogunlesi started the private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture whose initial investors included Credit Suisse and General Electric. He currently serves as chairman and managing partner.
In 2006, GIP bought London City Airport. In 2009, GIP acquired a majority stake in London Gatwick Airport in a deal worth £1.455 billion. The Nigerian press has given him the nickname “The Man Who Bought Gatwick Airport.” GIP also owns Edinburgh Airport, Scotland, which they bought in 2012, and Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori in Roma, Italia, which they bought in February 2018.
In January 2024, BlackRock agreed to buy Global Infrastructure Partners for about $12.5bn. BlackRock will pay $3bn in cash and 12 million of its own shares as part of the deal to buy GIP. The 400 people directly employed by GIP received some of the stock, and five of the six founding partners, including chief executive Ogunlesi, joined BlackRock as part of the deal.
Ogunlesi is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association. While working at Credit Suisse First Boston, he was a lecturer at Harvard Law School and the Yale School of Management, where he taught a course on transnational investment projects in emerging countries.
In October 2012, he was appointed to the board of directors at Goldman Sachs. On 24 July 2014, he was named lead director.
In December 2016, it was announced that Ogunlesi, among other business leaders, would be part of Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, which was disbanded on 16 August 2017.
In 2022, Ogunlesi was named to the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
In January 2025, Ogunlesi joined the board of directors of OpenAI.
Ogunlesi has been married to British-born optometrist Dr Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi since 1985. They have two children. In his song “Wonderful,” Burna Boy pays tribute to Adebayo, citing his hard work. As of 2025, Forbes estimates his net worth at US$2.5bn.
Recipient of The International Centre in New York’s Award of Excellence. Ogunlesi was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019.
Bayo Ogunlesi is a Founding Partner and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). He is a Senior Managing Director of BlackRock and a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee and its Board of Directors.
Prior to the formation of GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi spent 23 years at Credit Suisse, where he held several senior positions, including Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of its Investment Banking Division. From 2002 to 2004, he was Head of the Global Investment Banking Division and a Member of the Executive Board and Management Committee.
Previously, Ogunlesi was an attorney with the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He also served as a Law Clerk to the Honourable Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been a Lecturer at the Harvard and Yale Law Schools and the Yale School of Management, where he taught courses on transnational investment projects.
Ogunlesi holds a B.A. (First Class Honours) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University, a J.D. (magna cum laude) from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of BlackRock, OpenAI, Topgolf Callaway Brands, Kosmos Energy Holdings and Terminal Investment Limited. He was previously the Lead Director of Goldman Sachs Group. He is a Member of the Dean’s Advisory Boards of the Harvard Law and Business Schools and the Harvard University Global Advisory Council
Adebayo Ogunlesi cofounded Global Infrastructure Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that was acquired by BlackRock in 2024.
Prior to the deal, worth $12.5bn, GIP had more than $100bn in assets under management with interests in the energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and water and waste management sectors.
He remains chairman and CEO of GIP and is now a senior managing director at BlackRock.
Prior to starting GIP, Ogunlesi spent 23 years in the investment banking unit of Credit Suisse and earlier was an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a law firm in New York.
Born in Nigeria, he attended King’s College Lagos, a prominent boarding school in the country.
His father, Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi, was the first professor of medicine in Nigeria.
Mohammed Indimi, OFR, is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Oriental Energy Resources, a privately held Nigerian oil exploration and production company. As of October 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$500m by Forbes. His net worth plummeted due to crashing oil prices as well as the floating of the Naira.
Indimi was born on August 12, 1947, in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, North-East Nigeria. His father, late Alhaji Mamman Kurundu, was also a Hausa businessman who traded in hides and skins. Indimi attended traditional Qur’anic school, as it is the general practice of Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria. He could not attend formal school because his father could not afford to sponsor his formal Western education but still managed to learn how to speak, read and write in English.
At the age of 10, Indimi followed his father to local markets around Borno to trade animal hides and skins. In 1963, he became independent and started his own business after he collected a 100-pound loan from his friend Alhaji Umar Tela, which he used as a start-up. Eventually, he decided to expand into selling clothes which were imported from Chad and Cameroon.
In 1990, Indimi got an oil prospecting license granted by the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida regime. He established an oil and gas firm named Oriental Energy Resources. Indimi served as chairman and board member of several companies, including Jaiz Bank.
Indimi established Muhammad Indimi Foundation, which focuses on vulnerable families through poverty alleviation, the fight against hunger, illiteracy and health challenges. He has sponsored natives of Borno State to study at the International University of Africa (IUA) on scholarship in Sudan. Through the MIF, Indimi has empowered and supported people affected by the Boko Haram crisis in the North East. He built a 100-unit N600m housing estate, provided food, clothing, schools and clinics for the Internally Displaced Persons by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State. Muhammad Indimi Foundation has built a 100-unit N700m modern residential estate in Enwang, Mbo LGA, Akwa Ibom. He awarded over 470 scholarships in Akwa Ibom State and created a sponsorship programme for the University of Uyo’s Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering. Indimi donated a multi-million-dollar International Business Centre to Lynn University in the United States, which was named after him.
Indimi is married to Fatima Mustapha Haruna. He has 20 children, including Jibrila, Yakolo, Ibrahim, Ahmed, Ameena, Mustapha, Rukaiya, Hauwa, Amina, Zara, Mairama, Amouna, Meram, Habibi, Tijjani, Aya, Abdulrahman, Abdullah, Fatima and Adama.
Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, pop and hip-hop. Savage’s contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several recognitions.
Born in Isale Eko, Lagos. She relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup vocals for artists such as George Michael and Mary J. Blige. After participating in the UK edition of The X Factor and graduating from Berklee College of Music, Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009. Inspired by the growth of the Nigerian music industry, Savage moved back to Nigeria and signed with Mavin Records in 2012. She made an appearance on the label’s 2012 compilation album Solar Plexus.
Her debut studio album, Once Upon a Time, was released on July 3, 2013. It was supported by seven singles: “Kele Kele Love”, “Love Me (3x)”, “Without My Heart”, “Ife Wa Gbona”, “Folarin”, “Olorun Mi” and “Eminado”. The album was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and for Best R&B/Pop Album at The Headies 2014. On 19 December 2015, Savage released her second studio album R.E.D, which yielded the singles “My Darlin” and “Standing Ovation”. The tracks “All Over” and “Ma Lo” served as singles from Savage’s six-track debut extended play, Sugarcane, which was released in September 2017. R.E.D and Sugarcane have both been nominated for Best Album at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
In November 2018, Savage won Best African Act at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, becoming the first woman to win the category. In May 2019, she announced her record deal with Universal Music Group and exit from Mavin Records. Savage’s third studio album, Celia, yielded the singles “Attention”, “Dangerous Love”, “Koroba”, and “Temptation”. Her second extended play, Water & Garri, blends Afrobeat with soulful R&B. In March 2022, Savage announced the Water & Garri North American Tour in support of the EP. Her fourth studio album, This One Is Personal, was released in August 2025.
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni “AJ” Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer.
He held the unified heavyweight championship twice between 2017 and 2021. He also held the International Boxing Organisation title during his reigns as champion. At the regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.
As an amateur, Joshua represented England at the 2011 World Championships, winning the super-heavyweight silver medal. He also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning gold. In 2014, a year after turning professional, he was named Prospect of the Year by The Ring magazine.
In 2017, his victorious fight against Wladimir Klitschko was named Fight of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Joshua was born on October 15, 1989, in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of British Nigerian parents Yeta Odusanya and Robert Joshua, both of whom grew up in Sagamu. Joshua’s Nigerian background can be specifically traced back to the Yoruba people, amongst whom he is of aristocratic rank through his great-grandfather Omo-Oba Daniel Adebambo Joshua, who was also one of the earliest Nigerians to trade with Europeans. Joshua has Irish ancestry through his paternal grandmother, Moya V. Harper. His cousin, Ben Ileyemi, is also a professional boxer. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013.
Joshua spent some of his early years in Nigeria as a boarding school student at Mayflower School in Ikenne. Following his parents’ divorce when he was 12, he returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, he was called “Femi” by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name, Oluwafemi. He excelled at football and athletics and broke his school’s Year Nine 100 metres record with a time of 11.6 seconds.
A late starter in the sport, Joshua began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. His club, Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also home to professional heavyweight Derek Chisora. Joshua won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup. Joshua also won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down £50,000 to turn professional. “Turning down that £50,000 was easy. I didn’t take up the sport for money; I want to win medals.” He also went on to win the same tournament the following year. In 2010, his domestic success earned him a place on the GB Boxing team, and later the same year he became British amateur champion at the GB Championships after defeating Amin Isa. At the 2011 European Championships in June, he beat the German Eric Brechlin 23:16 and the Irishman Cathal McMonagle 22:10 but was stopped by the Romanian southpaw Mihai Nistor after receiving several standing counts. In October 2011, he was named Amateur Boxer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain. Joshua had an amateur record of 40–3.
During the 2011 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Joshua marked his sudden arrival on the world scene when he beat Italian reigning world and Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle, and went on to stop Erik Pfeifer of Germany in the semis before losing by a single point to local boxer, Magomedrasul Majidov , winning a silver medal. En route to the final, Joshua secured his place at the 2012 Olympic Games in the super-heavyweight division as a relative newcomer to the elite level of the sport.
Joshua went into the 2012 London Olympics as a novice on the international scene, despite being a world silver medalist. He received a tough draw in the last 16 of the super-heavyweight event against Cuban Erislandy Savón, ranked No. 4 in the world by AIBA and nephew of the three-time Olympic champion Félix Savón. The home boxer battled through three tough rounds in his opening contest before being given the result 17:16. This decision caused some controversy, with most observers believing Savón had clearly won the bout, whilst a few others took the view that Joshua had won on merit. In his next bout, he fought 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medalist Zhang Zhilei, dropping his taller opponent in the middle round; Joshua won by 15:11, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. In the semi-final, Joshua met Kazakh boxer Ivan Dychko, and despite Joshua’s height disadvantage, he won by 13:11 to gain a place in the Olympic final. Joshua met 32-year-old reigning Olympic champion and former two-time world champion, Roberto Cammarelle of Italy, in the closing bout. After conceding the first two rounds (6:5 and 13:10) to Cammarelle, an adversary he had already beaten the previous year, Joshua grew into the fight and fought back to level the scores after the third round (18:18). Joshua was announced winner via count-back and the new Olympic champion. The final decision was criticised by some boxing experts, being defined as a “home decision”.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to boxing by Queen Elizabeth II, and later Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in December 2018 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours by then Prince Charles.
On July 11, 2013, it was confirmed that Joshua had turned professional under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner. Joshua made his professional debut on 5 October 2013 at the O2 Arena in London in the Main-Event of a card featuring Scott Quigg’s successful WBA (Regular) super-bantamweight title defence against Yoandris Salinas, beating Italian Emanuele Leo by a technical knockout in the first round. Joshua’s second fight was against English heavyweight Paul Butlin at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on 26 October 2013. The bout was stopped in the second round when the referee decided Butlin was taking too much punishment and declared Joshua the winner by TKO. Joshua’s third fight was on the Prize Fighter Series card against Croatian Hrvoje Kišiček on 14 November 2013. Joshua got a TKO victory in the second round, achieving his third knockout victory in a row.
In February 2014, Joshua scored a second-round TKO victory over Dorian Darch to take his record to 4–0. The following month, on the undercard of Ricky Burns against Terence Crawford, Joshua defeated Héctor Alfredo Ávila with a first-round KO in Glasgow, Scotland. In May that year, Joshua knocked out Matt Legg in one round on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. George Groves II at Wembley Stadium. In Joshua’s seventh fight, on 12 July 2014 at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, he defeated Englishman Matt Skelton via second-round stoppage. In Joshua’s eighth fight, on 13 September 2014, against German heavyweight Konstantin Airich, Joshua took his undefeated record to 8–0 with a third-round stoppage victory at the Manchester Arena.
Joshua was in the Main-Event of a Matchroom Sport card for the second time in his career, in his ninth professional appearance for the vacant WBC International heavyweight title against Dennis Bakhtov, the former champion looking to win the title for a second time, on 11 October 2014 at The O2 Arena in London. Joshua won the fight by KO in the second round, taking his record to 9–0 and winning the WBC International heavyweight title aged just 24.
In his tenth bout, on November 22, 2014, Joshua defeated Michael Sprott within the first round to extend his record to ten wins, all by stoppage. With the fight only lasting 1 minute and 26 seconds, it gave Joshua a total ring time in the professional ranks of just 36 minutes and 36 seconds.
He was supposed to face American boxer Kevin Johnson on 31 January 2015 at The O2 Arena in London, but the bout was cancelled after Joshua sustained a back injury. On April 4, 2015, Joshua beat Jason Gavern with a third-round KO in his return to the ring in Newcastle. On May 9, 2015, in his twelfth bout, Joshua defeated Raphael Zumbano Love in a second-round KO in Birmingham. On 30 May 2015, Joshua defeated former world title challenger Kevin Johnson (29–6–1, 14 KOs), inflicting the first stoppage in Johnson’s career. After Johnson was saved by the bell in the first round, the fight was stopped by the referee shortly after the beginning of the second round. Prior to the fight, Johnson had taken the likes of Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora the twelve-round distance. A day after the fight, Johnson announced his retirement, although he made a comeback in March 2017.
On December 30, 2025, British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua was injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which killed two members of his team. The former world champion was a passenger in a Lexus SUV that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos. The two men who died were Joshua’s close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, the boxer’s promoter Matchroom Boxing said in a statement. It added that Joshua was in a stable condition in hospital, where he was taken for “checks and treatment” and will remain for observation.
British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which killed two members of his team.
The former world champion was a passenger in a Lexus SUV that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos.
The two men who died were Joshua’s close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, the boxer’s promoter Matchroom Boxing said in a statement.
It added that Joshua was in a stable condition in hospital, where he was taken for “checks and treatment” and will remain for observation.
Police Commander Babatunde Akinbiyi of Nigeria’s Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps said early investigations showed the Lexus had been travelling along the highway from Lagos to Sagamu when it “experienced a tyre burst due to excessive speed” and then “lost control”.
Akinbiyi said Joshua and the driver were rescued from the wreckage and taken to a hospital in Sagamu for medical treatment.
The two other passengers – Mr Ghami and Mr Ayodele – were pronounced dead at the scene, Mr Akinbiyi added.
In a statement, Matchroom said: “Our deepest condolences and prayers are with the families and friends of all those affected – and we ask that their privacy is respected at this incredibly difficult time.”
The group’s chair, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, paid tribute to the “two great men” who were killed in the crash. “Rest in eternal peace, Sina and Latz. My thoughts and deepest prayers are with everyone,” he said.
Boxing expert Steve Bunce described Mr Ghami and Mr Ayodele as “two of Joshua’s closest friends” and as “massive parts of the Anthony Joshua machine”.
“They’ve been with him, if not from the start, at least very early on. Latz is AJ’s personal trainer, and Sina is his strength and conditioning man. They are with him all the time,” Bunce told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Hours before the crash, Joshua posted a video to Instagram of himself and Mr Ayodele playing table tennis. Mr Ghami had recently posted on social media from Lagos.
A joint statement from the Ogun and Lagos state governments said Joshua was stable and conscious, and had been in contact with his family.
They said earlier that Joshua had “narrowly escaped death” in the crash, and there will be a “comprehensive investigation” into what happened.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said he had spoken to the 36-year-old boxer personally to convey his condolences and wish him a “full and speedy recovery”.
The crash took place on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway at around 12:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Monday.
Pictures shared by Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps showed a wrecked car at the site of the crash, with a crowd of onlookers gathered around.
Local officials said Joshua and another man – the vehicle’s driver – were rescued by the boxer’s security team.
Video from the scene showed the boxer being helped out from the back seat of a wrecked SUV.
Ogun and Lagos state governments said Joshua and another passenger were “immediately evacuated to a specialised medical facility in Lagos”.
Randle, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, writes from Lagos
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