By Demola Akinbola
An icon, a leader, a humane manager, Oloye Akinsola Akinfemiwa (OON), the Aro of Ile-Oluji Kingdom of Ondo State, Chairman of Araba Foundation, former MD/CEO of Skye Bank, this is the man that took over Prudent Merchant Bank, a one-branch, moderately successful bank in November 1999, and transformed it into a leading commercial bank with branches all over Nigeria. Prudent Bank went on to become the lead legacy bank in the Skye Bank consortium post-consolidation.
From Ebani House, Marina, Lagos, to Plots 706/708 Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island, Mr Akinfemiwa, as he then was, led from the front, a young and dedicated team of professionals who believed in his leadership and gave their best, their very best, to the young bank.
I enjoyed the privilege of being a part of the Enterprise Change Team that Mr Akinfemiwa effectively led and managed. I joined the team on April 2, 2000 as the pioneer Head of Corporate Affairs, working with great folks – Emmanuel Akindele Macaulay, Raphael Adeniran, and Joko Osibajo.
Working with Mr Akinfemiwa was tough. Scratch that, working with him was tasking, challenging, and highly rewarding. He made us work hard and smart. You have to be on top of your game, thinking on your feet, and always adopting a creative approach. He is an avid reader, and that means he was (and is) always brimming with new ideas. He would read a book, give you to read, and call you to his office to discuss the learning points. Of course, the whole idea is for you to immediately begin to apply what you learnt in the book.
True confession: it was so overwhelming that at a point, we were praying that he wouldn’t remember that we had a book to review with him. Another true confession: the books were so useful that we never wanted to return them to him. One of such books that really blessed my career was Financial Services Branding, by Lee Evans. I still have that book in my library (I pray he doesn’t get to read this 🏃🏿♂️🏃🏿♂️🏃🏿♂️😀).
The phenomenal success of Prudent Bank, and later Skye Bank, didn’t surprise me. It was planned for and worked for, with God blessing all the efforts. He is blessed with amazing insights, and he is a master of business strategy. He was also very focused on clinical execution, often reminding us that the simple things that are well done add up to give results. Strategy is nothing without execution.
Mr Akinfemiwa is meticulous and has a passion for details. He writes very well and I can’t ever forget the tonnes of handwritten and typed memos we got almost on a daily basis. We often wondered if he slept at all.
Some of those memos were useful instructions and reminders, others were simply brutal. I got one and felt like going home to sleep … the time was just 10am 😀. His secretary, Okey, the bearer of the memos, is a comedian on his good day. The mischievous look on his face when he enters your office is usually an indication of the content of the memo. He would drop the memo gently and tell you Pele🙄. For the good memos, he would say “Omo you are doing well”, and pat you on the back. Okey was Mr Akinfemiwa personified at his own level.
Mr Akinfemiwa came to Prudent Bank with a pedigree. He wasn’t an unknown quantity in the financial services industry. He was one of the two Deputy Managing Directors at Chartered Bank (the other being Mr Adedoyin). He was also the President of the Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN). He was much sought after as one of the leading credit management legends.
Talking about mentoring, Mr Akinfemiwa often regaled us with how much he learnt working with Mr Ayo Oladunjoye, his CEO at Chartered Bank, a man he calls “my boss”, even long after he departed Chartered Bank. It wasn’t then surprising that Mr Akinfemiwa did well mentoring us that till this moment, I still call him “my boss”.
Our relationship temporarily hit a rough patch when I had to leave the bank to assume duty at the British Council as the Head of Marketing & Communications in 2004. However, we quickly got over that and the bond has become stronger ever since. I remain grateful to him for giving me that opportunity to work with him and learn at his feet. I remain grateful to him for how he has been supporting my business since I began my professional practice.
Join me in celebrating my boss, my mentor, my egbon, my leader, Oloye Aro Akinsola Akinfemiwa Oon.
Since retirement, Chief Akinfemiwa has been committing a lot of his time and resources to the development of Ile-Oluji Kingdom. Today, he is the Speaker of Ile-Oluji Assembly (IA), an innovative WhatsApp platform created to ventilate development ideas and initiatives. In less than five years of its existence, IA has mobilized over N200m towards the development of the education and health sectors in the community. Working with Araba Foundation, his creation, Ile-Oluji Assembly has also meaningfully engaged with youths.
*** This post fed on excerpts from my new book project titled GRATITUDE, featuring testimonials of how God has used various good people to shape my life. Over 50 eminent personalities are being publicly appreciated. Watch this space for more details.
Akinbola is the publisher of ThePodium, an international general interest magazine that celebrates “the best of humanity.”
