BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-NIGERIAN " OBA OTUDEKO " IS AN ASTUTE AND HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NIGERIAN INVESTOR AND ENTREPRENEUR : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

        BLACK    SOCIAL     HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Oba Otudeko

BLACK                    SOCIAL              HISTORY

Dr. Oba Otudeko, CFR (born, August 18, 1943^[1]) is an astute and highly successful Nigerian investor and entrepreneur whose domestic and foreign interests cut across diverse sectors of the economy. Professionally, he is a Chartered Banker, Chartered Corporate Secretary and a Chartered Accountant.

Over the years, he has also attended management courses at several prestigious institutions, amongst which are the Harvard Business School, the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Arthur D. Little School of Management and the London Business School.

Dr. Oba Otudeko is currently Chairman Honeywell Group, Airtel Nigeria and Fan Milk of Nigeria Plc.^[2] Dr. Otudeko retired as the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Plc after 12 meritorious years on the Board of the Bank. He also served on several Boards including the Boards of Central Bank of Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). Between September 2006 and August 2009, he was the 16th President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

As a public-spirited leader, he was formerly Chairman of the National Maritime Authority; Member, Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting a new Constitution, 1988 to 1989, and Council Member, Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria. He was the Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State from 2001 to 2010 and has also served on the Africa Regional Advisory Board of the London Business School, where he is now a member of the Office of Distinguished Friends.

In further recognition of his many contributions to the economic and social development of Nigeria and his consistent commitment to good causes and the Nigerian nation, Dr. Oba Otudeko’s National Honour was again upgraded to Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in November 2011, having previously been awarded the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in November 2002 and the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in December 2000.

He is currently rated 24th richest man in Africa by forbes magazine^[3]