Ibukun Awosika Back in the News After First Bank Exit

Tough times don’t last, they said, tough people do. An observation that has been overly used by contemporary motivational speakers, even someone as exceptional as a businesswoman and author has found a reason to agree. After experiencing an unexpected and forced retirement from First Bank, the 58-year-old has found a new spot to showcase her skills.

Madam Ibukun Awosika is quite possibly one of the most prestigious women in the Nigerian corporate space. A brilliant individual with a likeable personality, Awosika is the sort of highflyer that starts and builds on a slow momentum, concealing the fact that she has already shaved off what needs to be shaved off and taken over what needs to be taken over.

A few months ago, Awosika was involved in something of a scandal. According to one report in this regard, Awosika had joined hands with a few other board members of First Bank to allegedly forcibly retire the MD/CEO, Sola Adeduntan. A different report held that although the idea did not originate from Awosika, as the Chairman of the bank, she had a bigger gavel and chose to use it against Adeduntan.

Regardless of who started what, the move did not go as well as planned. The Central Bank of Nigeria stepped in, saved and reinstated Adeduntan, and booted out Awosika and her board. Folks assumed that it would take a few years before Awosika recovered her shine. But no, she already got summoned elsewhere.

Based on recent reports, Awosika is one of three individuals appointed as members of the global Independent Impact Taskforce (ITF) by the United Kingdom’s 2021 presidency of the G7 countries. Alongside Uche Orji and Arunma Oteh, Awosika is expected to proffer measures to help the nations recover from the COVID-19 crisis and she’ll design blueprints for sustainable societies and economies along the way.
Regarding Awosika’s new role, one might say that a door was closed and a window to the world was opened. Great times for her indeed.