Ogunbiyi: Corporate Icon as Political Avatar

John Ajayi

“Being a great leader is all about having a genuine willingness and true commitment to lead others to achieve a common vision and goals through positive influence. Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts, it is about one life influencing another.’’

Above quote by John C. Maxwell, an American author, Speaker and well respected Pastor best defines the brand personae of Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi , a foremost entrepreneur, investor and a political icon of no mean repute. In deconstructing the brand personae of Ogunbiyi, a suave and debonair multi-talented corporate aristocrat, one cannot but be mindful of the illustrious corporate background which has prepared and launched him into the Nigerian entrepreneurship stardom. For a truth, great business owners are made, not born.

In fact, business entrepreneurs are special people who see opportunity in every slow service, poor product, and unmet needs. Put simply, great entrepreneurs that make national and global headlines put in years of hard and smart work before their businesses become “overnight successes”.

What’s more, every venture starts with a vision. And a vision once wrapped into a tidy package, which is a plan, can achieve any lofty height. The same can be said of Ogunbiyi, an astute business man, who started Mutual Benefits Assurance with only N5 million.

Born without the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth in the ancient town of Ile-Ogbo, Osun State to a family of peasant farmers, he had his early education at A.U.D Primary School, in Ile-Ogbo, his hometown. There, he had his first experience of life’s woes, having to cope with lack and the burden of chasing a dream.

A man with an insatiable quest for knowledge, attended Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he bagged a degree in Agricultural Economics; and then, another degree in History plus an M.Sc. in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from the University of Lagos, UNILAG.

He later attended the International Graduate School of Management, University of Navarra (IESE) Barcelona in Spain where he earned an Executive Masters in Business Administration. His un-diminishing educational quest inspired him to further sharpen and expand his business acumen at the prestigious Lagos Business School.

Akin, as he is simply called, left no stone unturned in his tenacious quest for knowledge as he bagged the Global Executive Leadership Certificate from Yale School of Management; earned Certified High Potential Leadership Education from Harvard Business School and attended a Graduate Advanced Management Leadership Course at Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Ogunbiyi’s career development in insurance started during his undergraduate studies when he ventured into Agricultural Insurance as his specialization. Soon after graduation, he was employed in 1988 by the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria, NICON, as a Research & Planning Officer. He however, gave up an impressive and promising career at NICON Insurance to go into Insurance Consultancy, a business which was unexplored in Nigeria at the time. This singular audacious move confirmed that he saw the future early enough.

According to the accomplished economist and management consultant, ‘’the N5 million startup capital was actually borrowed to pay the statutory deposit because the company has a written vision and a set goal which it has consistently pursued with diligence and passion. Mutual Benefits has continued to evolve because it has a five-year plan which the company follows rigorously right from inception.’’ Today, Mutual Benefits ranks between 4th and 5th in the entire insurance industry with about 80 branches in Nigeria, which is a lot of mileage for a company that started 20 to 25 years ago.

In terms of competitive edge, Mutual Benefits under the leadership of Ogunbiyi has embarked upon series of innovations that have brought about immeasurable growth and development. The company has moved from just being an insurance company to becoming a conglomerate with interest in real estate, oil & gas and operations in other West African countries, including Niger and Liberia.

To put the record in proper perspective, the stars didn’t grant this thoroughbred professional his lofty youthful ambition on a platter. Unlike many young men who fiddle with a pie in the sky, he took practical steps to pursue his dreams in the world of business.

Ogunbiyi, Group Chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, and a front-running aspirant for the office of the Executive Governor of Osun State on the platform of People’s Democratic Party, founded Mutual Benefits at the age of 31. He has diversified into other areas initiating development, value and creating companies that are delivering value.

The conglomerate is also into manufacturing, Agriculture and Finance, through investments, strategic alliances, and partnerships, with over 3,000 staff and marketing executives in its employment. Specifically, Mutual Benefits currently has an Authorized Share capital of over N10 billion and transacts both Life and General Insurance business.

As a business icon and manager, he has successfully built businesses from scratch into a conglomerate that has been a beacon of hope to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

An Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Ogunbiyi is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Directors; Fellow, West Africa Insurance Institute, Banjul, Gambia and a Fellow of the Risk Managers Society of Nigeria.

A philanthropist par excellence, Ogunbiyi keeps touching and impacting lives in their millions almost on a daily basis, through his companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility CSR initiatives, the Akin Ogunbiyi Foundation and his personal philanthropic gestures, all of which know no ethnic, religious or gender boundaries.

In this regard, he has always made it clear that he is following in the footsteps of his role model, mentor and former Chairman of his company, Mutual Benefits Assurance PLC, late Chief Aret Adams, former Group Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, who once said, “I am a leader of men and women. I am not rich. My wealth is in the lives of the people that I have touched.”

Ogunbiyi declares himself as a product of Aret Adam, while, at the same time, expressing his gladness about the fact that there are a number of people that will be proud to say, too, they are products of Akin Ogunbiyi.

As a personality brand icon; and in his entire professional and entrepreneurial growth trajectory, certain qualities have defined his essence and promise. These are: value creation and delivery, rooted in distinction, humility, excellence and humanity.

His foray into politics, too, has witnessed no less. On his desire to seek the mandate of his political party, PDP, and the people of Osun State to be the next Executive Governor of the State, he has this to say, “Having taken a very deep look at the continuing evolution of our darling state since its creation in 1991; having watched the different fortunes which have befallen the State in the hands of various Chief Executives in its 30 years of existence; having been seriously concerned about the less than satisfying pace of the state’s development; it’s not so sterling stand in the comity of states in the Nigerian federation; Having been grievously disturbed by the crushing burden of debt and the state of arrested development to which Osun State has been subjected in recent years; Having realistically considered how yet far away from the dreams of the founding fathers Osun State still remains, I have opted to offer myself in genuine service to my people for a value-adding and purposeful leadership.

Ajayi is a Lagos-based journalist and public affairs commentator.