FIRSTBANK: ADEDUNTAN’S GIANT FOOTPRINTS

By FEMI ADESINA

Date was November 2, 2024, and venue was Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In cascades, people streamed into the luxurious, expansive venue, and they came from all walks of life. Captains of industry, current and former Governors, Senators, Royalties, people from the academia, friends, family, bankers, yes, naturally, bankers.

What was the big event? Dr Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan; FCIB, FCA, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank for nine years, was being given a befitting send off by the 130 years old financial institution.

Alongside his family, Adeduntan, resplendent in a traditional attire with cap to match, welcomed the guests cheerily. Soon, the venue was filled, and it was time to flag off the 6 pm event. And what a show-stopping event it turned out to be in terms of music, tributes, entertainment, food, and gaiety.

Prof Ishaq Oloyede, that unusually honest Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, gave the opening prayer, and it was time to go down the memory lane about Adeduntan’s giant footprints on the sands of time at FirstBank, the Nigerian banking industry, and the Nation’s economy at large.

His successor as GMD/CEO, Olusegun Alebiosu, set the ball rolling, recounting the achievements of his immediate predecessor. He described him as a “man with strategic vision and managerial prowess, that led with strategic brilliance.” Many of the bank’s staff, were to follow in a pre-recorded video. His Highness Mohammad Sanusi II, Emir of Kano regaled the audience with statistics that showed Adeduntan’s exceptional performance. Governors Dapo Abiodun and Babajide Sanwoolu of Ogun and Lagos States joined in showering encomiums on the man for support he provided to their states and for leading the FirstBank to greater glory and to break new grounds.

Alhaji Ahmad Abdullahi, a former Director of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Nigeria and also a former chairman of FBN Holdings Plc (FirstBank parent/listed company) described how FirstBank was troubled when Adeduntan was appointed late 2015 and how Central Bank tasked and worked with him to pull the Bank back from the brink. He concluded that the fact that FirstBank is in existence today, remains ‘systematically important Bank’ and the ceremony is taking place is an affirmation of the excellent work that Adeduntan did whilst at the helm of affairs. Seven recurring adjectives that were used to describe the former CEO at the ceremony were: Exceptional; Extraordinary; Visionary; Outstanding; Excellent; Impactful and Transformational 

What were the milestones and landmarks attributed to the former helmsman, who was in office from 2015 to April 2024?

He took the total number of customers accounts from 10.9 million to 42 million. Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew from N10 billion to N317 billion and significantly enhanced Return on Equity from 0.6% to 45% as at end of Q12024. Non-performing loans from 35% to less than 5%. Total number of Issued Cards from 7 million to 12.7 million. Total Digital Banking Customers from 0.6m to 23.2 million, significantly increased digitally processed transactions from 20% to over 90%, moved the contributions of foreign subsidiaries from negative to 30%. He also built “Firstmonie’ the bank’s agency banking business that currently boasts of over 250,000 agents spread across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, which is also expanding abroad and is regarded as the largest bank led agent banking business in Sub-Sahara Africa. The market capitalization of FBN Holdings Plc ( the quoted company) responded in tandem to all these massive improvements and moved from circa N110 billion in 2016  to over N1.1 trillion. And many other key metrics.

The vision which Adeduntan crafted for the Bank is to be Africa’s Bank of First Choice, and he not only moved in that direction, he accelerated at top speed.

For His Excellency Governor Babajide Sanwoolu, a key takeaway from the ceremony is Adeduntan’s reported popular phrase that ‘Strategy Without Execution is Hallucination’. Describing the retired CEO as “a gift to Nigeria,” the Governor said lack of execution is the problem in most public and private sector organisations and that the classic saying from Adeduntan is a major reminder on why all organisations must strive for execution excellence. 

A graduate of Veterinary Medicine from the frontline University of Ibadan, the former GCEO took a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cranfield University, one of Europe’s most prestigious academic institutions. When that University awarded him a honorary Doctor of Science in 2022, Adeduntan was asked to deliver a short address to the graduating class. The Chancellor said it was “in recognition of your outstanding contribution to business.”

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the then President Muhammadu Buhari, in a 2022 congratulatory message commended Adeduntan as “a role model to the younger generation, showing that hard work pays, and with resourcefulness and doggedness, great heights are achievable.”

On the occasion of the send off ceremony by the bank, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, congratulated him for “exceptional service to Nigeria’s oldest bank,” adding that Adeduntan steered FirstBank through transformative growth as evidenced by ballooned customer accounts and profitability, among others.

The President also lauded his “visionary leadership and commitment to excellence” as well as the bank’s solid internal management ethos, which led to seamless transition in leadership to Alebiosu, the new CEO.

In his farewell message to his former colleagues and subordinates, Dr Adeduntan said he was proud to be CEO of one of the best workforce teams in the industry. He said they transformed the bank from “brick and mortar to a digital giant,” urging them not to rest on their oars, till they achieve the vision of becoming Africa’s Bank of First Choice. He specifically called out the name change for the foreign subsidiaries from ‘FBNBank’ to FirstBank as one of his greatest legacies, noting that it significantly enhanced brand equity and strength, and avoided confusion in the larger market with other brands. 

There were not a few questions asked, when Adeduntan, a victorious warrior of many boardroom battles, left his position voluntarily eight months before due time. But the farewell dinner showed that all was well internally.

At just 55, this can only be the close of a chapter in the life of this Ibadan, Oyo State, native who is an African optimist. The full book continues to unfold, and the Nation will yet see and hear more of Adesola Adeduntan, especially in the larger economic space.

*Adesina, OON, FNGE is a former presidential spokesman.