•Buhari, Ambode, Anyaoku, Tinubu,
others mourn
Gamaliel Onosode, frontline industrialist, skillful boardroom player, financial consultant and renowned administrator, died yesterday in Lagos. He was 82.
Tributes came in torrents from the high and mighty, among whom he was numbered.
President Muhammadu Buhari, governors, industrialists and other eminent Nigerians paid homage to the character and achievements of the former presidential aspirant.
Onosode’s son, Ese, in a terse statement, announced that his father died at 8.15am.
At the late Onosode’s home in Surulere, Lagos Mainland, his widow, Susan, was prevented from speaking to reporters by family members.
A condolence register was opened in front of the building.
The register was placed on a table, decorated with flowers and with the portrait of the late Onosode, with his gleaming trademark hair pattern.
Dignitaries were steaming. Among them were the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Rahman Bello, who said the university was lucky to have the late Onosode as the pro-chancellor.
“The period he spent with us has reshaped the way the university operates,” he said.
Onosode, an Urhobo, was born on May 22, 1933 in Sapele, Delta State.
He was educated at the Government College, Ughelli and the University of Ibadan (UI).
In the 1970s, he became one of Nigeria’s leading chief executives, when he was at the helm of affairs at NAL Merchant Bank of Nigeria.
Over the years, he became a leading boardroom player.
He was an adviser to the then President Shehu Shagari and a former President of the Nigerian Institute of Management. He chaired several private and public sector businesses and initiatives.
These include Dunlop Nigeria Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Presidential Commission on Parastatals and Nigeria LNG Working Committee and Nigeria LNG Limited and the Niger Delta Environmental Survey.
The late Onosode was a Fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
He was the immediate-past and inaugural President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, immediate past Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Uyo.
He held Honorary D.Sc. degrees of Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Benin and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
He was chairman of Delta State Think-Tank on Development, Global Missions Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and Governing Council of Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso
President Buhari extended condolences to the family.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, also commiserated with the government and people of Delta State, and the Nigerian Baptist Convention on the passing away of their illustrious son and evangelist.
The statement said: “He joined them in mourning Mr. Onosode, who apart from being a colossus in Nigeria’s private sector, also excelled in public service on various occasions.
“President Buhari believed that Mr. Onosode will be long remembered as an exemplary citizen and leader who made very significant contributions to national development.
“He urged his family, friends, associates and other Nigerians to honour Mr. Onosode’s memory by upholding the virtues of integrity, honesty and dedication to service, which he passionately promoted in his long and highly successful career in the private and public sectors.”
Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, the late Onosode’s friend of more than five decades, described him as “a true symbol of integrity, an outstanding patriot and an icon of the best of Nigeria’s national values”.
“An iroko in the corporate world has fallen,’’ he said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“Gam, as he was called by his contemporaries, was a true symbol of integrity in the boardroom. He was an outstanding patriot and an icon of the best on Nigeria’s national values,’’ Anyaoku said.
“He was a man of God who deployed a significant part of his righteously acquired resources to supporting the church in his hometown of Ughelli and in Lagos where he lived an exemplary modest life,’’ Anyaoku said.
“Gamaliel was my best man at our wedding almost 53 years ago. My entire family, which enjoys close relationship with his family, joins his wife Susan and their children in mourning this virtuous man.
“We thank God for his remarkable and fulfilled life and pray that his soul will rest in perfect peace,’’ Anyaoku said.
.Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Habib Aruna, expressed sadness over Onosode’s death.
”Mr. Onosode was one of the few Nigerians who ruled the boardroom. A quintessential businessman, he was also a master in his field and deeply religious. It was not therefore surprising that he rose to become a leading boardroom player in Nigeria’s corporate environment.
“He will be remembered for the dexterity he brought to bear when he served as chairman and board member of several multinational companies.”
“I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the Onosode family on behalf of the good people of Lagos state. This is indeed a sad loss,” Ambode said.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the late Onosode as a man of integrity and an exemplary discipline.
”Onosode was a big man who didn’t necessarily look the part,” Atiku said, adding that “he was in trim, good shape and his tastes were simple”.
The Turaki Adamawa recalled that the late Onosode was chairman of many panels, boards, councils, commissions and committees in both public and private sectors.
“From the private to the public sector, many organisations in Nigeria will today be mourning the loss of one of their own.”
Some financial experts described Onosode’s death as a big blow to the nation’s capital market, banking and the entire corporate Nigeria.
Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, a former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said the country had lost a gem and an “epitome of moderation and simplicity”.
Unegbu, who described the death as painful, said the late Onosode stood for truth, hated corruption and never accepted unethical conduct during his active years.
Emeka Madubuike, the President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, said the late Onosode was instrumental to the stability in the capital market and the economy in general.
Madubuike said the late Onosode contributed to the country’s economic development as the chairman of various quoted companies and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Investor Protection Fund.
Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., also said Onosode’s death was a great loss to the entire capital market community.
Kurfi said the late Onosode contributed his quota to the development of the NSE and the stability of the Institute of Chartered Stockbrokers (CIS).
He said Onosode was also instrumental to the transformation of the capital market through efficient policies.
“We cannot forget him; Onosode is one of the greatest contributor to the market; the first doyen to be lost and we will surely miss him,” Kurfi said.
Mr Adebayo Adeleke, the National Secretary, Independent Shareholders of Nigeria (ISAN), said the late Onosode was one of the pillars of industry in Nigeria.
Adeleke said that he was “a great influence on economic policies and development straddling over four decades”.
Tinubu mourns foremost industrialist
National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday condoled with the Onosode family.
In a letter to the family, he said: “I write to commiserate with the entire Onosodefamily on the glorious passing of your accomplished and most distinguished father and an illustrious son of our country, Nigeria, Deacon Gamaliel Offoritsenere Onosode.
“As a Nigerian, I note with pride that he excelled in many areas and served as a shining example of erudition, honesty, industry, passion, selflessness and Godliness in his private and public engagements, comportment and disposition. It is no wonder that your late patriarch commanded deep admiration and respect from far and near, from both public and private sectors and from all shades of political opinions and leanings.
“I appreciate that this is likely to be a time of mixed emotions for the family. However, while it is proper and deserving to mourn the passing, loss and irreplaceability of an exceptional human being, I urge you to focus more on thanking God for his life and on celebrating hisnotable contributions to Nigeria and to humanity.
“On behalf of my family and I, please accept my deepest condolences. You will remain in my thoughts and prayers as your family is joined by many in celebrating the life and times of the departed great son of Nigeria. “
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