Waheed Olagunju of the Bank of Industry named Corporate Ambassador at the 2014 Nigeria Arise Awards in London.
Mr Waheed Olagunju the Bank of Industry's Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises has been conferred with the award of Corporate Ambassador at the 2014 Nigeria Arise Awards ceremony organized recently by BEN Television of London. Mr Olagunju was honoured primarily for his services to the Corporate World, most especially his selfless and dedicated service to the Bank of Industry since its inception in 2001 that has enabled the bank make considerable impact on Nigeria's industrial development. The organizers specifically noted the central role that Mr Olagunju played in the successful New World Nigeria International Campaign that was one of the business and cultural side events of the 2012 London Olympics the high point of which was the High Level Business and Investment Summit on Nigeria that took place at the Dorchester.
According to the award citation , Mr. Waheed Abiodun Olagunju who joined the Bank of Industry's precursor institution the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) in 1990 as a Senior Manager rose to the position of Executive Director (Business Development) in 2012. He also acted as Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BOI) between 11 th April and 16 th May, 2014 and was recently reassigned as the Executive Director (Small and Medium Enterprises) under the Bank's management team led by Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, BOI's new Managing Director and Chief Executive to whom the organizers sent their warmest congratulations.
Prior to Mr Waheed Olagunju's appointment as a member of the Bank's Board of Directors in 2012, he served as the Company Secretary of NIDB/BOI for 15 years (1997 – 2012) and concurrently as General Manager, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications between 2007 and 2012. In those capacities he was one of the architects and strong drivers of BOI's outstanding turnaround and transformation into one of Africa's best Development Finance Institutions (DFI).
In the course of his involvement with the reconstruction of NIDB into BOI (2000-2001) and the consolidation of the mandates of NIDB, the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI) and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) into that of the Bank of Industry, Mr Olagunju worked very closely with Messrs KPMG, the consultancy firm that was engaged to handle the exercise and the leadership of the then Federal Ministry of Industry. In the early years of BOI, Mr. Olagunju coordinated the diagnostic study of the bank that was undertaken between 2004 and 2005 by the Swedish consultants (Messrs Swedish Development Advisers) who were appointed by the African Development Bank that managed the grant from the Swedish government for the exercise.
While thanking the organisers of the Nigeria Arise Awards for the honour and recognition, Mr Waheed Olagunju dedicated the award to his professional colleagues at the Bank of Industry. According to him, he was part of a formidable team that worked in concert to build one of Africa's best development finance institutions despite daunting challenges. He expressed his gratitude to the bank's successive Managements and Board of Directors over the past twenty four (24) years for giving him the opportunity to realize his potentials.
The Nigeria Arise Award was initiated by BEN Television of London to honour Nigerians at home and abroad who have excelled in their various fields of endeavours as well as friends of Nigeria and organizations that have made positive impact on Nigerians and also outstanding contributions to Nigeria's development. Governors Godswill Akpabio, Ibikunle Amosun and Ramalan Yero of Akwa Ibom, Ogun and Kaduna States respectively were also honoured at this year's centenary edition which is the fourth. Other recipients included Patsor Tunde Bakare and Dr Nazir Ahmed an educationist who has produced more than 100 high grade Nigerian students from his schools in the United Kingdom.
CAPTIONS FOR PICTURES TAKEN AT THE 2014 NIGERIA ARISE AWARDS CEREMONY IN LONDON
Picture 1:
Left to right: Mr Waheed Olagunju receiving his award of Corporate Ambassador from the former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu at the Nigeria Arise Awards organized recently in London by BEN Television to honour Nigerians at home and abroad who have excelled in their various fields of endeavours as well as friends of Nigeria and organizations that have made positive impact on Nigerians and also outstanding contributions to Nigeria's development.
Picture 2:
Left to right: Mr Waheed Olagunju delivering his acceptance speech after receiving his award of Corporate Ambassador from the former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu (middle) and Charles Khiran the Master of Ceremony at the Nigeria Arise Awards organized recently in London by BEN Television to honour Nigerians at home and abroad who have excelled in their various fields of endeavours as well as friends of Nigeria and organizations that have made positive impact on Nigerians and also outstanding contributions to Nigeria's development.
CITATION AT THE NIGERIA ARISE AWARD CEREMONY THAT TOOK PLACE IN LONDON ON 30 TH AUGUST 2014
Mr. Waheed Abiodun Olagunju joined the Bank of Industry's precursor institution, the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) in 1990 as a Senior Manager and rose to the position of Executive Director (Business Development) in 2012 . He also acted as Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BOI) between 11 th April and 16 th May, 2014 and was recently reassigned as the Executive Director (Small and Medium Enterprises) under the Bank's management team led by Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, BOI's new Managing Director and Chief Executive. Nigeria Arise sends its warmest congratulations to Mr Olaoluwa.
Prior to Mr Waheed Olagunju's appointment as a member of the Bank's Board of Directors in 2012, he served as the Company Secretary of BOI for 15 years (1997 – 2012) and concurrently as General Manager, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications between 2007 and 2012. In those capacities he was one of the architects and strong drivers of BOI's outstanding turnaround and transformation into one of Africa's best Development Finance Institutions (DFI).
In the course of his involvement with the reconstruction of NIDB into BOI (2000-2001) and the consolidation of the mandates of NIDB, the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI) and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) into that of the Bank of Industry, Mr Olagunju worked very closely with Messrs KPMG, the consultancy firm that was engaged to handle the exercise and the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Industry. In the early years of BOI, Mr. Olagunju coordinated the diagnostic study of the bank that was undertaken between 2004 and 2005 by the Swedish consultants (Messrs Swedish Development Advisers) who were appointed by the African Development Bank that managed the grant from the Swedish government for the exercise.
His selfless and dedicated service to the Bank of Industry since its inception has been crucial to the bank's ability to make significant contributions to Nigeria's industrial development. These have also included mobilizing prospective investors from the diaspora and other parts of the world who are already active players in the global economic value chain to partner with Nigeria's private and public sector entities in the transformation of the Nigerian economy. The Bank of Industry's most impactful initiative in this regard was the successful New World Nigeria International Campaign that was one of the business and cultural side events of the 2012 London Olympics, the high point of which was the High Level Business and Investment Summit on Nigeria. It is on record that Mr. Olagunju played a central role in the conceptualization, design and execution of most of these initiatives, especially the New World Nigeria Project.
It is in appreciation of these achievements that Mr Waheed Olagunju is conferred with the award of Nigeria's Corporate Ambassador for the year 2014.
Michael Peters
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