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 brillianc.