By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has congratulated the United Bank for Africa (UBA) chairman, Tony Elumelu, over his inclusion in the Time Magazine International’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world
Elumelu who is also the chairman of Transcorp Plc is among three Nigerians named by the magazine on the 2020 TIME100, its annual roll call of honour.
The other two Nigerians include Tomi Adeyemi and Tunji Funsho.
Elumelu is acknowledged as one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists for his achievements in business, industry and development not only in Nigeria in particular, but also in Africa in general.
The list, now in its 17th year, recognises the activism, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals in their respective fields of human endeavour.
Elumelu, who is also the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, is only one of four Africans on the 2020 list, recognised for his track record of business turnaround and value creation, and economic empowerment of young Africans.
Peterside said Elumelu’s inclusion in the prestigious list was “badge of honour for a man who has devoted his time, resources, being and comfort towards raising hundreds if not thousands of entrepreneurs across the African continent.”
Saying that Elumelu is “perhaps the biggest success story in the Nigerian banking industry,” Peterside insisted that he has through his foundation, “touched lives, with reverberating effects that will endure for generations.”
The statement titled, “To Tony Elumelu, Congratulations – 100 Times, reads:
“According to Napoleon Hill: “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.”
“There are no truer words than these about the life and times of Tony Elumelu who, without question, has journeyed through some of the greatest challenges in life and reached his destination so remarkably as if it were so easy.
“Tony is perhaps the biggest success story in the Nigerian banking industry having taken the then nascent Standard Trust Bank to challenge the biggest names in the industry, culminating to an audacious merger with the United Bank for Africa (UBA). This merger saw Elumelu to the top echelons of corporate banking in Nigeria and Africa. The footprints he left in Nigeria’s banking sector is yet to be matched.
“His recognition by the much-revered *Time International Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World* is a fitting testimony and badge of honour for a man who has devoted his time, resources, being and comfort towards raising hundreds if not thousands of entrepreneurs across the African continent.
“It is arguable that there has never been any initiative, policy or action across the continent that has challenged African entrepreneurs the way and manner the *Tony Elumelu Foundation* has touched lives, with reverberating effects that will endure for generations.
“Whilst many countries are still struggling to have a breakthrough in a sustainable trajectory that can utilize the abundance of talents that straddle every corner of the continent, Tony’s profound and deepening challenge to young Africans will in the nearest future blossom to produce thinking and creative generations.
With interests that cut across power generation, healthcare, hospitality, and banking, Tony Elumelu continues to represent fresh frontiers, full of opportunities but available to only those who dare to chart a new course and brace the odds to succeed.
“Being a Leadership Development Professional and a Turnaround Manager myself, I appreciate the enormous work Tony Elumelu has done in raising a new generation of entrepreneurs across Africa. This recognition will undoubtedly bolster his determination to alter the course of emerging Africa’s generations for the better and place them on a pedestal of prosperity, service to humanity, and above all, provide leadership for the continent. He is championing a new Africa that will take a prideful position in the comity of continents.
“In the words of Sonia Johnson: “We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.”
