Olasubomi Balogun, banker, philanthropist and a detribalised Nigerian, dies at age 89
For Otunba Michael Olaotan Olaonipekun Olasubomi Balogun, the urbane entrepreneur, consummate philanthropist, suave banking icon and quintessential patriarch of the Balogun clan in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, the story ended on 18th May 2023. But this was a life that embedded the saying that while good men must die, death cannot kill their names. By a combination of sheer grit and hard work, Balogun left indelible footprints in various spheres of life and his death has robbed Nigeria of one of the foremost boardroom icons and doyen of banking industry.
Born on 9th March 1934 at Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, Balogun graduated from Igbobi College and studied Law at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom. After earning his law degree, Balogun returned to Nigeria to join the Ministry of Justice, Western Region. From the regional Ministry of Justice where he was a crown counsel, Balogun found a new post as a parliamentary counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
After the January 1966 coup, Balogun joined the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB). At NIDB, his interest in investment banking led him to advocate for the establishment of a merchant bank. When ICON securities, a merchant banking outfit was established in 1973 as a subsidiary of NIDB, Balogun became the pioneer director of operations. He would later leave the firm to establish City Securities, a stock broking and issuing house, which developed relationships with Mobil, Texaco, and Total petroleum marketing companies, handling the companies’ equity offerings.
Imbued with a huge ambition to break new grounds, Balogun in 1979 applied for a merchant banking licence to establish First City Merchant Bank. The statutory requirement at the time was for a bank promoter to have a foreign partner, which Balogun did not have. Inspired by the entrepreneurial works of Siegmund Warburg, Balogun visited the co-founder of S.G. Warburg in London prior to establishing his merchant bank. When the bank commenced operations in 1983, Balogun established an entrepreneurial culture as an owner-managed bank in contrast to other existing banks at the time. The First City Merchant Bank later metamorphosed into a universal bank as First City Monument Bank (FCMB), which has today become a premium brand in the nation’s financial sector, perhaps the biggest legacy to Balogun’s over-decorated cap.
The story of this octogenarian icon who died at 89, one year shy of entering the nonagenarian club, is not about his exploits in the banking world alone. He was also a consummate philanthropist. One of his outstanding public-spirited acts of giving is the National Paediatric Centre in Ijebu-Ode which he built and donated to Ibadan’s University College Hospital (UCH). Balogun was also credited with providing regular donations and lending support to several worthy cause across the country.
His famed relationship with Second Republic Vice President Alex Ekwueme provides practical expression to his strength of character. Balogun himself told the story of how he took care of the house of Ekwueme, after he ran to the Southeast Nigeria following the outbreak of the civil war in 1967. That singular act of a detribalised man was to lead to a mutually beneficial relationship between him and the late vice president who was instrumental to Balogun securing a banking license.
As he therefore takes his final departure from mother earth, Otunbà Subomi Balogun who was conferred with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) as well as many chieftaincy titles and academic laurels epitomises The Talmud: “So live that people may speak well of thee at thy grave. The just needs no memorial, for his deeds are his monument.”
May the gentle soul of Otunba Olasunbomi Balogun rest in peace.
