As far as the jungle is concerned, the lion remains king. It
does not matter whether it is male or female, young or old. It’s also not about the
look of the lion but the heart. So when the wise man says, he is not afraid of
a pride of lions led by a sheep but he is afraid of a flock of sheeps led by a
lion. We understand.
So, when First bank of Nigeria decided to make this dynamic,
resilient and superb woman-entrepreneur its chairman, it came as no surprise
but a break of norm. A position no female has been able to reach since the
establishment of First Bank of Nigeria in 1894. Did I hear you say, this lady
must be lucky? Luck? This new position vested on Ibukun Blessing Awosika, came
as a result of hard work, diligence, high level of integrity, self confidence
and positive business attitude.
Many have since used the opportunity to congratulate her doggedness and excellent spirit which has brought her to where she is now but one seem to strike me, and that’s from one Aisha Yesufu - “You dared to dream. You dared to achieve. You are daring others to dare.”
Blessing was born on the 26th of December, 1962 to the
Adekola’s family in Ibadan. Third child of a family of seven. She was born into
a Muslim family. Attended Methodist Girls High School and won the Dotun
Okubanjo prize for the most outstanding student in her set. Ibukun Blessing Awosika is a graduate of Chemistry
from Obafemi Awolowo University and an alumna of the Chief Executive Programme
at the Lagos Business School and the Global Executive MBA programme from IESE
Business School, Barcelona.
During her youth service, Blessing worked at Akintola
Williams & Co. (Delloite) as an Audit Trainee. It was after her National
Youth Service (NYSC) programme, she had a three month internship with Alibert
Nigeria Ltd (A furniture company) as a Showroom manager. Blessing started her own
furniture manufacturing company, Quebees Ltd - now The Chair Center Limited. A
company which has become a market leader in the office furniture and banking
security systems industries. The Chair Center Limited has expanded into Accra
and Tinapa in Calabar, Nigeria. She is also the CEO of TCC Security Systems,
manufacturers and marketers of office furniture, office seating and Banking
Security Systems in Nigeria and West Africa.
Other achievements, awards, recognition and charitable cause
attributed to Ibukun Blessing Awosika are listed as follows;
- Founder of Christian missionary fund
- Past Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Women In Management and Business (WIMBIZ)
- Founder of the Afterschool Graduate Development Center (AGDC)
- Chairman of Intermac, the organisers of Smart Card Conference in Nigeria
- Member of the governing board of the Convention on Business Integrity.
- Member of the Board of Directors of Digital Jewels Ltd.
- Member of the Board of Directors of Cadbury Plc.
- Member of the board of the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund.
- Member of the Lagos State University’s governing council
- Member of the National Economic Summit Group (NESG).
- Served on the National Job Creation Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee for NNPC.
- FATE Model Entrepreneur Award 2006,
- Golden Heart Awards 2007
- A fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
- Author of two books “The ‘Girl’ Entrepreneurs: Our Stories So Far” and “Business His Way"
Credit: reportnaija.com, connectnigeria.com, punchng.com, theglowingcolours.com,
venturesafrica.com
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