Okunbo: Honour well deserved

Larry Osazuwa

 

SIR: The axiom that ‘a golden fish has no hiding place,’ was confirmed in the life of Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, CEO of Ocean Marine Security Ltd during the week as the renowned business magazine, Forbes, announced his nomination as a recipient of the 2020 Forbes Best of Africa award.

Interestingly, the honour is coming on the heels of recent uncalled for attack on the business mogul and eminent son of Benin Kingdom who has proven as one worthy of emulation in the global stage. Indeed, the award is coming in the face of the vehement ‘pull him Down syndrome, which came from no less persons but the governor of his home state of Edo, Godwin Obaseki and the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

The Forbes magazine while announcing Capt Okunbo as a recipient of the 2020 award described him as a Nigerian business magnate, philanthropist and investor. The magazine acknowledged his humble beginnings tracing his career to the starting point as a professional commercial pilot before venturing into business in the oil and gas sector.

Profiling his exploits in business over the years and the spread, Forbes said, “Today, the range of his business portfolio spans maritime solutions, real estate, hospitality, aviation, entertainment, power, telecoms and agriculture.

According to the magazine, the awards will be presented September 11 during a virtual event in conjunction with the Foreign Investment Network (FIN). The event, an online roundtable discussion supported by the World Philanthropy Network, features a keynote address by former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Okunbo leads two other Nigerians, Mahmood Ahmadu, founder and executive chairman of Online Integrated Solutions Ltd; and Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan, managing director of First Bank Nigeria, as recipients of 2020 version of the respected award.

Earlier in the month, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, bestowed a similar honour on him for his role in helping to curb human trafficking. NAPTIP appointed him its anti-human trafficking hero on the occasion of the 2020 World Day Against Human Trafficking.

In a citation uploaded on the agency’s website and social media handles, NAPTIP said Capt. Okunbo had remained a formidable individual in partnering with the agency by committing personal resources into the fight against the illicit business of human trafficking and illegal migration.

As Williams Shakespeare wrote: “men with few words are the best men.” Capt. Hosa is a man of few words; his actions and large-heartedness are more than his words. His responses to situations and circumstances that put pressure on him or threaten his interests or assail his character either in the competitive or rivalrous business circles or in the public domain/media space are dealt with in measured cadences. He does not rush his responses when it becomes necessary to issue any. He weighs his actions; polishes his responses before releasing them for public consumption.

Three things are always of overriding considerations in his decision to respond: his children for whom he has built a good name (and wants to leave a good name); the youths to whom he is a role model; and, posterity, which is the ultimate judge of human actions and inactions after leaving the earthly stage.

 

• Larry Osazuwa, Benin City.