I come from a humble background, the first son of an administrative clerk and a seamstress. I was fortunate to obtain a scholarship to attend King’s College Lagos and then the University of Lagos. Following graduation, my first job was as a mathematics teacher in a city primary school. There I met a mentor who believed I could achieve more in life by working in the world of business. So I switched direction and joined a financial institution, Keystone Bank.
Early on, I was disappointed when I lost a career opportunity to a candidate who was a chartered accountant. This gave me an awareness of the edge that person had over me. The experience persuaded me to pursue a global accounting qualification rather than the local one and I registered with ACCA.
Having no accounting background, I took training sessions for my skills papers with an ACCA approved learning provider, then self-studied for my advanced professional papers. The hard work paid off and I qualified in 2021. It feels great to belong to a family of global leaders in accounting, finance and business.
In my banking role, I presented a paper to senior executives to establish a business process improvement team. They were impressed and I subsequently served as a pioneer member of this team. However, career advancement in the Nigerian financial services industry can be stunted. So, with my ACCA Qualification under my belt, I decided to explore opportunities with a Big Four firm and succeeded in landing a job at Deloitte in Lagos, which is Nigeria’s financial capital.
I lost a career opportunity to a candidate who was a chartered accountant. It gave me an awareness of the edge that person had
Since then, having completed the Deloitte Finance Academy as a top flier, I was shortlisted to work in the actuarial and quantitative solutions team. The job consists of advanced financial/risk modelling and advisory on accounting standards, often requiring very technical computations, so is well suited to my performance and mathematical background. I also carry out actuarial computations, as well as stress testing and validations.
The role provides me with great access to learning, development and the opportunity to improve my skills in finance.
The Nigerian economic environment is not easy for businesses due to galloping inflation, adverse movement in foreign exchange, interest rates and other monetary policy issues. The Russian invasion of Ukraine negatively affected the cost of imported products, fuel and gas. That said, the business climate is densely populated with entrepreneurially minded people, and there are enormous opportunities, particularly for retail products, if a cost-leadership strategy is followed.
Misappropriation of funds and financial crime are all too common in my country. If I had law-making powers, I would enforce strong punitive measures on individuals who abuse their position rather than working for the good of society. I would also provide incentives to encourage and reward local industries that take positive steps to expand the economy through growth and development.
As my career progresses, I would like to lead projects to increase the independence of financial reporting. More generally, I would like to be in a position to enhance business sustainability, growth and innovation, for example working on preventing business liquidations through transformational initiatives and strategies. Contributing actively to the development of Nigerian business is also on my longer-term agenda.
ACCA is a total transformation journey. I have never once regretted listening to the advice given to me by the mentor who encouraged me to take it, and have taken it upon myself to motivate those coming behind me. The teacher in me gets great satisfaction from facilitating learning so I continue to assist students with their study challenges, helping them to develop and hopefully emerge as certified accounting professionals.
When I am not at work, I love to admire the beauty of nature and visit new environments.
