The Chairman/Founder of The Address Homes, Dr Olabisi Onasanya was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) in Finance at the 7th convocation ceremony of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) held at the main campus, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State last Saturday.
The conferment was approved by the University Senate and governing council in recognition of Onasanya’s “professional excellence, illustrious persona as an excellent banker and brilliant Chartered Accountant, as well as his exemplary leadership in contemporary Nigeria especially the real estate industry with positive impacts on the lives of the vast majority of people”.
During the well-attended ceremony, the former Group Managing Director/CEO of First Bank Plc was decorated by FUOYE Vice Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Fasina; the Chancellor, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji Matthew Opaluwa (Ata Igala); and members of the University Senate, alongside two other prominent Nigerians – football legend, Segun Odegbami; and legal luminary, Chief Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
A quintessential Nigerian banker, suave gentleman, and intellectually fertile colossus who phenomenally transited from the pinnacle of the banking industry to redefine excellence in the burgeoning real estate sector, Onasanya is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Taxation. He also served as a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ Sub-Committee on Fiscal and Monetary Policies, and of the Presidential Committee on Reduction of Interest Rates.
In his acceptance speech, Onasanya expressed gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, the Governing Council, the Senate, staff and students of the university for finding him deserving of such an exalted honour, while promising not to relent on his efforts. An elated Onasanya, who was accompanied to the event by his wife, Mrs Helen Onasanya, and some of his close friends and associates, announced the donation of N1 million to the FUOYE’s best-graduating student in Accounting, 24-year-old Oyedele Abibat Adejoke, who bagged first class in Accounting.
“I thank God that after seven years of my retirement as the Group Managing Director of First Bank, I am still active and relevant to my society”, Onasanya said, adding: “We should be able to give back to the society and perform our duty wherever we find ourselves so as to encourage the young ones”.
Onasanya said to the young graduands: “Take everything you have learnt in the course of your time here as a tool to help with solving people’s problems. Education is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. The end is to create solutions for the society and people you meet throughout your life”.
Fasina said that the institution, within the shortest time of creation, has carved a niche for itself on the international grid of academic excellence and connecting the town and the gown for economic prosperity. While congratulating the graduands on their academic feats, Fasina admonished them to positively project the image of the institution.
Responding on behalf of the honorary award recipients, Olanipekun spoke glowingly of Onasanya, particularly his selfless impact in the society and that he has a lot to still offer Nigeria.
Having spent about 21 years with First Bank until his retirement, Onasanya had plunged into his long-time passion – the real estate industry, where he established The Address Homes Limited, a luxury real estate company with business interests in the acquisition, development, and management of residential buildings across Nigeria. Since The Address Homes came on board through his strategic efforts, it has taken over the leadership of the luxury real estate industry in Nigeria through professionalism, aesthetic designs, style, affordable and flexible payment plans to the admiration and satisfaction of its clients.
