The founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Otunba Subomi Balogun has passed away. He died yesterday Friday May 19th, at an undisclosed hospital in London, United Kingdom. Up until his death, he was the Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland.

Born on March 9, 1934 to the Fasengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode, in today’s Ogun State, Otunba (Dr.) Subomi Balogun had his secondary education at Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos, from where he passed out with Cambridge School Certificate Grade One in 1952. He had a one-year stint as a secondary school teacher before proceeding to the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) to study Law in 1956, armed with a GCE Advanced Level Certificate from the College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan, where he was a pioneer student. He graduated in flying colours from the LSE with a Second Class Honours degree in June, 1959, and was called to the English Bar in December, 1959.

Otunba Balogun was called to the English Bar in 1959. “The then government of Western Region trained me as the first Parliamentary draftsman. When the British were passing the Nigerian Independence Act, I was the first black face to be seen in the official box. This is the background I have.”

Otunba Balogun’s ‘first’ in the line of many ‘firsts’ that would decorate his path was when he became the first Nigerian to receive special training in Legal Drafting at Whitehall and the City of London, with particular specialisation in financial legislation, instruments and agreements, on the sponsorship of the then Western Regional Government. Upon return to Nigeria, Otunba Balogun served as Crown Counsel in the Ministry of Justice of Western Nigeria and, later, as Assistant Parliamentary Counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice. He cut his teeth in the world of banking at the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) where he was the first Principal Counsel and Company Secretary for nine years, from 1966 to 1975.

The extensive training he received at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), also known as The World Bank, and its private sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), both in Washington DC, United States, equipped him for the intricate world of banking. And with the trainings he received from leading stockbrokers, as well as investment and merchant banks in London and New York, he became a unique revelation and pace-setter in the financial services sector.

Within just two years of establishing City Securities, Otunba Balogun was able to manifest the experiences he garnered in his sojourn in some of the world’s leading stock broking firms, such that he bestrode the Nigerian capital market like a Colossus, prompting a leading and reputable financial journal to describe him as “a most distinguished and leading baron of the Nigerian Capital market”.

In 1979, Otunba Balogun scored his biggest ‘first’ when he took the unprecedented gamble of single-handedly setting up First City Merchant Bank (FCMB), Nigeria’s first privately owned merchant bank, independent of foreign partnership or government participation. That bold step opened the floodgate of merchant banks that dotted the country’s financial landscape in the 1980s.

For two decades, FCMB, under him as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, flourished, with a steady and uninterrupted growth that earned the bank national and international recognition as market leaders in investment banking and capital market services. He became Group Chairman, First City Group Limited in October, 2002 with the financial behemoth comprising First City Monument Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, First City Assets Management Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited and City Securities (Registrars) Limited.

Otunba Balogun held the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). And from outside the shores of Nigeria, he is a holder of the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine Al merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy), conferred on him by the Italian President in January, 1994.

A direct descendant of Oba Tunwase of Ijebu-Ode, Chief Balogun once held the chieftaincy title Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland. He was also the Olori Omoba of Ijebuland and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians.

Otunba Subomi Balogun is a true Akikanju!

Here are 10 things to know about the late FCMB founder.

1. The late banker was born on 9 March 1934 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
2. Balogun was a long-time member of the council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
3. The deceased converted to Christianity during his secondary school days in Igbobi college.
4. Until his demise, Balogun was the Otunba Tunwase of Ijebu-land. He was also the Olori Omoba of Ijebu-land and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians.
5. After studying in London, Balogun returned to Nigeria to join the Ministry of Justice, Western Region.
6. He later joined the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank after the January 1966 coup.
7. Balogun built a National Pediatric Centre in Ijebu-Ode and donated the centre to University of Ibadan’s College Teaching Hospital.
8. He studied Law at the London School of Economics.
9. He also briefly worked as a teacher before leaving for Europe.
10. In 1979, he applied for a merchant banking license to establish First City Merchant Bank. The operations of the bank began in 1983.

References:

10 ‘outstanding’ facts about late billionaire banker, Subomi Balogun (punchng.com)

Subomi Balogun: Royalty, Riches and Reverence – THISDAYLIVE

Otunba Subomi Balogun: The life of an Icon and Pathfinder at 84 – Vanguard News (vanguardngr.com)