But for divine intervention, Dr. Bayo Olugbemi; managing director and Chief Executive Officer of First Registrars & Investor Services Limited who has a string of intimidating credentials may have ended up an artisan with a primary school leaving certificate.
His parents had stopped his older siblings from acquiring more education because his uncle who had a bit of education died at his prime just when he was to settle for a good life.
The family suspected he was killed. To forestall more losses they decided nobody would go to school again. So, his older siblings who were quite brilliant did not go beyond primary school.
But when it got to Bayo Olugbemi’s turn, a prophecy from a teacher cum prophet turned the tide.
“The prophet said to my parents that I would become great in life. But the only condition was for me to get Western education. He said that was what God told him.” recalled Olugbemi who is also the pastor in charge of Lagos Province 19 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
By then he had completed his primary education in the only primary school in his village which served 50 other villages.
So, the coast was clear for him to proceed with his secondary education and also step out of the village for the first time in his 11 years of life.
He secured admission to Eyinni High School, Orita Challenge after overcoming some more hurdles. But the big challenge for him again was that his parents were not financially secure.
Education was tough
He had devised a means of supporting his education right from primary school. He recalled, “I sold corn meal before going to school in the morning and a couple of other items like moimoi. I used to get wood from the bush to do baskets and other crafts. We go hunting to get bush meat. We also go looking for snails.”
It was so bad that he had to do menial jobs to make up the N20 fee for the West Africa Secondary School Examination.
After his secondary education, he came to Lagos where he began to carve a niche for himself. He got a job with a tyre manufacturing company in Ijora, Lagos, and later secured a job in the banking sector.
His experience of salvation while in secondary school helped him to live a stable life. The encounter happened in an Anglican Church in Oyo State. It was during a crusade that Evangelist Sola Rotimi came to minister. The salvation experience turned out to be his greatest fallback while in Lagos.
Pursuing the goal
Olugbemi who once toyed with the idea of studying journalism became focused and pursued his dream of becoming great with a single heart. While in the banking industry, he began writing a series of professional exams at the same time pursuing his degree programme at the University of Lagos. He was getting promotions and at the same time getting more certificates.
The consequence was that life began to smile on him. Today, he has extensive experience spanning over 41 years in the areas of Investment Banking, Portfolio Management and a string of other areas of banking and investment.
Olugbemi’s credentials
Olugbemi whose grandparents founded the Olugbemi Village in Oluyole Local Government of Oyo State is described as a turnaround specialist who took over the then Registrars Department of First Bank and transformed it from a loss-making to a Multi Billion Naira venture.
He has led several initiatives that positively impacted several capital market institutions and has served and still serving on several committees of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Chartered Institute of Directors, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX)
An alumnus of Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA) where he is a member of EXCO; he is Director of Finance of Adeleke University and Redemption Chaplaincy International (RCI).
His credentials cut across both the secular and Christian divide. He served for several years on the Council of Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) as member, Assistant Treasurer and later as Treasurer.
He was a two-term Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Banking of Nigeria Lagos State Branch and Past President of Jericho Businessmen’s Club (A Club of Businessmen & Professionals) where he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
He was until recently an Executive Board member of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) where he served as the Chairman of The Young Professionals’ Mentoring Committee.
Service on several boards
Olugbemi also served on several boards of many Companies such as Meristem Finance Limited, Attwool Group of Schools, Blue Coral Healthcare Services Limited, and Oluyole Global Resources as Chairman and Cowry Assets Management Limited among others as a Non-Executive Director (NED).
He is a Serial Social Investor who has served and still serving on the Board of many organizations. He is reputed to be a philanthropist who has built infrastructures for many schools from primary to tertiary in Oyo, Lagos and Osun State.
He recently through Olufunke Kikelomo Olugbemi Cancer Foundation (OKOCAF), an NGO in honour of his Late wife completed a Cancer Centre at The University Teaching Hospital (UCH). He is the recipient of many awards and a fellow of many professional bodies.
Apart from his Accounting degree from the University of Lagos he also has an MBA in International Business from Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos, and a Master of Science (MSc) in Corporate Governance from Leeds Beckets (Metropolitan) University, Leeds, UK. He is currently doing a PhD in Entrepreneurship at Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State.
An alumnus of Harvard Business School, USA, and Lagos Business School, Nigeria, Olugbemi is known to have explored a chunk of investment banking in Nigeria and abroad; working for many organisations and world class institutions.
He is the Special Adviser to the Continental Overseer, Christian Social Responsibilities (SATCO-CSR) of RCCG Continent 3 and Chairman, of the RCCG Noise Pollution Committee.
Diligence pays
Olugbemi who has put in 24 years as MD said he has learned that it is good to be diligent. He recalled life in the village and how he would wake up around 2 am and trek far distances looking for water and hunting for bush meat.
But that is now history. He said what has kept him in the sector for so long was the grace of God and his decision to maintain his integrity in the face of strong temptation to cook the books.
“I had encounters where people come to meet me for deals. I tell them, I don’t do deal. I work. I don’t cut corners. I tell young people, no shortcut in life. Do your work.”
He said he had occasions where people come to his office with charms just to intimidate him and get him to manipulate financial figures but he turned them down.
Why business fail
Many banking institutions according to him failed because of greed of the owners, misjudgement and bad business moves.
While recalling that he had once lost over N300 million which he borrowed in the capital market, he said, “I bought a share at N17, it got to 25, 26 I did not sell. And it came back to N2.50k. I lost money.”
He said it was God who brought him out of the misery adding, “You can use your brain to do the business but it can fail. Ask how he has been able to survive in the business terrain in Nigeria despite the seeming hard times, he said, “I have been warned against money, wealth, and women and that it is better to be alone than to be in bad company. These are my guiding principles in life.”
He described money as a servant while also adding, “We should not serve money. The Bible is so clear about money. It is the love of money that is the problem. The word love in that context means lust. I have heard people say they are ready to kill their parents for money.”
How to Invest
He also pleaded that those who want to go into investment should not put all their eggs in one basket. “The best time to invest is now. But then there are some ages you have to be careful. At 60 you can’t afford to take some risks. And then, you don’t want to work all your life. You must be able to work in risk free areas that will give you some returns. Invest where you have a passion. You can invest in existing firms.”
Olugbemi said he has had his hands burnt by getting involved in some businesses. He recalled his stint in the transport and trading business even while in the banking industry.
He once had to take over the vehicle he hired a driver to help use for the transport business and drove it by himself to carry people for a fee while going to work and returning home. “I discovered the money I made in one day was more than what he delivered to me in a week,” he reminisced.
As RCCG pastor
Olugbemi joined the RCCG in 1991 and has since not looked back on his commitment to Christ and the church.
He was one of the first set of pastors to be in charge of Christian Social Responsibility. He said he had always had a passion for the poor given his background.
Over the years, he said he has learned to treat everybody as important because what goes round comes round. “I have been in a situation where those who came up to help surprised me. I try to serve with all my heart. It is grace that has helped me. I was not the most brilliant student but God is the one helping me.”
He counseled that one of the best ways to navigate life is to help as many people as possible. “Do good to all men. There are people you help that will want to bring you down. I have been called a fool before. I have had to pay millions of naira for debts I do not owe.”
His 60th birthday which comes up September 30 will be marked with sessions of praise and a time to visit the prisons, homes for the blind, and a lot of community support.
