Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has described the late Dr. Gamaliel Onosode as a true symbol of integrity, an outstanding patriot and an icon of the best of Nigeria’s national values.
“An iroko in the corporate world has fallen,’’ he said while reacting to Tuesday’s passing away of the former presidential adviser.
Onosode, an industrialist, technocrat, chartered stockbroker, administrator and financial consultant, passed on early Tuesday at 82.
According to his son, Ese, he died at 8.15 a.m.
Anyaoku said: “Gam, as he was called by his contemporaries, was a true symbol of integrity in the boardroom. He was an outstanding patriot and an icon of the best on Nigeria’s national values”.
He also said Onosode was outstanding in his support for religious activities.
“He was a man of God who deployed a significant part of his righteously acquired resources to supporting the church in his hometown of Ughelli and in Lagos where he lived an exemplary modest life,’’ Anyaoku said.
The former Commonwealth Secretary-General further said Onosode would be missed by the very many people whose lives he touched in many beneficial ways.
“Gamaliel was my best man at our wedding almost 53 years ago. My entire family, which enjoys close relationship with his family, joins his wife Susan and their children in mourning this virtuous man.
“We thank God for his remarkable and fulfilled life, and pray that his soul will ret in perfect peace,’’ Anyaoku said.
Onosode, an Urhobo-born financial consultant was born on May 22, 1933 in Sapele, a sub-urban city in the current Delta.
He was educated at Government College, Ughelli and the University of Ibadan.
Onosode later emerged in the 1970s as one of Nigeria’s leading educated chief executives, when he was at the helm of affairs at NAL Merchant Bank of Nigeria.
Over the years, he rose to become a leading boardroom player in Nigeria’s corporate environment.
He was a Presidential Adviser to the then President Shehu Shagari and a former President of the Nigerian Institute of Management, and chaired several private and public sector businesses and initiatives.
These include Dunlop Nigeria Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Presidential Commission on Parastatals and Nigeria LNG Working Committee and Nigeria LNG Limited and the Niger Delta Environmental Survey.
Onosode was a Fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
In addition, Onosode was immediate-past and inaugural President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, immediate past Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Uyo.
He holds Honorary D.Sc. degrees of Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Benin and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
Before his death, he was Chairman of Delta State Think-Tank on Development, Global Missions Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and Governing Council of Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso.
Meanwhile, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has expressed sadness over the death.
“Mr. Onosode was one of the few Nigerians who ruled the boardroom. A quintessential businessman, he was also a master in his field and deeply religious. It was not, therefore, surprising that he rose to become a leading boardroom player in Nigeria’s corporate environment”.
“He will be remembered for the dexterity he brought to bear when he served as chairman and board member of several multinational companies.
“I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the Onosode family on behalf of the good people of Lagos State. This is indeed a sad loss”, Ambode said.
He also prayed that Almighty God grant the soul of the departed peaceful repose and for the family, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Also, former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, described Onosode as an extraordinary boardroom guru and a consummate philanthropist whose demise is a monumental loss to the nation.
He acknowledged the accomplishments of the late technocrat in the private and public spheres of life.
In a statement by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, Kalu said: “The passing of Deacon Gamaliel Onosode is sad, coming at a time his vast wisdom is needed for the economic advancement of the country. He was a silent achiever who believed in sincerity, hard work and equity. He lived a modest life despite his intimidating credentials. His legacies will remain evergreen in the minds of the people. Mr. Onosode will be deeply missed”.
The former governor urged the deceased’s family to take solace in the fact that their patriarch lived a fulfilled life dedicated to God and humanity.
Kalu, while commiserating with the government and people of Delta State, the Onosode family, prayed God to grant the late entrepreneur eternal rest and also give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, described the death as an irremediable loss to the Nigerian Business firmament, the Urhobo nation, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole.
A statement signed by Ibori’s Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, described Onosode as an “authentic conscience of the nation”.
“Though he was an extraordinary boardroom guru, he managed to remain Nigeria’s Mr. Clean. Though he once vied for the presidency on the platform of the defunct Nigerian Republican Convention (NRC), he was thoroughly above divisive politics as he remained a national figure”.
Ibori said that Onosode was not only all things to all people but he was the best among the decent, the upright, the virtuous, the worthy and the respectable. To the scholars, he was an incandescent brain, to the church, he was an uncommon preacher who not only built a church and ministered as a pastor, his greatest preaching is the exemplary way he led his entire life; for God and country.
Ibori said: “I will never forget the enthusiasm with which Onosode agreed to serve in a special Advisory Council I set up during my watch as Governor, or the passionate service Onosode rendered to his beloved state. At the same time, he was extremely reluctant to seek personal glory or gain.
“Onosode was a teacher who taught more by example than by precepts. He was singular in his preeminence, loftiness of ideas, the broad expanse of avenues he had of meeting the challenge of the public good, the exciting lucidity of his conscience and the pinnacle of excellence on which he perched – like an eagle. He had no rivals. He had no equals. He was singular, so singular that his life was a veritable blessing to Nigeria.
“He will be sourly missed. May his great and gentle soul rest in perfect peace and May God grant his family the grace to bear this monumental loss.
Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye, the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan (UI), described Onasode as an exemplary human and an advocate of excellence.
Ajiboye said that he was knowledgeable about everything and a big technocrat of note.
He said that as the former Pro-chancellor and the Chairman governing council of the University of Ibadan, Onasode performed creditably.
“The late Onasode performed creditably for the good and development of his alma mater, through him, a lot of projects were funded in the university.
“He was an exemplary human being who pursued ideas. He made sure that the University of Ibadan got back from its fortune and regained its lost glory,” he said.
The ASUU chairman said that the Onosode would be remember for his forthrightness, compatriot, transparency and honesty.
“Many universities used him as their pro-Chancellor because of his transparency and service to humanity.
“We pray God to give the Onosode family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss”.
Some financial experts described the death as a big blow to the nation’s capital market, the banking industry and entire corporate Nigeria.
Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, a former President of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said that the country had lost a gem and an “epitome of moderation and simplicity”.
Unegbu, who described the death as painful, said that Onosode stood for truth, hated corruption and never accepted unethical conduct during his active years.
He said that the financial community would surely miss him and prayed for the repose of his soul.
Mr Emeka Madubuike, the President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, said that Onosode was instrumental to the stability in the capital market and the economy in general.
Madubuike said that Onosode contributed to the country’s economic development as the chairman of various quoted companies and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Investor Protection Fund.
He, however, said that the market would not mourn, but would celebrate him having died at a very ripe age.
He called on other corporate Nigerians to emulate and maintain his legacy.
Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., also said that Onosode’s death was a great loss to the entire capital market community.
Kurfi said that Onosode contributed his quota to the development of the NSE and the stability of the Institute of Chartered Stockbrokers (CIS).
He said that Onosode was also instrumental to the transformation of the capital market through efficient policies.
“We cannot forget him; Onosode is one of the greatest contributor to the market; the first doyen to be lost and we will surely miss him,” Kurfi said.
Mr Adebayo Adeleke, the National Secretary, Independent Shareholders of Nigeria (ISAN), said that Onosode was one of the pillars of industry in Nigeria.
Adeleke said that he was “a great influence on economic policies and development straddling over four decades.”
