National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Monday, October 14, 2013
He was born into a respectable, and in all ramifications, very comfortable Lagos family. But he is one man who never allowed the affluence of his parents becloud his sense of personal conviction. He is Akin Kekere-Ekun, former managing director, Habib Nigeria Bank Limited and former chairman, Technical Committee, National Council of Privatisation. By Adejuwon Osunnuyi
A
kin Kekere-Ekun had everything going for him as a young Lagos boy. Born in the early 50s into one of the most celebrated families in Lagos, Akin, as he is fondly called, had good upbringing, imbued with humility and attended some of the best schools both in Nigeria and outside the country. However, despite his robust family background, Akin never allowed all that becloud his sense of personal conviction. Rather, he effectively tapped into the opportunities provided by his family’s rich background as a stepping stone to achieve his own desires.
Kekere-Ekun
Business Courage
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At a very young age, Akin displayed unqualified brilliance and hard-work so much that when he enrolled for his elementary education at the Ansar-ud- Deen College, Isolo, Lagos, he was usually at the head of the school’s Literary Debating Society team during which the school won many laurels. Even as a youngster, his academic brilliance was so evident that he was usually singled-out, among many of his contemporaries walking through the streets of Lagos. “I remember walking on a street in Surulere in those days and somebody said “Oh! That’s Kekere-Ekun going. In those days, we were able to do things that people recognized you for and that to me was good enough at that age,” he recalled in one of his interviews. In the larger Kekere-Ekun family, education is paramount. Little wonder that through a healthy educational rivalry that had prevailed in the family, early in life, Akin was able to discover his talent as he was a brilliant and courageous student. “I can’t do anything than go for education. That is what my family is known for. You must be educated. My siblings are all graduates, my cousins; you know we were competing so to say. But it was very good rivalry. If somebody was doing something, you either had to do it or do something better than that. And the kind of parents I had, my father helped people who were not even our own siblings. I’m very inquisitive as a person. I want to know what is happening around me. I don’t think there was a time I was going along the wrong path, then changed. I think I just took them as they came. There wasn’t a decision Continued on pg A10