EMIROKUN Henry Oloyede

Ahead of His Time by(Dotun Adekanmbi). The history ofNigeria's organized private sectorwould be incomplete without men tioning the role of High Chief Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun. During the seven ties, Fajemirokunwas one ofthe biggestfish in the widening ponds ofbig-time entrepreneurs. His cre dentialswere likeanawesomeinvestmentcatalogue under the name ofHenry Stephens Group ofCom panies. Remarkably, Fajemirokun did not have the advantage ofstarting out anywhere near the upper rungs ofthe business ladder. His point ofentry was as a trader in commodities; cocoa beans, groundnuts and cattle bones for exportto Europe under the name of Henry Stephens and Sons Limited, Lagos. Per haps, something in his background suggested cor rectly to him, the business direction to take when he started out. Fajemirokun made a huge success ofthe export business. It was only a matter oftime before his nimble mind fashioned out opportunities inother sectors ofthe economy. Suddenly, the theatre ofthe export and commoditytrading concerns became too small for his huge business talents, and a business conglomerate was in the making. Intrepidly but shrewdly, Fajemirokun homed in on a new target. He established Henry Stephens Shipping Company which owned the Nigeria FarEast Line and the Nigerian South American Line. The company owned three Nigerian flag vessels, and operated a number ofchartered vessels while main taining regular line services between ports inthe West African sub-region, the Far-East, and South Ameri can ports. Fajemirokun's business interests further yielded the Nigeria Maritime Services Limited (NMS) whose operations run the gamut ofclearing and forwarding, sea and air freighting, as well as free and bonded warehousing. The company also under took packaging and removal activities with a spe cialization in door-to-door movement ofgoods. At its peak, the NMS was described as the foremost re moval company in Nigeria. Monumental success followed swiftly, and Fajemirokun's Henry Stephens Group spread to every sector of the economy. There was GILCO (Nigeria) Limited which handled sophisticated electrical equipment and machinery, electrical and mechanical power transmissions, marine radar as well as navigational andradiocommunication devices.Fajemirokun wid ened GILCO's operations to include serving as agents, stockists and main distributors for the prod uctsofmanyforeignelectricalequipment-manufac turing firms.These included HawkerSiddeley Elec tric Export Limited (Brush Switchgear Ltd.), Brash Transformers Limited, Hawker Siddely PowerTrans formers Limited, Crompton Cables Limited, Chlo ride Group of Companies, and Doulton Insulators Limited. Others were GEC (Lamps and Lighting) Ltd.; GEC (Street Lighting Limited), manufacturers of fluorescent, flood and industrial lighting fittings; Hampson Automation Limited, manufacturers of power generating sets; D. Nagata, Midland Electric ManufacturingCompany Limited; Aluminium Wire and Cable Company Limited; Simplex; Marconi In ternational and Marine Company Limited; Sperry Marine Systems, Horstman Gear Company Limited; Safety Products Limited, Gandy Limited; and CRC Limited. Described as a practical businessman and excellent manager of both human and material re sources, Fajemirokun possessed an uncanny eye for opportunities. This isobvious from his establishment of Henry Stephens EngineeringCompany Limitedone of his many companies. The company was es tablished, obviously not on a hunch, but at a time when there was an upsurge in construction activities all over the country. Munificently funded by proceeds from the petroleum sector, the upsurge in construction was phenomenal. Fajemirokun cashed in on this. Henry Stephens Engineering dealt in construction machin ery and equipment. It also served as a distributor for many British, American, Swedish and Indian companies. Shoals of construction equipment were sold for companies like Winget Construction Limited, UK; Brown Lennox Limited, U.K; Dynapac Maskin AB of Sweden; and Stenberg Flygt AB of Sweden, among others. Another ofhis companies executed a cease less flow ofcontracts ofall types ofbuilding materi als throughout the country. There was also a trans port and haulage arm, including foreign travels and ticketing. As his businesses grew, so did his stature in the business community. Fajemirokun held many positions in various Chambers of Commerce. By 1966, he was an executive council member ofthe Lagos Chamber ofCommerce and Industry. Atabout the same time, he was president ofthe NigerianAmerican Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Other honours followed. These included vice-presi dent, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1967); deputy president, Lagos Chamber ofCom merce and Industry (1970); president, Nigeria Asso ciation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Mines (1972); first president. Federation of West African Chamber of Commerce (1972); and vicepresident. Federation ofCommonwealth Chambers of Commerce (1978). Fajemirokun can certainly be described as a business mogul. In his 52 years of life, he virtually turned the Nigeria corporate terrain into a mosaic of his foot prints. Aside from more than ten companies in his stable, he also sat on the boards ofseveral up-mar ket companies both within and outside the country. Some of these include Oil Exploratory Company Limited; Marine and General Assurance Company Limited; Schiffarts and Handelgesellschaft mbh, Hamburg. Germany. He was also a director. First Bank Nigeria Limited; director, Nigeria Krafts Bags Limited, director. Nigeria Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company Limited; deputy chairman, Johnsons Wax Nigeria Limited; chairman. Rank Xerox (Nigeria) Limited; and chairman. National Bank of Nigeria Limited. Unlike his lowly beginning in the world of business. Fajemirokun's roots in Ile-Oluji was Brahminic. Fajemirokun was born a blue blood on 14 July 1926. He started his primary education in 1932 at St. Peter's School, Ile-Oluji and left in 1936. After a year's break in his schooling, he continued at St. Luke's School in the neighbouring town of OkeIgbo where he completed his elementary education. A year after completing his primary education in 1940, Fajemirokun gained admission into the prestigious CMS Grammar School, Lagos, where he spent a year. Then he crossed over to Ondo Boys' High School, where he spent another two years. He left the school in 1955 to enlist in the old Royal West African Frontier Force. One year after enlistment, he was posted to India to join the 82nd West Africa Division. He served with distinction at the General Headquarters ofthe 2nd Echelon, Thansi, ofthe then United Prov ince ofIndia. Fajemirokun's romance with the mili tary profession lasted for only two years. He returned home in 1946, and joined the Posts and Telegraph Department (P&T) where he developed an interest is trade unionism. His commitment to workers' wel fare culminated in his election as the president-gen eral ofthe Nigerian Civil Service Union in 1957. As an entrepreneur oftowering stature, the appreciation ofFajemirokun's worth transcended the confines ofthe corporate environment. His numer ous philanthropic gestures were recognized through the conferment ofmany chieftaincy titles on him. In 1968, he was conferred with the title ofYegbata of Ile-Oluji; Asiwaju ofOke-Igbo (1971); Lijoka of Ondo (1973); HighChiefOruntooflfewara (1974); and the Obaloro ofAdo-Ekiti (1977). The Univer sity of Ife(now Obafemi Awolowo University), IleIfe also conferred on him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science in Business Administration in 1972. Perhaps, the only known area where Chief Henry Fajemirokun did not record any success was his desire to move into publishing. His bid to take over controlling shares in the Daily Times Group in 1975 was checkmated by the management of the newspaper, which felt that Fajemirokun would have too much power at his disposal if his bid succeeded. On 15 February 1978, the candescent career of Fajemirokun was suddenly extinguished in Abidjan, Cote D'lvoire, while leading a trade mission. In 1983, that is, five years after his death, the Federal Government honored him with a posthumous national award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). By then, Fajemirokun had strolled into his well-earned place in the pantheon of entrepreneurial giants.