Boss Of The Week
Celebrating an Entrepreneurial Colossus, Allen Onyema, at 58
By Eric Elezuo
When you are many things wrapped up in one bundle, it is difficult, almost impossible for the world not to give you attention. This situation encapsulates one man, completely different from the rest in the global professionalism, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. From the solitary law profession to becoming an aviation whizkid to the reputable philanthropist known across the globe, Allen Ifechukwu Onyemaraeme, simply referred to Allen Onyema. has come a long in his 58 years of worthy sojourn on planet earth. Here is a man who found the proverbial green pastures out of a dint of hard work from where he was, breaking barriers and creating new horizons. He is the indefatigable founder of one of world’s best privately owned airline, Air Peace.
Air Peace, without mincing words, has grown to become the largest indigenous airline in the whole of West and Central Africa with competitive fares on both passenger and charter services. It is worthy to note that licence for the operations was delayed for two whole years. Onyema, unarguably has the Midas touch by every standard.
A native of Mbosi in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra state, Allen Onyema, was born to Michael and Helen Onyema in Benin City in the then Midwest region, in present day Edo State, on March 28, 1964 as the first of nine children of his parents.
He obtained his Higher School Certificate at the age of 20 in 1984, at Government College, Ughelli, having had stints with various institutions of learning including including St. Anthony’s Secondary School, Azia and Urhobo College, Effurun.
In the same 1984, Allen Onyema was admitted into the University of Ibadan to study Law. He practically allowed the school to pass through him as well as he combined academic works with social activism to engender national peace. In 1987 however, he graduated and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989.
While others were making their ways out of the country in search of better life, Onyema moved to Lagos with a strong determination to find his own greener pastures there, and if he couldn’t find it, will create his own greener pastures there, for others to subsequently find.
Like the biblical person, who has respect and is faithful with little beginnings, Onyema began life as a squatter in Oshodi, a suburb of Lagos notorious for squalor attributes. He explained in one of the many interviews he had granted that he used ‘trek from Marina to Iddo to join the overcrowded trains back from his daily trips to Lagos Island in search of a chamber to practice his law profession’.
In 1990, out of sheer zeal and focus, he secured a place with Nwizugbo & Co. Chambers. It was not long, before he stamped his feet in the scheme of things, having won a case that had been labelled ‘a bad case’. From that point, there was no stopping the young lawyer, as he continued to establish his authority in the field. His rise was astronomical, and 1992, he had become the Head of Chambers. He also performed two actions in the same year that changed the course of his profession.
As a man who has his hands in many pies, he resigned his job at the chamber to concentrate on his real estate business, and at the same time floated his own law chamber, Onyema and Co. This real estate business was more lucrative as he reasoned, and justifiably so by every standard. The deals sharpened his entrepreneurial skills, and it was not long for him to choose between an arbitrator and an entrepreneur. It is worthy of note that deciding was very easy as he told Late Ubong King in an interview, and reported by Nairametrics:
“When I was squatting in Oshodi, I had these garage boys that were my friends and one happened to belong to a family that had this large expanse of land in Alagbado. He took me there, showed me their properties and I helped them to bring some buyers. A week later, after I got the employment, the entire family sent for me, and gave me about 400 plots of land in Alagbado to sell on their behalf at N5000 per plot.”
Though he was not promised a commission, he was given the privilege of a mark up, and so for someone on a monthly salary of N500, every plot of land sold at 100 per cent markup fetched him his 10-months’ salary. He didn’t need any ghost to tell him where his riches lie. He was not just selling to others, he was buying for himself as well.
With the fast rise of the real estate business, he consequently established Allen Onyema & Company to handle his real estate concerns. He confessed that “I was making a lot of money, but I was also working really hard.”
He didn’t stop at that, the wave of business acumen was flowing around, and he took advantage and also established floated Continental Business Links Limited, an import trade outfit to play the middleman role between traders in Nigeria who wished to import goods, and foreign manufacturers looking to get their goods into the Nigerian market.
He followed it up with the establishment of started Every Tide limited, an imports and trade business that imported electronics and sold in wholesale containers to traders.
In 2013, Onyema took the boldest step of his entrepreneurial calling. That was when he started the ambitious Air Peace, with the sole intent of creating jobs as against making profits. He had said in many fora that a friend told him that one commercial Boeing 737 could give jobs to a thousand persons and he decided that commercial aviation was a much profitable venture than leaving his money to seat idle in the banks. Consequently, he purchased the first three Domier jets. He realised rather too late that they could only be used for charters and even though they could fetch him a lot of money, only a few staff were needed. That wasn’t his original magnanimous intention. He wanted to give employment to a large number of citizens, not to make profit. Then he acquired seven Boeing 737 planes for commercial aviation. It was epochal as that was the time ever that a Nigerian airline would be starting with more than 2 airplanes.
Besides being a sound entrepreneurial giant, Onyema comes also as socially sound as the best. While in UI, his appetite for peace made him lead a group of nine other students to Zaria to quell a raging religious and ethnic riot that claimed lives. This singular act and the reception that followed his enthusiasm grew and led to the formation of a group known then as Eminent Friends’ Group – a group formed with the objectives of promoting ethnic harmony amongst Nigeria’s diverse ethnic nationalities and fighting the incidence of violence of all forms
When he left the university in 1987, he ensured that the group was replicated in all the states of the federation. In 2005, he initiated, organised and held the “1st Nigeria forever project” aimed at promoting broad nationalism as against ethnic nationalism.
The flourishing entrepreneur is not new to awards as they follow him like an avalanche. In April 2007, he became the second African ever to be appointed to the Executive Board of The Global Non-violence Conference Series Inc. USA, alongside notable world leaders like Hon. Dr. Andrew Young and Suarez Ramos. As a member of this board, he won for Nigeria, the hosting rights for Global Conference on Nonviolence and Peace in Abuja from December 3-5, 2007. His contribution to the socio-economic development has just began. He is also the chairman of the Foundation For Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria, (FEHN).
As a budding socialite and successful business, he has not completely escaped the unfounded criticisms of naysayers and fifth columnists. He and Air Peace have also come under senseless attacks in spite of the excellent services being rendered to the flying public. It is on record that the airline operates some of the heathiest, mostly brand new supersonic planes that have combined to earn the brand the Number One Position in the West and Central Africa Regions, barely seven years of its operation. He however, haas made it known that his primary objective is to continue to dish out the best of services to the flying public, create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youths, and not to answer to every unsubstantiated accusation by those who do not have the interest of the country at heart.
It is against this backdrop that the Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, in a message through his media aide, Joe Anatune, described Onyema as an exceptional businessman and a rare philanthropist who has made giant strides in the Nigerian Aviation industry through dint of hardwork and uncompromising business ethos.
It is worthy of note that seven years after the Air Peace became operational, the airline has thousands of people on its employment across the world, a greater majority of them are young Nigerian men and women who are pilots, engineers, technicians, lawyers, journalists, medical doctors, air hostess and cleaners, among many other professionals. The group launched its first international routes in 2017 to Accra in Ghana and commenced flights to Sharjah United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2019.
As one of the wonders of the world, the brand by 2018, had the largest market share in the domestic airline market in Nigeria, took delivery of jumbo jets- Boeing 777 planes and still counting. The long strides of the airline to date is nothing but mind-blowing. In addition to all the supersonic aircraft already acquired, Onyema has the intention of taking delivery of another set of 12 brand new Embraer 195 C2 making it 17, with the aim of acquiring a total of 30 of the supersonic planes to fly passengers across the world before the end of 2022. He is such an enigma, a well crafted legacy to mankind. He will be remembered for playing significant roles in the realization of the Anambra Airport.
Only a few days ago, the company received its fourth International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification, which signifies that the carrier was successful in the globally recognised and rigorous safety audit.
“Air Peace is unwaveringly committed to observing the highest standards of safety in its operations and the consecutive success in the IOSA audits is a testament to this commitment. For us, safety comes first for both our passengers and staff. We cannot compromise on this,” he organisation maintained..
Apart from providing jobs for thousands of people in Nigeria and others from across the world, especially countries where it operates, Onyema and Air Peace management is neck deep into philanthropy as well as intervening for Nigeria, in times of emergency among other needs.
In 2019, during the outbreak of xenophobia in South Africa, Air Peace took up the challenge to evacuate Nigerians at no cost.
In September 2021, Allen Onyema challenged the Super Eagles to beat Cape Verde and get N20 million as well as flew the team to Mindelo where the game took place. The team won the game, and Onyema handed over N20 million largesse.
Most recently, Air Peace was one of the three Airlines that the Federal Government engaged recently to bring Nigerians who were stranded in Ukraine due to the raging war between that country and Russia back home, a task that was successfully executed.
Onyema’s economic benefits to the Nigerian nation are larger than one can imagine. He is into scholarship to as as many that that comes across him, and has writen his name in gold as one of Nigerian’s most influential businessman, whose selfless interest stands out among the rest.
A distinguished family man, Onyema has been married to his heartthrob, Alice Ojochide Onyema, since 1993, and both are blessed with wonderful children.
By Eric Elezuo
In just five decades, a woman that can easily be described as valour, has conquered the entrepreneurial stage, drawing accolades of great tidings, victory and transparent effect on humanity. She is known by many appellations, sobriquet and appendages including flower girl, corporate juggernaut, go-getter, among many others. She is Dr. Priscilla Ndu, known and addressed simply as Prisca by friends, associates, colleagues and family members.
Prisca has proved herself an amazon, a stressless survivor in a world full of challenges, where only the fittest are given the opportunity to thrive and hold their heads high. Her features are a combination of positive curiosity, focus, determination, an eye for details, painstaking and never-say-never attitude.
A former Executive Director at the Resolution and Restructuring Company Limited (a subsidiary of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON), among many other high profile portfolios she had represented at the establishment, Prisca has exhibited distinct characters that have accelerated her excellence irrespective of challenges. She has given nothing to chance to ensure that even in the world assumed to belong to men, she has remained quite visible, and has demonstrated a level of steadfastness and commitment typical of the managerial and entrepreneurial investments she consciously injected into her career and self.
From the early days as a research analyst to becoming a Laboratory analyst at Global Environmental Consultants, Warri and Nigerian Eagle Floor Mills, Ibadan, she has remained diminutive and indefatigable. Today, she is a renowned technocrat and an icon, having traversed and the conquered the competitive waters of banking, advertising, aviation, logistics and more.
Born on April 28, 1974, to a medical and religious practitioner-father, Dr Marcus O. Ndu, who doubles as a humanitarian; and a caterer and businesswoman-mother, Mrs. Veronica Ndu, Prisca came as the fourth child of a family of seven, comprising five beautiful ladies and two handsome gentlemen. It is imperative to note that her brothers were born after her, and this in no small measure affected her tomboyish outlook to life while growing up.
It is also imperative not to undermine the fact she was brought up under strict tutelage, instruction and discipline of the Christianity doctrine, which is the hallmark of her family’s faith.
Highly privileged, Prisca relishes the euphoria of dual origin, having been born in Lagos and being a native of Arochukwu L.G.A, in Abia State, where both her father and mother come from.
“My father was a native of Arochukwu L.G.A of Abia State, same for my mum, who was also a native of Abia State (by her maternal lineage), while her father was a Brazilian National, from Sao Paolo, Brazil, both late now,” she informed.
A very gifted and brilliant child, Prisca completed secondary education at the tender age of 14, having spent only five years in Kindergarten, Nursery and Primary Schools, skipping primaries 2 and 4, in the bargain.
She said: “I had a flawless Junior Secondary School result of Seven A’s and was awarded the Elite scholarship from my community, a feat I repeated in my Senior School Certificate of Education, with Seven As, and an A1 in my favorite subject, Physics.” This is a clear attestation to her great academic prowess right from day one, and an indication of the great woman she was destined to be.
Dr Ndu, over the years, has acquired an intimidating resume, which is a product of her desire to continuously garner knowledge. This quest, without mincing words, took her through some of the best institutions of learning in the world, where her skills and world view were sharpened.
After her secondary education, Prisca attended the foremost University of Ibadan, where she studied Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine. She was to proceed afterwards to the Lagos Business School for an Executive MBA honours.
And like a typical tigress hungry for academic and professional honours, Prisca has attended several management programmes, in schools within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Some of such schools are IESE in Barcelona; INSEAD Business School in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate; National University of Singapore Business School, Singapore; IMD, Switzerland, Antai College of Business and Management, Shanghai and Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. She maintains a healthy Alumni relationship with all these institutions of high academic and professional studies.
An egghead of monumental quality, she sits on and atop Boards of several companies including as Executive Chairman and Infrastructural Development, Stratevium Technology Services Limited, and as Vice Chairman, Energy Company Limited. Stratevium is an Information Technology and Education solutions provider, with focus on gamified learning for Junior and Senior Secondary pupils (GIDI Mobile EDU Program) and specific content development for both private and public sector organizations, like Central Bank of Nigeria (capacity development training for beneficiaries of the CBN’s creative industry fund), Pharmaceutical Industry capacity training for beneficiaries of the CBN Intervention Fund, Content and Capacity Development for Bank’s Credit customers (Keystone Bank and Access Bank) etc., and creating products for telecommunication companies like GLO, MTN; to guarantee customer loyalty and brand visibility.
Her presence in the banking world looms large, as she traversed the terrain and rose to become Head, Public Projects at the Bank PHB where she was charged with managing and ensuring adequate financial support for major contractors to the three tiers of government, providing them financial services and working closely with State Treasury Offices and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
She is until 2023 the Treasurer of Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria, HBSAN, but still to date the Treasurer and Board member of the Harvard University Alumni Association of Nigeria. In addition, she is the current President of the Lagos Business School Singapore Club, “Social Minister” of the Lagos Business School, Shanghai Club and also the past “Social Minister” of the Lagos Business School EMBA 11 Class.
Prisca is highly active; a metaphor for workaholism.
She is a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration, ICA, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants and a certified Management Consultant professional, a lifetime Member of the Institute of Directors, IOD, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Nigeria, CIBN.
She is not just in active service, she has garnered a lot of laurels to show for her eye to details attitude, painstaking attribute to delegated descriptions and much more.
Consequently, she has won the “Subarctic Survival Situation Exercise” conducted at the Harvard Business School, beating 135 participants drawn from 47 countries across the globe. She made history as the first African to win the honours, projecting the much advertised Nigerian can-do-spirit.
In recognition of her sacrifices for the betterment of humanity, the United Nations named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent, Globally. The award was also in recognition of body’s celebration of people of African Descent below the age of 40 (by January 2015), doing exceptional things to develop Africa.
Much as the ebullient doctor is surrounded with human oriented achievements, she is looking far ahead into the future for mega discoveries to wow human race. She has confided in as many that has paid heed that her plans for the future is hinged on building a world conglomerate, with activities in at least five major sectors of the economy, employing at least 1,000 people across all its subsidiaries, and having intimidating presence in at least five G8 countries.
Not a woman who stumbles on chances, Prisca has a distinct plan to retire to academic world at 65 (exactly 15 years from now), to disseminate all she learnt over the years with a view to impart mankind; the Lagos Business School, where she had been invited severally to participate as an associate lecturer and guest speaker, appears a sure bet as her launching pad. These opportunities, according to her, has shaped who she is today, and sees herself playing a major role in Nigeria’s infrastructure space, as she still looks forward to roles in the public sector. She does not in any way takes them for granted.
A typical Jack of all trades, Prisca has her hand in almost every pie she comes across. These include Aviation, Oil and Gas Services, Advertising, Banking and Financial Services industries, both in the Private and Public sectors.
While at the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), where she performed the role of Head Partnerships in AMCON, she singlehandedly put together the Asset Management Partners initiative in 2016, involving over 6,000 accounts, with balances below N100m, which was outsourced to these AMPs, engaged and trained to act in AMCON’s stead, in recovering bad loans and also turning the businesses around where possible.
This was extended in 2017 to cover accounts with balances between N100 million and N1 billion. Given that AMCON is not in perpetuity, it is the hope of the corporation that these AMPs will continue to offer the services AMCON currently does and support the banks in the area of debt restructuring and recovery. Today all of AMCON’s operations is structured around this initiative she put together, even though she is no longer in its employment, but her legacy lives on. She is known to have recorded her most achievements while on this beat.
When you talk about women or entrepreneurs that don’t take no for answer, Dr. Ndu is it. She is a very independent, foresighted, goal-oriented, focused and reputed to never fear any challenge. Above all, she is very adventurous and daring, and that contributed in her ability to discover and open new vistas as well as explore new horizons.
Her towering status over the entrepreneurship world notwithstanding, Prisca is a wonderful family woman, tending with zeal, humanity, gusto and panache to the emotional and physical needs of her home. As a lover of the academia, she has not spared any expense to give her adorable son, Charly, who forms an integral part of her pastime, the best of education. Charly, who wishes to be an Astronaut, has been pursuing a career in Aerospace Engineering, at the EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
Addressed variously as Ph.D, DBA, DLM, FIoD, FICA, FIMC, CMC, CCFE, Dr. Ndu sees herself as a social impact advocate and a multi-sector entrepreneur, who has led turn-key economic and social development projects both at Federal and state levels in Nigeria.
Dr Ndu’s social corporate responsibility is as large as her personality. She is actively involved in charity work, empowering the youths and advancing the lot of the nation through the Rock Foundation, powered by the House on the Rock Church, Gemstone Management Development Centre, Lagos, Nigeria, Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria, where she is an active Board member.
A boardroom guru, she also sits on the Board of other companies, including Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Nigeria, as Financial Secretary and Treasurer, Skywise Group as Board Member and Mshel Homes Limited, Abuja, also as a member of its vibrant Board.
At the HBSAN, she is helping to champion the mentorship programme of the association, providing mentorship, guidance and career counseling to members of the Harvard University Alumni body in Nigeria.
“This is a role I also play with the Lagos Business School Alumni Association mentorship program, and a host of others. My passion for social service is seen in the various Board roles I occupy both paid and unpaid,” she concluded.
In her continuous quest to aquirre knowledge, she has recently attended the Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI), top 50 African CEOs Leadership Roundtable, where she was elected as Vice Chairman of its Governing Council and the Vice Chairman of the Governing Council of the African CEOs Leadership Roundtable, organized by the Guardians of the Nation International, GOTNI Leadership Institute.
She is also an active member of the NESG Finance Committee. She is also a founding board member of the Black History and Lifestyle awards, where she supports the founder and visionary leader, Eziada, Chief, Mrs. Folashade Balogun. BHLA is an initiative set up to recognize Africans globally, doing great things in the continent and abroad, and the next event comes up in Los Angeles, USA, in June 2024.
Prisca is a symbol of that all round and complete woman, whose stock in trade is the best, the best and the best.
Indeed, at 50, Prisca has so much to celebrate, including without equivocation, the exceeding mercies of God.
Congratulations ma!
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