Indeed, if virtue truly is the fount whence honour springs, then, Captain Hosa Okunbo is a virtuous man; apologies to the late English playwright and poet, Christopher Marlowe, who would have probably said the same of one of Africa’s redoubtable billionaire businessmen.
Notwithstanding his depth as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and citizenship of humanity, he covets no vanities. Not a few people are awestruck by his humility because the billionaire tycoon cuts a different portrait of power, privilege and affluence every time you see him. In fact, unlike many other billionaires; he demands no free verses, heroic couplets or ornamental rhymes to glorify his personage as a man.
Yes, for over three decades, Okunbo has been cutting large swaths through the labyrinths of an otherwise impervious and volatile industry and he is commensurately revered. He does not only set high standards; he abides by them as a matter of exemplary leadership and integrity of character. He invested in the oil and gas sector where he has since broken the glass ceiling with his many accomplishments in the area of marine security and marine logistics through his company.
Yesterday, September 11, 2020, Captain Dr. Idahosa Wells Okunbo, received Forbes Best of Africa Award. According to H.E Mrs Olayinka Fayomi, the Chairman Foreign Investment Network, “The award is in recognition of your unique and outstanding contribution to business enterprise both in Nigeria and the continent of Africa at large. Through your creative business exertions, you have touched many lives in Nigeria nay Africa. You have also provided employment for Nigerians. I am particularly proud of you, Sir. Congratulations!”.
However, like bloomed fables and flowers on furze, the honour excites a inestimable joy in the life of Okunbo. He commented on the honour, saying that he feels greatly humbled and motivated to do even more for the advancement and betterment of humanity. He dedicated the award to less privileged in the society.
Indeed, stories are told of Captain Hosa’s greatness; echoes of his philanthropy are fed like fodder to the masses. In a land dogged by human and infrastructural lapses, his humanity and entrepreneurial ingenuity nourish the glands of kith and kin even as his genius oils the wheels of industry. This is why he is perpetually on song, among his clan and league of extraordinary men. He emerges as the perfect symbol of business excellence seen at home and abroad as a historic figure, the personification of a business calculus within Nigeria and the African continent.
