BY JUMOKE OWOOLA
The event was a gathering of the who’s who in Corporate Nigeria, as well as other well – meaning Nigerians brought together under one roof, where they had the unique opportunity to share and pay tributes to one of the greatest entrepreneurs to ever come from this part of the world.
Journalists representing the Print and Electronic media and everyone at the event were taken on a journey showcasing the remarkable life of the man, who, as the patriarch of the Ibru family, singlehandedly took the name to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and far beyond the shores of the country.
The young Michael Ibru was only 26 years old when he quit paid employment, to venture into private business, where he quickly became a strong name in different industries including; Fishing, Agriculture, Hospitality, Tourism, Automobile distribution, Publishing and Banking.
His legacy is visible in many areas of the Nigerian economic terrain and it spans many years of business domination across the length and breadth of the nation. It is to his credit that the frozen fish business blossomed into what it is now with the introduction of “IBRU FISH” immediately after the country’s independence. The Ibru brand quickly became a household name across Nigeria and the west coast of Africa.
Olorogun Michael Christopher Onajirevbe Ibru (OFR) was unarguably one of the most successful Nigerian entrepreneurs of his generation. He died in the United States of America on Tuesday 6th of September, 2016, at the ripe old age of 86 years.
As Olorogun Michael Onajirevbe Christopher Ibru (OFR), goes home to his final resting place, corporate Nigeria remembers and pays homage to a man who stood like a colossus over a business empire spanning many decades.
The legacy he lives behind will continue to linger on so say many of the mourners at the high profile event.
Inside the brochure given out at the event were printed versions of tributes that came in from President Mohammadu Buhari; Mr. Adeniyi Adeoye of Mildees, a consulting and advisory firm; Aliko Dangote of Aliko Dangote Business Empire; Remi Oyekola of Oak Chartered Accountants; Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, the first Lady of Lagos state; Airline Operators of Nigeria; National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE); Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Delta State Government which is the home state of ibru. Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN); Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, (Rtd.) General Yakubu Gowon; Dr. Alex Ekwueme; etc.
According to the text in Guardian Newspaper Editorial page: In a remarkable odyssey in business and industry that spanned over six decades, Ibru was a businessman par excellence, a model of entrepreneurship, a resolute pathfinder and pioneer of various scales of industries and an uncommon philanthropist.
Fondly referred to as a ‘humble fisherman’ for a radical career shift from a white-collar colonial business manager to a roving fish merchant with an incredible grassroots outreach; Ibru was the man who slowly but steadily made frozen fish a business brand and a household delicacy in Nigeria. Armed with a strong determination to succeed and to make a positive difference, he unleashed his ideas on the public with so much conviction that they not only turned foreigners’ monopoly of fish importation into a flourishing indigenous concern, but also became the nucleus of the chains of companies that eventually made up the expansive Ibru business empire.
He will be buried on the 14th December, 2016 in Delta state.
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