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Tunji Ogunkanmi... |
PART 4
The world is replete with history of men who came in a jiffy and
left so soon. They are usually referred to as meteors.
A meteor is like a shooting star. It sparkles, it dazzles, it
brightens up, but it is also a falling star. They are also like joy, that has a
slender body, that breaks so soon- “Ayo
abara bin tin,” as was depicted in Ola Rotimi's epic play- “The gods are not to blame.” A meteor
rises fast and disappears at the apogee (height) of its glory. Meteors are
always messengers, usually in a hurry to deliver their messages and disappear.
Meteors in
Yoruba pantheon, meteors are usually referred to as “Emere” and “Ogbanje” in
Igboland. To these meteors, life is certainly not measured by its duration, but
by its donations.
Raphael Ernest Grill Armattoe-12th of August, 1913-22nd
of December, 1953.
Duro Ladipo-1931-1978, Walter Rodney-23rd March, 1942
to the 15th June, 1980 A Ghanaian doctor, author, poet and
politician.
Dr. Walter Rodney,
prominent scholar, historian, political activist- 23rd march 1942 to 13 June
1980.
Pius Adebola Adesanmi 1972 to 10 March 2019.
Joseph Sanusi Gbadamosi Adegoke Adelabu- Penkelemesi a dazzling
politician, meteor and iconoclast- 1915-1958
Olusegun Awolowo, January
20 1939 to July 10 1963.
Tunji Ogunkanmi founder and promoter- Cornerstone Insurance Plc,
October 5 1960 to November 5, 2000.
Tunji
Ogunkanmi-October 5 1960 to November 5 2000.
He was the promoter and founder
of Cornerstone Insurance Plc. He was born in the agrarian community of Ile-Ogbo,
of Osun state and the supersonic speed of his accomplishments in the insurance
industry, is a great study in resilience, hard work and abundant God's grace.
Tunji had his primary education
at Ile-Ogbo and his secondary education at Iwo, where he came out with
distinction (Grade one) in his West African School Certificate Examination in
1978 and also, in flying colours at the higher school certificate level, giving
him an express admission into the university of Lagos, where he graduated with
second class upper division in Insurance in 1984.
Within 3 years of his graduate
studies, he obtained the Associateship of the Chartered Institute of Insurance,
London and he was admitted a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute in
1990, at the age of 30.
Shortly thereafter, in 1991, he
founded Cornerstone Insurance at the age of 30 and became the company's first
CEO and the youngest CEO of any Insurance Company as at that time. Without a
silver spoon, he dreamt big and the dreams came through.
He fought for the actualisation
of his dreams and proved that a boy born and raised in Ile-Ogbo, Osun state and
whose first and real experience of Lagos, was when he gained admission to the
university of Lagos, to study Insurance, could actually make it big. At the
time, some of his friends were looking for paid employment he was already
sitting atop an insurance company as CEO.
Within a short span of sitting
atop the leadership of the cornerstone Insurance company, he was described
as-" a team builder and motivator per excellence, highly innovative,
pragmatic and an embodiment of knowledge; no half measures.
Within this short span too,
Cornerstone had moved to his own premises, a high rise building in Obalende,
Lagos.
To his staff he had said-
“Everywhere
I go, people bombard me with commendations about how cornerstone has changed
the narrative of the insurance industry, forgetting that not I but all of you
(staff) are responsible. You are the one doing the work; I only come around,
play golf and make you laugh. I thank you guys for making all these happen.”
Within these periods, he was a
member of the governing Council of the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA),
where he also made his indelible mark.
On the night of Saturday, the
5th of November 2000, Tunji went out to attend a friend's birthday party and he
was caught in an armed robbery attack on Falomo bridge, Lagos, that took away
his life along with his friend- Deepak Mehta, the Indian Canadian Managing
Director of the now defunct Equitorial Trust Bank.
His life was cut short barely a
month to his 40th birthday.
Until his death, Tunji worked
hard, dreamt big, was a friend to everyone around him, and was passionate about
his home town- Ile-Ogbo. He took the name everywhere. Tunji led the company
with his heart and also sat on the board of other great Nigerian businesses.
In Yoruba pantheon, meteors are
usually referred to as “Emere” and “Ogbanje” in Igboland. To these meteors,
life is certainly not measured by its duration, but by its donations.
HON. (BARR.) FEMI
KEHINDE
ATTORNEY AT LAW AND FORMER MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPRESENTING
AYEDIRE/IWO/OLA-OLUWA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY (1999-2003) OF OSUN STATE.
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