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Amb. Dr. TOKUNBO AWOLOWO-DOSUMU
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Becomes Chairman, ODU’A Invest. Foundation
Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu is the lovely daughter of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. She is an accomplished woman of substance. She is a Medical Doctor, Politician, Diplomat and a regular keynote speaker at A-Class events.
The big news is that this adorable woman who runs Obafemi Awolowo Foundation has just been appointed the Chairman of the Advisory Council of Odu’a Investment Foundation. At the classy launch of the Foundation in Lagos a few days ago, she delivered a beautiful speech, wherein, she promised that the Advisory Council will do a good job.
This promise earned her resounding applause. This is because she has a track record of Excellence and Achievements.
The Board is also made up of distinguished Nigerians with impecable track record.
“We are gathered here this afternoon to celebrate the immeasurable value of a good legacy”, she explained. “We are also here to acknowledge and, with specific reference to Odu’a Investment Company, to applaud the pivotal role that successors play in the sustenance of such legacies.”
“The story of the Odu’a Group started several decades ago with our founding fathers, led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN, GCFR. These great visioners were unequivocal about what they needed to do to create a solid economic base for the region which God had given them the privilege to administer. They were painstaking in conceptualising a region that would be wealthy enough to wean its people off the ravages of disease, ignorance and poverty. They were also very honest, diligent and methodical in executing the plans they had carefully laid out. To this end, they deployed various strategies, including the establishment of the Western Nigeria Development Corporation (WNDC), the predecessor of Odu’a Investment Company, and many other subsidiaries and associated companies. The results of the toils of that promising beginning are what has brought all of us here today.
As I noted two years ago in my Goodwill message at the 45th anniversary lecture of the Odu’a Investment Company, ‘’the Board and Management are gradually piloting the company towards rebirth and regeneration, as it is emerging from its challenging years and is expanding its portfolio into hitherto uncharted business sectors. The company is, indeed, set to move into the future as a global player.”
“Today, as we gather to inaugurate the Odu’a Investment Foundation, that ‘stellar Board of Directors’, as I described them in my message, have proved, yet again, that they are indeed worthy successors to a noble legacy. I congratulate them, most heartily, for their foresight.”
“These congratulations are due because, beyond the role of the conglomerate in the business of adding value to the economy, as well as their statutory obligation of enhancing the revenue of their various shareholder governments, they have now decided to deploy a further percentage of their income to an initiative that offers a wider latitude to impact lives through creative, inventive and effective philanthropy that cannot be accomplished by other means.”
“Foundations come into being through deliberate choice and, by their very nature, they are able, not only to choose their areas of intervention, but also the strategies for the actualisation of their missions. Furthermore, because their unique governance structure allows for a significantly shortened time lag between decision and implementation, Foundations are able to respond faster to societal needs.”
“By setting up this Foundation, therefore, this Board has intentionally introduced an additional avenue through which the company can further impact the lives of the people positively. In other words, rather than neglect or erase the legacy of our founding fathers, they have elected to maintain and, even, propagate it. I commend them once again for taking this bold step.”
“I note with great joy that several decades after the Odu’a Group was set up and more than three decades after the transition of one of the eggheads, Chief Awolowo, the legacy has remained in very safe hands. The journey may not always have been particularly smooth but it is important to note that in spite of all odds, and as a testament to the solid foundation upon which it was built, coupled with the commitment of its board, management and staff over the years, the house of Odu’a Group is still standing tall, sturdy and safe.”
I must express my profound admiration for the, evidently, meticulous process that has resulted in the composition of the pioneerAdvisory Council of this Foundation. It is a most impressive line-up of personages and is, undeniably, made up of some of the brightest and best minds in the land. These are persons of exceptional knowledge, eminent social pedigree and impeccable integrity. They also possess considerable influence and networks, nationally and internationally, which I have no doubt they will fully deploy for the benefit and success of the Foundation.
On a personal note, it is, for me, a great privilege to stand before you today, not only to witness the launch of Odu’a Investment Foundation, but, more importantly, to do so as the appointed pioneerChairman of its Advisory Council.”
“It is an enormous privilege to be the direct offspring of the sage who was the arrowhead of the legacy that is at the heart of this commendable initiative. I say this with every sense of modesty.This is, of course, by a divine arrangement for which I shall remain eternally grateful. More than that, however, to have been counted worthy to lead this crucial initiative in a Yoruba nation that parades countless stars in every sphere of human endeavour is a significant recognition indeed. I am truly humbled.”
“In conclusion, although the appointment of the Foundation’s Advisory Council is tenured, permit me to quote in this regard an internationally acclaimed author and consultant of Yoruba descent, Idowu Koyinikan, “Even though your time on the job is temporary, if you do a good enough job, your work there will last forever.”
“The fact that the company has decided to make the Advisory Council the sole governance structure of the Foundation speaks volumes about the confidence they repose in its members.”
“I, therefore, assure you, on behalf of all the members of this pioneer Advisory Council of the Odu’a Investment Foundation, that we will give this important and historic task our all, in order to lay a solid foundation for its sustainability and future growth.” This short and concise speech drew so much applause from guests.
Lets tell you a little about Ambassador Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu who studied Medicine abroad.
After graduating from Bristol University in 1972 with an MB ChB, Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu worked in several pre- and post-registration teaching hospital posts before she obtained Postgraduate qualifications in Occupational Medicine from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 1979. She worked in private practice in this capacity for nine years. She then followed a career break, which involved significant leadership and administrative positions, as well as public policy analysis and research.
Specifically, she was a nominated member of the Constituent Assembly (1988-89), where she served as Vice-Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee for preparing the philosophical foundations of the new Constitution, namely, the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. After that, until late 1991, she played various roles in the emerging politics of the Third Republic, and in April 1992, she co-founded the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization set up in memory of her father, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and dedicated to generating ideas for national development. She is the Foundation’s Executive Director.
She was appointed member of the International Committee of the Council on Foundations, an umbrella body of Foundations based in Washington, DC in 1995. She was appointed Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Netherlands and served from January 2000 to July 2003. During this time, she was accredited as Nigeria’s Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), where she was, at various times and in succession, appointed Vice-Chairman of the Conference of States Parties, Member of the Executive Council, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Council (Administrative & Financial issues), Vice-Chairman of the First Review Conference, and Chairman of the African Group of States Parties. She was also accredited to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and Common Fund for Commodities (CFC).
She subsequently chose to return to her profession as an Occupational Health Physician and has continued her work as Executive Director at the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation. She was appointed Chair of the Board of Management of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, in which capacity she served from April 2013 to June 2015.
She was one of the fifteen delegates representing the South West zone at the 2014 National Constitutional Conference. At the conference, she served on the Political Restructuring and Forms of Government Committee. Consequent upon the transition of the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Yeye Oodua H. I. D. Awolowo, on September 19, 2015r she assumed the role of Co-Chairman of ANN Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles. She is currently Chairman of ANN Plc. In memory of her mother, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu, in her capacity as Founding Member of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, was the moving spirit behind the founding in September 2016 of the HID Awolowo Foundation, a subsidiary of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation.
Her appointments, past and present, include Member, Governing Council, Lagos State College of Science & Technology; Member, Board of Directors, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc and Chairman of the Board since January 1, 2018; Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors, Dideolu Specialist Hospital, Ikenne; Member, UNIFEM National Advisory Board (Nigeria) and Chairman, Fund-raising Committee; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC), Benin City, Nigeria and 1st Vice-President, CIVITAS Nigeria. She is currently the 1st Vice Chairman of the Yoruba Unity Forum. She is an Honorary International Women’s Society (IWS) member.
Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu is the fifth and last child of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN GCFR, and Yeye Oodua H. I. D. Awolowo, CON. She has been conferred with various chieftaincy titles, including Yeye Onibudo of lfe. She is Iya Ewe of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, and Asiwaju Obinrin Onigbogbo of Ogun State.
She is the recipient of several awards, including Outstanding Contribution to Human Development (NAWOJ Oyo State), Outstanding Role Model (Youth Focus Initiative), the Kwame Nkrumah Award for Service to Pan Africanism (Babcock University/University of Texas, Austin, USA/TOFAC Board), the Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna Platinum Distinguished Leadership Award by the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students.
She also received an award for her contributions to the growth of the Anglican Church as part of the celebration of the 106th Anniversary of Archbishop Vining Theological College and an award for contribution to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals by the Faculty of Social Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University.
Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu is a proud mother and grandmother.
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