The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Bisi Onasanya, talks about his career and family
What propelled you into banking as a profession?
I found myself in banking unplanned. It was unexpected. I chose to be a lawyer but I had grades in subjects other than I needed to read law. I had to take one year off after secondary school during which I worked in a firm of professional chartered accountants. Along the line, I fell in love with accounting. In applying to the higher institution, I opted for a course in accounting and became a chartered accountant five years after leaving secondary school. Having been in accounting, in the course of my career, I ended up in banking.
Are there regrets for not reading law?
Absolutely not. My love for law helped me a lot in my accounting career to the extent that my exposure to the law part of accounting deepened my knowledge of law as it relates to business. My knowledge of law is slightly deeper and I am a specialist in company and commercial law.
Are your children interested in law?
None. My first daughter is a computer scientist and works with an international consulting firm. My son is an accountant but he is much more interested in real estate. My second son is studying economics at the university. I am not too sure what my last son would do but I will not insist that any one of them reads a particular course.
Did you have a privileged upbringing?
Certainly not. I was born in August 1951 to middle-class parents in Ibadan. My father was an accountant and this helped in shaping my love for accounting. My mother was and is still a trader. I had a decent upbringing and I am the third child in a polygamous home. However, I am the first of the four children of my mother. We had a very decent upbringing. We were not spoilt and we were brought up to be hardworking. We are all doing well in our careers. My father took pride in my career especially as I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1982 at the age of 22 which was a record in those days.
Did you grow up in Ibadan?
I was only born in a hospital in Ibadan but I did not live there. Throughout my life, I lived and schooled in Lagos. My primary school was St Paul's Anglican School, Mushin. I went to Eko Boys High School, also in Mushin, and then I went to study accounting at the then Lagos State College of Science and Technology. I did my professional accounting examinations while working with Arthur Young, an international American audit firm. Living in Lagos helped in making me what I am today. You are streetwise, very smart and you stand up to challenges because Lagos toughens you. No matter where I am and the level of comfort, if I am outside Lagos for one week, I miss something.
Were there incidents that helped shape who you are today?
Maybe at the point I joined First Bank in 1994. I never planned to work for the bank. I started my banking career with Wema Bank in 1985 as a senior accountant and at some point, I decided to leave. I was to run a mortgage bank as MD-designate and as part of the conditions for granting the licence, we needed to submit some documents including the profile and CV of the potential CEO. I was on my way to submit it when a friend of mine asked me to accompany him to KPMG. We got there and found out that they were collating CVs for an advert by First Bank to hire a principal manager in the accounts department. Given my experience as a chartered accountant and my exposure as head of accounts at Wema Bank, I just made a photocopy of my resume and submitted without even knowing that it was going to be First Bank. It was only after short-listing that I discovered. Joining First Bank in 1994 changed the course of my life because I never dreamt of becoming a group managing director. During my career, I was predominantly in the finance department and was the financial controller for about What things prepared you for the task of CEO?
The bank prepared me very well for that job unconsciously. I had the opportunity in my days as the deputy general manager and financial controller to also combine that with being the co-coordinator of the enterprise transformation project. That gave me the opportunity to access and understand very deeply the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the bank. In addition, my foray into First Pension Custodian gave me the opportunity to use the services of the bank as a customer. I was able to see the bank from the viewpoint of customers. After six months of being an executive director of banking, operations and services, I was appointed group managing director. This was after Lamido Sanusi Lamido was appointed Governor of Central Bank. Though a challenging task, I am delighted at my achievements.
How do you handle favour-seekers?
There is no leader in Nigeria that will not be under that kind of pressure. I run a structured organisation. My policy is to surround myself with colleagues, who are encouraged and emboldened to challenge me even when I feel strongly on a matter. For me, the arguments are always won based on facts and not sentiments. We have set up a structure in the bank today that even if you put me under pressure and no matter what I feel, if the system feels it is not in line with the structure and governance of the bank, it does not happen. I have created structures around me, which make it completely difficult if not impossible, to abuse my powers. There is no organisation that can survive over a long period of time if you don't have structures, checks and balances.
What is a typical day like for you?
There are many sacrifices. You need more than 24 hours to do your job. My days are extremely long ones. I could get home at 11.30pm. However, my typical day starts with morning devotion with my family, which is between 6.00am and 6.30am. Then, I swim for 30 to 45 minutes religiously. My day starts really earlier than that because I wake up at 3am to work. If you ask my staff, they will tell you my mails come in between 3am and 5.30am. That is when I have time to do serious work because in the office, you are under pressure. You hardly have time to do rigorous academic or technical analysis. I sleep for just about three or four hours and it has been like that for the past four years. That is why if one is really hardworking, the job of running a bank this big is not what you do for more than your tenure. I do not intend to spend one day longer than my tenure as the CEO.
Do you have retirement plans?
In First Bank, we have tenures. You have a contract, which is one term of three years and maximum two terms of six years. I am in the first year of my second term and I believe that it will be appropriate for me to respect the terms of the contract. Therefore, I want to complete my tenure and retire into a quiet private life.
How do you combine your duties as a husband, father and a professional?
I will give God the glory and I will also praise my wife for her understanding. There are many sacrifices on the part of the family and the only time we have to discuss is maybe when I am home or in the swimming pool. Due to my job schedules, I do travel a lot and because I don't have much time for them, my wife and I always make those trips together at my own expense. You will hardly see me in an aircraft travelling without my wife present.
How did you meet your wife?
Incidentally, I met my wife in the secondary school in 1978. We were just friends. I went to Eko Boys High School but what happened at that time was that some private schools were shut down and the students were distributed to the government schools. We parted ways, met again in 1981 and we started talking. On one occasion, I invited her out for lunch and I proposed to her. We are more of friends than husband and wife and that has gone a long way in strengthening the relationship between us. We got married in 1985 and each day of the 28 years has been like a new day in the relationship. If I did not marry her then, I am not too sure I would have found true love because I became a very successful person early in life. As a 22-year-old qualified chartered accountant, I had everything a successful young man should have. It would be extremely difficult at that time if you were not in a strong relationship to find someone who loves you for who you are and not what you already have.
How do you relax?
I like boating a lot. Whenever time permits, my wife and I cruise on a boat to a quiet location and spend the day there. On Sundays after church, we tend to go out as a family with the children. I try not to bring any work home because at the end of the day, you will leave the job and retire. A successful man is not just one who is successful at work. You are a failure if your home is unsettled.
What informs your dress sense?
I like to dress very simple but in the office, I am a power dresser. I am fully in charge of my corporate wardrobe while my wife is in charge when it has to do with traditional attire.
How do you keep fit?
I walk a lot when I am abroad. Time does not allow me to do golfing but it is something I would take up when I retire.
