WHEN THE SUN SET AT NOON

Greatness is earned by those who embrace challenge, stand tall in the face of adversity, persevere, learn from failure; never give in, never give up and inspire others to reach great heights.

Forty years ago, the sun set at noon for an accomplished middle-aged man; an entrepreneur, business mogul and titan, who bestrode the nation’s business firmament like the proverbial colossus; a master, of every commerce he was engaged in and an example per excellence of the importance of hard work and perseverance. He was the epitome of rags to riches and a quintessence of God’s grace and blessings for the industrious. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”. James 2:26  He was a personification and embodiment of organization and it reflected in his pioneering efforts in the unions he led and the business pressure groups whose cause he championed. Unlike today’s men of money, he was anti-establishment and fought the government of the day to secure space for the growth of commerce and industry. His unrelenting efforts yielded bountiful fruits for fellow travelers in the business terrain and many profited from his leadership. Most importantly, he did not rely on government patronage and largesse for his gettonity.

Forty years after his demise, his constituency have not had any leader like him and probably ever will. Our persona is late Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun: A born leader of men and a veritable example of reward for industry and business acumen, laced with dogged determination and a can-do spirit. His rural and non cosmopolitan upbringing contrasts with his meteoric rise to fame and riches. His is an example of what perseverance, resolve, will and determination can bring about in the life of man. 

Henry Fajemirokun was two years younger than my late father who was his very good friend and neighbor in the early days in Apapa. He was born in rural Ile-Oluji on the suburb of Ondo town in 1927: Son of Pa Daniel Famakinwa Fajemirokun, ‘Dani Ado’, an indication of his remote ancestry: Which would account for Henry’s lifelong friendship with late General Adeyinka Adebayo. They actually hailed from Ile Ife, the Source and went on a migration trail that saw them settled at Ifewara, Ado and later Okeigbo.

At the age of 16, the trajectory of his life changed when he absconded from school at Ondo Boys High School and secretly enrolled in the British Army to fight in the Second World War. He saw action in India and the Far East. This was the first exhibition of his non-conformist disposition, which was to manifest in his championing of trade and industrial unions in later life. 

After the war, he settled in Lagos where he got a job with the Post and Telegraph department (P&T), and at the same time, he decided to further his education by studying privately under the tutelage of the late Chief Olowu, then a staff of the CMS Grammar School, Bariga. He later sat for his School Certificate and passed: That showed determination; a hallmark of his life.

Henry became interested in trade unionism and it paid off when he was elected President of the P&T Workers Union; and later President General of the Nigerian Civil Service Union in 1957; a post he held until 1968. He also represented the labour movement on the Board of the ECN (Electricity Corporation of Nigeria) from 1957 until 1960. He was appointed by the Western Nigerian government as a member of the Salaries Review Commission in 1959.

His foray into commerce started when he floated Henry Stephens and Sons HSS, in partnership with his friend and In-Law, Stephen Adepetun, also of the P&T. HSS would eventually grow and blossom into a conglomerate of over 20 companies; ranging from importation to export of bones and commodities, leading to his becoming the first African to have a seat on the London Commodity Exchange with an office in London: HSS London.

It is axiomatic to know that long before Dangote and Folawiyo, he was importing cement from Egypt and Poland; and was the biggest player in that sector. He later invested in construction equipments and the local assembly of concrete mixers.   

He was unfazed by calamity or adversities: Even when he lost a shipload of cement in a deep sea disaster; a situation that led to the withdrawal of Stephen from the partnership; he still forged ahead, because he saw it as one of the risks in business. He never changed the name of the company because he did not believe in changing a winning brand with foreign connotation.

In 1962, he formed Nigerian Maritime Services (NMS): The pioneer of household packaging and removal business in Nigeria.  Nigmarship Agencies was formed in 1968 as a stevedoring and ship Chatterage Company: It chartered vessels for the cement, building materials and basic foods trade. There was also Henry Stephens Shipping Company, which bought its first ship in 1970, named MV Ifewara. He ventured into banking, insurance, and was the first Nigerian to prospect for oil. 

Henry Fajemirokun was best noted for his pioneering role in the Chamber of Commerce, a business pressure group that would see him clashing with the military administration: A role which he played until the end.  He was very vociferous against inconsistent policies of the government. From 1971 until 1975, he was President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce; during which he insisted that the Chambers should have input in budget preparation. 

In 1977, he championed the interest of British/Nigerian trade when, in partnership with his friend, Sir Adam Thompson, formed the Nigerian–British Chamber of Commerce. He was also Vice-President of the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce and President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA). His activities during the clamor for the integration of trade in West Africa were influential in the formation of the ECOWAS.

He became a leading exponent of regional integration and trade in the West African sub-region and this led to the founding of the West African Chamber of Commerce of which he was President from 1972 until he died while on a trade mission to Abidjan on February 15, 1978. The man died in active service!

Henry lived an exemplary life, unlike that of today’s crop of ‘evil men’ who are hell bent on milking this nation to the bone. His was a life of service in the very short period of 20 years. Given the opportunity to continue stealing, many of our leaders would never achieve a tenth of what Henry did in a thousand years and they would never have anything to show for it. Today, Henry’s worthy legacy can be seen in the odyssey of his son, Dele; a quintessential chip of the old bloc.   

As we remember late Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun, we pray that God continue to grant him eternal rest. From God we come and to Him we will return.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend: And Blessed Lenten season.

With kind permission from Dele Fajemirokun; Adapted from the forthcoming book: My Odyssey in Business – An Autobiography. 

Babatunde Jose
+2348033110822

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