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The demise of Otunba Subomi Balogun, founder and Chairman of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group and Olori Omo Oba of Ijebuland, has been mourned by President Muhammadu Buhari, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun, and Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Balogun passed away at the age of 89 in a London hospital following an illness.

Described as a colossal loss to the state, Nigeria, and the business world, President Buhari remembered Balogun’s legacy of kindness, charity, and multiple empowerment opportunities that touched many lives through education and health. Gbajabiamila, who could not help but express regret that Balogun’s wise counsel would be needed as the country transitions to a new government, noted that his impacts and innovations on the Nigerian banking sector could not be overemphasized. In a similar vein, Abiodun explained that Balogun’s contributions to the socio-economic development of Ijebuland and Ogun State were humongous and beneficial to numerous people and entities.

Balogun’s philanthropic gestures, good sense of fashion, and traditions will be sorely missed, Abiodun emphasised, while Sanwo-Olu expressed his sincere condolences to the family, friends, and associates of Balogun, as well as the management and staff of the FCMB Group.

Born into a Muslim family on March 9, 1934, in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Balogun converted to Christianity during his secondary school days and graduated from Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos with a Cambridge School Certificate Grade One in 1952. He went on to study Law at the London School of Economics, obtained a Second Class Honors degree in June 1959, and was called to the English Bar in December the same year. Balogun briefly worked as a teacher before returning to Nigeria to join the Ministry of Justice in the Western Region.

He eventually rose to the position of Parliamentary Counsel in the ministry before joining the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank in January 1966 after the coup. He later became the director of operations at ICON Ltd in 1973 and applied for a merchant banking license for the establishment of FCMB in 1979, which began operating in 1983.

Balogun received several awards during his lifetime, including the National Honour of Commander of the Order of Niger and the American Biographical Institute Inc’s Distinguished Leadership Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Development of Investment Banking. Until his death, he was a direct descendant of Oba Tunwase of Ijebu-Ode and held a number of chieftaincy titles that distinguished him as an illustrious citizen of Nigeria.