Renowned technocrat and boardroom Czar, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, 82, is dead. He died Tuesday morning at Gold Cross Hospital, Ikoyi Lagos at about 8:15am after a protracted illness.
Gamaliel Onosode is one of the most experienced Board room directors in Nigeria and has chaired several Nigerian and multinational companies. He is revered and is an inspiration to a lot of the billionaires and chief executives and directors of major Nigerian companies.
Here is a summary of some of his achievements
- Gamaliel Offoritsenere Onosode,OFR, foremost technocrat and boardroom czar, was the pioneer Secretary of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank later becoming its Assistant General Manager in 1964
- Director of NAL Merchant Bank Plc in June 1969 and its Chairman and Chief Executive from November 1973 to March 1979.
- He was Chairman, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, from 1978 – 1993,
- Chairman, Commerce Bank from 1989 – 1994,
- Chairman, Nigerian Stock Exchange Investment Protection Fund from 1995 – 2000.
- Mr. Onosode also became Chairman of Dunlop Nigeria Plc, at a time when the company needed revival.
- Chairman of Zain Nigeria, a GSM telecommunications company, the oldest GSM operator in Nigeria
His past Political and other Appointments
- Presidential adviser on Budget Affairs
- Director off Budget
- Chairman Nigeria LNG Limited
- Chairman Presidential Commission on Parastatals.
- He was a Fellow of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, the Nigerian Institute of Management, of which he was President (1979–82).
- He was also a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, having been elected to membership of its Board of Fellows in 1998.
- In addition, Mr. Onosode was the inaugural President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers
- Past Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Uyo
- Past and inaugural President & Chairman of Council of the Association of Pension Funds of Nigeria.
- He was an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and holds Honorary D.Sc. degrees of Obafemi Awolowo University (1990), The University of Benin (1995),The Rivers State University of Science and Technology (2003)
- Honorary D.D. degree of The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso (2002)
- Mr. Onosode was admitted to the Honour Roll of Mellanby Hall, University of Ibadan, in 1982.
- He was a pioneer recipient of the Ughelli Descendants Union Distinguished Service Award (2000) and recipient of the Faculty of Arts University of Ibadan Golden Jubilee Distinguished Alumnus Merit Award (2001).
- Mr. Gamaliel Onosode was a Member of the inaugural Provisional Governing Council of Bowen University, Iwo.
- He was Chairman of the Delta State Think-Tank on Development
- the Global Missions Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and the Governing Council of The Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso
