Biodun Shobanjo, the trailblazer, at 80
By Chuddy Oduenyi
Within the conclave of eminent advertising practitioners in Nigeria and the consistory of esteemed marketing communications professionals in Africa, he is revered. Even in the larger orbit of the corporate world, whenever his name is evoked, it is always with uncustomary reverence.
The reverence stems from an appreciation of his eventful long years of service, stellar performance and solid contributions to the advertising industry and indeed the larger marketing communications firmament.
Biodun Shobanjo, who turns 80 on Tuesday 24 December 2024, is one of the most exposed, widely travelled, very informed, professionally educated, and profoundly astute advertising practitioners Africa has ever produced. Genial, affable, humorous and disarmingly accessible, Shobanjo is a leader who captivates without intimidating. His voice is soft, steady, reassuring, and seemingly ageless. In the reckoning of many, Shobanjo is a focused and creative entrepreneur in orientation with aristocratic albeit aesthetic taste.
What with his reverential attitude to aesthetics as manifested in the superbly inviting ambience of his corporate offices and cultivation of the best business ethos. But the essential Shobanjo is a cautious, pragmatic, sagacious, fair-minded leader, judiciously averse to eye service or the anointment of mediocres to elevated platforms. He is a leader who places due premium on competence and is frugal in the bestowal of accolades.
A visionary, he is the Chairman of Troyka Group, Nigeria’s largest marketing communications conglomerate. Under its aegis, he had earlier established other specialist organisations including Optimum Exposures, an Out-Of-Home company, 1984; and Halogen Security, Nigeria’s No 1 security and risk-mitigation company in 1992, which today employs over 22,000 people nationwide. Shobanjo has unarguably contributed more than any one in the birthing and nurturing the growth and development of the marketing communication sector in Nigeria.
His pioneering role in the marketing communication industry saw to the establishment of Nigeria’s first Public Relations Consultancy, The Quadrant Company, in 1990. He established Nigeria’s first Media Independent, All Seasons Mediacom, in 1997. In 2005, he set up a second Media Independent, Media Perspectives.
However, it was in 2015, that Shobanjo’s ultimate dream of turning Troyka into a global player was fulfilled, when he went into an equity partnership with Publicis Groupe, the world’s third largest marketing communications group. This led to the birthing of Insight Redefini Group, the communications arm of Troyka Holdings, that has two creative agencies – Insight Publicis and Leo Burnett; two media buying companies – All Seasons Zenith and Starcom Media Perspectives; and Quadrant MSL, one of Nigeria’s leading reputation management outfits. Achieving all these feats has not been a walk in the park.
At times, the roads were strewn with thorns and the paths difficult to thread but he is always propelled by The Will To Win, which is fittingly the title of his authorised biography published in 2019. He lives out the ideals that instructed Edward Murrow’s assertion, “difficulty is the one excuse that history never accepts”.Meticulous in research, astoundingly savvy, catholic in intellectual range, his rare feats have garnered for him multiple accolades.
Over the last two decades, he has earned more than 80 national and international awards and recognitions for professional excellence and integrity, outstanding leadership and remarkable contributions to both the marketing communication industry and national development.
Notable among these are: Advertising Man of All Time; Most Influential Personality in Advertising in Africa; Africa Brand Leadership Excellence Award; Zik Prize in Leadership, and the Father of Advertising in Africa which was conferred on him by Marketing Edge, the leading industry magazine, on Tuesday December 17, 2024 as part of the activities marking his epochal 80th birthday.
Appreciative of his commitment to the development of education and advancement of knowledge, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in December 2019, conferred on him an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) making him the first ever in the Marketing Communication industry to be so honoured by any Nigerian University.
In further testament to his humanitarian pursuits and impact on the economy, the Council and Senate of the University of Lagos, in 2022 also awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) at its 51st Convocation Ceremonies. In May and August 2023 respectively, he was appointed as a Member of the Advisory Council of Odu’a Investment Foundation and also a Member of the Board of Trustees of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.
Earlier, in October 2022, he was conferred with the national honour award of OON (Officer of the Order of the Niger), in recognition of his outstanding virtues and in appreciation of his services to Nigeria.
Endowed with undiluted gravitas, Shobanjo is unobtrusive in his philanthropic endeavours. Many individuals scattered all over the country are numbered amongst the direct beneficiaries of his philanthropy. He also gives to worthy causes and hardly breathes a word about his efforts. But he could not help having his name identified publicly with the ultra-modern multi media centre, which he bequeathed to the University of Lagos. His Troyka Group, obviously inspired by his humane disposition, continues to co-sponsor high impact media training for journalists at the prestigious Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.
The sobering reality is that at 80, the ebullient Shobanjo will have to slow down. But our solace is that even with more fruitful years ahead of him, he has already left a worthy and valuable legacy. As we celebrate his entrance into the exclusive octogenarian club, we must remain grateful for his role as a mentor, one who planted the proverbial mustard seed in the minds of those he mentored and, there is indeed an array of industry leaders that drank from his well of knowledge.
They include Jimi Awosika, Richard Ibe, Sesan Ogunro, Osa Emokpae, Funmi Onabulo, Georgi Umunna, Phil Osagie, Victor Johnson, Longley Evru, Vincent Oyo, Yeside Oriyomi, Amuzie Akpaka, Alero Edu, Gabriel Abah, Don Obilor, Busola Williams, Yori Folarin, Ohi Alegbe, Paul Nwabuikwu, Olu Akanmu, Okon Iyanam, Emeka Okeke, Benedicta Ayede and Ken Onyeali Ikpe. At least, four past presidents of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), to wit: Enyi Odigbo, Udeme Ufot, Kayode Oluwasona, and Steve Babaeko, were once under his tutelage, even the current AAAN President Lanre Adisa also grew under his wings.
For Shobanjo rings true the exhortation of the 4th century Indian philosopher, Gita, that “life is a gift. Accept it. Life is an opportunity. Take it. Life is an adventure. Dare it. Life is a journey. Complete it. Life is a sorrow. Overcome it. Life is a promise. Fulfil it. Life is a tragedy. Face it, Life is a love. Enjoy it, Life is a duty. Perform it. Life is a beauty. Praise it. Life is a struggle. Fight it. Life is a mystery. Unfold it. Life is a spirit. Realise it. Life is a song. Sing it. Life is a goal. Achieve it”.
If “an idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous,” as Henry Ford contended, then Shobanjo, the quintessential realist and trailblazer, is the ultimate idealist.
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