There are professionals who build careers. Then there are those who build legacies that outlive them. Chief Michael Olumuyiwa Falomo, who passed on at the age of 87, belonged to the latter category, a towering figure whose footprints marked almost every significant milestone in Nigeria’s advertising journey from colonial-era radio jingles to digital-age brand ecosystems.

Marketing Edge Publications pays tribute to one of the doyens of Nigerian advertising, a man whose life reflected excellence, integrity and selfless service, certainly one of the finest gentlemen of all time.

The Formative Years: From Ilesa to the Airwaves

Born on August 13, 1938 in Ilesa, Osun State, young Falomo attended St. John’s Anglican School, Iloro in Ilesha for his primary education before proceeding to Government College, Ibadan. His early ambitions pointed toward engineering, a dream shaped by the technical precision and problem solving that would later characterize his advertising career.

But fate, as it often does, had other plans. The boy who dreamed of building bridges would instead build brands.

In 1959, long before Nigerian independence, Falomo began his professional journey at Western Nigeria Television and Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation, becoming one of the pioneers of television and commercial radio broadcasting in Nigeria. He started as a production unit officer in the Commercial Services department, a position that would prove to be his gateway into the world that would define his life.

The Advertising Ascent: Building Excellence Step by Step

By 1963, Falomo had seen enough of broadcasting to know where the future lay. He resigned from WNBC and moved into the private sector, joining the advertising industry at a time when the profession was still finding its feet in post-independence Nigeria.

His rise was methodical, deliberate, marked by competence that could not be ignored. He held several positions in various agencies, learning the craft, understanding the business, building relationships, accumulating the knowledge that would later make him indispensable. Eventually, he rose to the position of executive director at Ogilvy, Benson and Mather Nigeria Limited, one of the most prestigious advertising agencies of the era.

But the entrepreneurial spirit could no longer be contained. In 1986, Chief Falomo established Forum Advertising Nigeria Limited, where he served as managing director and chief executive officer until his recent retirement. Under his leadership, Forum Advertising became a respected name in Nigeria’s competitive advertising ecosystem, proving that indigenous agencies could compete with multinational networks on creativity, strategy and client service.

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The Regulator: Presidential Appointment and National Service

If Falomo’s commercial success established his credentials, his tenure as chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria cemented his legacy as a nation builder.

In December 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him chairman of APCON, a position he held for four years. This presidential appointment showed the esteem in which Falomo was held not just within advertising circles but in national governance.

During his tenure, he brought decades of industry experience to bear on strengthening regulatory frameworks, promoting professional standards and positioning Nigerian advertising for global competitiveness. He understood that regulation was not about stifling creativity but about protecting credibility, ensuring that the industry’s growth was sustainable and ethical.

He also served as president and council member of several advertising professional bodies including the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, the Nigerian chapter of the International Advertising Association, and was a member of the world board of directors of the International Advertising Association from 1990 to 1994.

The Corporate Steward: Beyond Advertising

Chief Falomo’s influence extended far beyond advertising agencies and regulatory councils. He served as chairman of Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria, bringing his decades of brand and marketing insight to corporate governance. Under his board leadership, Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria maintained its position as a trusted household name while navigating Nigeria’s complex regulatory environment, foreign exchange challenges and shifting consumer dynamics.

His dual mastery of advertising creativity and corporate governance made him uniquely valuable. He understood brands not just as marketing constructs but as business assets requiring strategic stewardship. At Reckitt Benckiser, he brought his advertising insight to bear on questions of brand positioning, market penetration and stakeholder management.

Beyond Reckitt Benckiser, he served as principal consultant at Olu Falomo and Associates and held advisory positions including membership on the advisory board of Vis Mundi, an investment company focused on fast moving consumer goods and consumer healthcare across Africa.

He was also a former chairman of Lagos Island Club, where he served in various capacities including as registered trustee, honorary general secretary and vice chairman over several decades. The club described him as an institution in his own right, a consummate gentleman, master wordsmith and deep philosophical thinker whose contributions left a lasting legacy.

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The Humanitarian: A Life of Service Beyond Commerce

What truly distinguished Chief Falomo from mere captains of industry was his deep, sustained commitment to humanitarian causes. His professional success never blinded him to the needs of the vulnerable, the marginalized, those whom society often forgets.

Since 1987, he dedicated himself to charitable work with the Nigerian Society for the Blind, serving at different times as officer, chairman of council, and finally as trustee. He understood, perhaps from personal experience, how fragile fortune can be, and he never forgot to extend a hand to those less fortunate.

He also served on the boards of the Nigerian Society for the Welfare of Retired and Elderly Persons and the Bloom Cancer Care and Support Centre, and was patron of the Aanu Olu Pre-school Unit for Physically Challenged Children. His church, the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, benefited immensely from his service. He spent ten years on the standing committee and chaired multiple committees including the Feast of Dedication Committee, the Membership Committee and the Think-Tank Committee.

The Lagos Diocesan Guild of Stewards honoured him for exemplary service, recognition that meant as much to him as any industry award, perhaps more. He was social secretary and later secretary of the Cathedral Circle, social secretary and later president of the Cathedral Christian Brothers, and leader of Group C of the Cathedral Guild of Stewards.

For over 31 years, he served as founder and coordinator of the Surulere Prayer Breakfast Group and publicity secretary of the Christian Laity of Nigeria for over 31 years. These were not ceremonial positions. They were commitments of time, energy, resources and heart.

The Ijesa Son: Never Forgetting His Roots

Despite his cosmopolitan success, Chief Falomo never forgot his roots. He held several chieftaincy titles including Otun Baroyin of Oke-Ona Egba, Lomoofe of Ilare-Ijesa, and Lofosan of Ifosan Quarters in Ilesa. These were not merely honorifics but acknowledgments of his continued investment in the communities that shaped him.

He understood that success measured only in Lagos offices and international boardrooms was incomplete success. True achievement, he knew, included lifting the place you came from, ensuring that the next generation had opportunities you might not have had.

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The Family Man: Love and Loss

Chief Falomo was married to Mrs. Hilda Titilola Falomo, a lawyer and insurance executive who passed on almost 26 years ago. Together, they were blessed with children and grandchildren who carry forward the values he embodied.

Those who knew him spoke not just of his professional achievements but of his character. Dr. Osaren Emokpae, chairman of St. Michael’s Care Services Limited and presiding apostle of Macedonia Call Global Assembly, where Chief Falomo served as patron, described him as “a consummate professional, a trailblazer with unwavering dedication, whose life reflected excellence, integrity and selfless service, certainly one of the finest gentlemen of all time.”

“To us, Chief Falomo was not merely a patron but a father, a constant source of wisdom, guidance and encouragement. He served with grace and distinction, leaving an indelible imprint on our organisation that will continue to inspire generations,” Emokpae said.

The Legacy: Paths Carved for Others to Walk

The elephant has fallen. But elephants, even in death, leave landmarks.

The paths Chief Olu Falomo carved through Nigerian advertising, from WNTV’s Commercial Services department to APCON’s chairmanship, from Forum Advertising’s corner office to Reckitt Benckiser’s boardroom, remain for others to walk, widen and extend.

His contributions to Nigeria’s marketing and advertising ecosystem were foundational. He was there when commercial television was new, when advertising agencies were just beginning to understand consumer psychology, when regulation was being debated, when indigenous agencies were fighting for space against multinational giants.

At every stage, he brought excellence without arrogance, success without selfishness, achievement without forgetting where he came from, and leadership as service rather than privilege.

The advertising industry has lost a colossus. Nigerian society has lost a servant leader. The Ijesa community has lost a devoted son. The blind, the elderly, the physically challenged children he supported have lost a champion. The church has lost a faithful steward.

But the standards he upheld, the frameworks he built, the professionals he mentored, the causes he championed ensure that Chief Olu Falomo’s influence will reverberate for generations yet unborn.

As we salute the elephant in his final journey, the truest tribute we can offer is to uphold the values he embodied: excellence in practice, integrity in business, service to community, faithfulness to conviction, and the understanding that professional success means little if it does not lift others.

Chief Michael Olumuyiwa Falomo lived 87 years. He spent 67 of them building industries, strengthening institutions, serving communities and touching lives. That is not just a career. That is a calling fulfilled.

May his memory continue to inspire. May his example continue to guide. May his legacy continue to shape Nigerian advertising toward the excellence, professionalism and ethical practice he spent a lifetime promoting.

The elephant has fallen. But the forest remembers.