34 years remembrance of Chief Collins Kenneth Nnadi Obih, the brain behind post-war economy recovery of Ndi Igbo

He was the first Nigerian-cum-West African Fellow of the Institute of Bankers (later Nigerian Institute of Bankers, and now Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria);
First Indigenous President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria;
First Nigerian Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of London;
Fellow of the American Bankers Association;
Fellow of the Association of International Accountants;
Fellow of the British Institute of Management;
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators;
President of the Nigerian Bankers (Employers) Association; and,
General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of the defunct African Continental Bank (ACB) for an unprecedented Thirteen years, a bank founded by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and acquired by the erstwhile Eastern Region Government of Nigeria.

The remembrance of the triumphant transition to eternity of Ochiagha-Dikenafai and Ozo-Igbo-Ndu, as he was fondly and popularly called, on this day, exactly Thirty-four years ago, rekindle in us the full impact and import of your innumerable achievements and contributions to society and humanity, especially his invaluable roles that brought about the recovery of poverty-stricken Igbo people and the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the battered economy of Eastern Nigeria after a most devastating and debilitating civil war.

Through an ingenious policy known as the Third Party Guarantee (TPG) initiated by this Nigerian banking icon, cash-strapped Igbo traders, entrepreneurs and business owners were availed liberal credit facilities up to Ten Thousand Pounds (£10,000) without the mandatory collateral security requirements usually demanded by banks, at a time an extremely vindictive Federal Government could provide every Igbo person with a paltry £20 out of all their monetary accumulations. All that the ACB under him demanded from cash-strapped and stranded business operators for loan approvals was the written guarantee of well-known pre-war customers of the bank.

We cannot forget how he deployed this unique, soothing and refreshing strategy to revitalise and reinvigorate businesses of Ndi Igbo in Eastern Nigeria and across the length and breadth of the country. The impact was so pronounced and profound that nearly all wealthy men and women across Igbo land in the post-war era were known to be beneficiaries of this foremost Nigerian banker’s benevolence and banking prowess. Many other non-Igbo also found their feet in business and achieved stupendous success by enjoying his immense support, business guidance and patronage.

We remain eternally grateful to the man described by industry practitioners of his time and subsequently, as well as close watchers as the John the Baptist of the banking sector for his rare ingenuity and pioneering professional attainments, unforgettable humanitarian dispositions and numerous contributions to national development.

May his soul continue to enjoy rest in perpetuity.

Joachim OLUMBA (Retd Comptroller of Immigration), KSJI
(Emetumba-Dikenafai & Omekannaya-Nchoke)
Author of the unpublished BIOGRAPHY OF COLLINS OBIH: IMPRINTS OF A LEGEND