Yes, Bisi Onasanya, the former Managing Director (MD) of First Bank Nigeria Plc,perfected the money attitude while his peers cut their first tooth in banking. He was the enthralling magnate, who teased open fortune’s peonies, and unwrapped the seal to the tight bales of bloom in banking’s competitive halls.

Money chants its ornate poetry in Onasanya’s treasure chest perhaps because he took the money shot – Cha ching! – time and over again, with the stamina of a warrior, and the agility of the quintessential marksman.

If his wealth were likeable to an orchard, his vine would tilt with supple grapes. His seeds would sprout in bountiful harvest – the clusters so large, the flavour so sweet.His pasture would meander, like a crystal blue stream flowing through greenery, to ignite a sparkling gleam – the symbol of prosperity and good breeding.

While too many of his peers, gained from their wealth only the fear of losing it, Onasanya gained from his wealth, comfort, contentment and a deep sense of purpose.

The former bank MD understood quite early in life, that there are no little ways to imbue his life with grandeur. He understood that money matters in the mix, in his pursuit of ease and luxury. More importantly, Onasanya regarded money as the only sunbeams that lights his path to grandeur. Nothing is black where it shines. That is why his life is radiant with light.

While he served as MD of First Bank, Onasanya worked very hard and saved very hard, his hard-earned money. Today, he is reaping the fruit of his labour. Indeed, Onasanya is one very sharp dude who planned his retirement very well. Findings revealed that he is most likely the richest retired bank chief in the country, considering his extensive fortune and business interests.

Besides being intimidatingly solvent, Onasanya lives a charmed life. No sooner did he retire from First Bank than he relocated from his Ikoyi residence to a sprawling mansion on Banana Island, in Lagos.
At his new mansion, Onasanya has on display, the choicest and most expensive automobiles.

He also owns impressive stakes in the coastal city’s real estate sectorwith his company, The Address Homes.

There is no gainsaying Onasanya made a lot of money while he served as head honcho of First Bank. He also helped a lot of Nigerian magnates to make a lot of money. For instance, it was during his tenure as MD of First Bank that the bank lent out money to the highest number of people. It was also during his tenure that the bank suffered the highest number of non-performing loans. Thus many businessmen made their fortune via Onasanya’s very accommodating loan schemes.

Born in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Onasanya hails from the Onasanya Family in Ijebu Land, Ogun State. He grew up in Lagos, where he attended St Paul’s Anglican Primary School (Mushin), Eko Boys High School (Mushin), and the then Lagos State College of Science and Technology. Onasanya is the eldest of four children from his mother, and the third of his father’s children.

He is a former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited. He was before this appointment, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Pension Custodian, and began his career with Arthur Young, an American audit firm. A chartered accountant, Onasanya is credited with pioneering initiatives in Nigeria’s nascent pension custody industry that helped define best industry practices.

At First Bank Nigeria Limited where he held diverse portfolios before his appointment as Group Managing Director, he coordinated the bank’s Century 2 Enterprise Transformation Project, widely acknowledged as one of the most important phases of the bank’s early transformation initiatives in response to an increasingly competitive financial services landscape.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Taxation, Bisi has served as a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ Sub-Committee on Fiscal & Monetary Policies, and of the Presidential Committee on Reduction of Interest Rates.

SOURCE: THECAPITAL.NG