• Why he is being celebrated in the oil sector

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him,” said David Brinkley. Brinkley probably had Capt. Idahosa Okunbo, the very hardworking Chairman of Ocean Marine Solutions, in mind at the moment of his deep introspection.

Interestingly, recent reports have it that Okunbo is highly celebrated in the oil and gas sector for spearheading the recovery, remediation and maintenance as well as security surveillance of the Escravos-Warri and Bonny-Port Harcourt pipeline segments.

This has resulted in the significant turnaround of the pipeline system from its hitherto decrepit state to the current efficient and highly utilised level. Little wonder, in NNPC, Okunbo is a beautiful bride.

One of Africa’s foremost businessmen and dedicated philanthropists, since Okunbo made his remarkable foray into the African oil and gas industry, he has demonstrated outstanding capabilities as a manager and visionary leader, a strategic thinker and workaholic.

With these qualities, he has taken his companies to greater heights and has demonstrated to his peers and protégés that there are no short cuts to success and that hard work definitely pays.
And for his relentless entrepreneurial drive and derring-do, nations, organisations and institutions fall over themselves to appreciate his worth too. Thus the recent conferment of Vanguard Newspaper Businessman of The Year, is just one of the many gestures to celebrate one of Nigeria and Africa’s finest.

Capt. Okunbo is also a notable philanthropist thus his establishment of a foundation to positively impact the lives of the needy in Nigeria. The foundation puts smiles on people’s faces by creating or supporting initiatives that deliver knowledge, skills, resources and infrastructure that will stimulate innovation, facilitate commerce, drive enterprise and improve living conditions. Its core programme interests are entrepreneurship, education, health and rural development.

Frankly, it would not be a heresy to say that Capt. Okunbo is not a run-of-the-mill entrepreneur fixated on lining their pockets and thriving on cronyism. He thrives rather on giving back to the society more than he has ever made from it without recourse to tokenism.

Those who know this unrepentant altruist are acutely aware that he orbits in his self-imposed mission to alleviate the endemic suffering and poverty in Africa, while bringing innate gravitas to the art and act of philanthropy.