Tag: Akintola Williams

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his Ogun State counterpart, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, were among dignitaries at the funeral service of Nigeria’s first indigenous chartered accountant and elder statesman, Chief Akintola Williams.

The funeral service, held at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre in Lagos, was also attended by former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, founder of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia, and ex-Foreign Affairs Minister, Maj.-Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retd.), cap­tains of industry, bank execu­tives, clerics, family members, friends and associates of the deceased at home and abroad.

Governor Sanwo-Olu described the late Williams as an outstanding Nigerian and a big Lagosian. 

He said: “At 104, how well would you describe a man that God first blessed with a long life and for a very long time, good health, and he had shown leadership at all levels? He was an outstanding Nigerian; a man who took his professional colleagues to enviable level worldwide. 

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“He was also a lover of God, a churchgoer, and a man who built the altar of a church. He had all of the pillars to tick as a good man. We can only wish the family all the very best. 

“To the country, we have lost an outstanding Nigerian, and for us in Lagos, we lost a big Lagosian. We will continue to have memories of the hospitable life that he lived. I will miss him personally. I believe he lived a good life.”

Governor Abiodun said the footprint of the late Williams would remain in the sand of time because of what he stood for.

He said: “Baba (Akintola Williams) was an exceptional Nigerian because the Almighty God granted him the grace to live up to 104 years. I am not sure we know many Nigerians that lived that long.

“He was a man after God’s heart. He was a big philanthropist and a lover of music. He was a man whose footprint will remain in the sand of time for many years for all that he stood for.”

“On behalf of the government and the entire people of Ogun State and my family, we commiserate, congratulate, and celebrate with the members of Baba’s immediate family and friends, the government and people of Lagos State and, of course, Nigeria. We pray that God Almighty will grant the family and well-wishers the heart to bear the colossal loss.”

In his sermon, the Prelate Emeritus of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Makinde, urged family members, friends and associates of the departed to immortalise him by supporting the Akintola Williams Centenary Building Project of the church.

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• Burial for accounting doyen next month

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed pain over the death of the doyen of the Accounting profession in Nigeria and the sub-Saharan Africa, Chief Akintola Williams.

Chief Williams died on Monday at the age of 104.

He will be buried in October, according to a son of the deceased, Seni.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said President paid tribute to the eminent accountant for his contributions to the profession and other areas of the nation’s life.

The statement reads: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shares in the pain of loss with the family, friends and associates of the Doyen of Accounting in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, Chief Akintola Williams, who passed away on Monday at the age of 104 years old.

“President Tinubu sympathises with the government and people of Lagos and Ogun states, the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAN), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and other financial institutions that were founded by the centurion, who lived an admirable life of charity with an impactful influence on future generations.

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“President Tinubu affirms that Oloye Williams epitomised integrity, resilience and resourcefulness, which was amply demonstrated when he established the first accounting firm, Akintola Williams & Co (Deliotte & Touche), by an African, in 1952, which inspired self-confidence in a generation of professionals who would make further impact in strengthening transparency and competence in the Accounting profession…

“The President fondly recalls sending warm felicitations to the centenarian on his 104th birthday on August 9 of this year, and appreciating his position in the history of Nigeria, and Africa, having scored many firsts in establishing many institutions that have shaped the African economy over his lifetime.

“President Tinubu prays that the Almighty God will receive the soul of Oloye Williams, and comfort his beloved family.”

Also, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed sadness over the death of Chief Williams.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Public Affairs and Communications, Eseme Eyiboh, the Senate President said: “I received the news of the loss of our first indigenous chartered accountant, Chief Akintola Williams with utmost sadness because there could not have been a better time than now that Nigeria needs to drink from his fountain of knowledge and savour his fatherly advice and wisdom.

“It is indisputable that no other Nigerian has impacted the accounting profession as the late sage, for his achievements are firmly entrenched on the sands of history and would remain indelible in the history of our country.”

Also, a former Ogun Strate Governor Ibikunle Amosun described the late Chief Williams as a father figure.

Amosun said he would sorely miss the eminent accountant’s words of advice and encouragement.

Also, the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI) mourned the doyen of the accounting profession.

In a statement yesterday, AANI’s National President, Ambassador Emmanuel Obi Okafor, also extended the condolences to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to the family, friends, acquaintances of the deceased.

Okafor acknowledged the late Williams’ national and global impact as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, among others.

Also, the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN) described the death of Chief Williams as a great loss to the body.

SWAN Chairperson, Mrs. Hilda Ozoh, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the deceased lived up to his leadership role as the doyen of the accounting profession.

The SWAN chairperson said the late Williams exhibited excellent influence, mentorship, impact and blessing to the accountancy profession, Nigeria and humanity.

Ozoh also described the late accountant as a God-fearing, non-tribalistic, listener, humane and ready-to-help man.

Also, many visitors from across the country yesterday trouped to the Ikoyi, Lagos home of the accounting guru and signed the condolence register.

They poured encomiums on the eminent accountant, recalling his years of contributions to the profession, education, and humanity.

The visitors included a former General Secretary of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Chief Femi Okunnu; famous industrialist, Chief Segun Osunkeye; foremost industrialist, Oba Otudeko; and ICAN president, Dr. Innocent Okwuosa.

Otudeko described the late Chief Williams as a father-figure and mentor whose experience benefited several people in the accounting and financial sectors.

He said: “We have lost a father, an embodiment of values. For some of us also, he was a professional leader, an outstanding gentleman. He was an exemplary man of great virtues. He lived a wonderful life, in terms of professionalism, candour, and character.”

Okwuosa said the late Williams was an epitome of accuracy and integrity.

“He lived a forthright live and was forthrightness exemplified. He made the brand we have at the institute possible and, therefore, we owe everything about the institute to him.”

In his condolence message, a Nigerian UK-based Chartered Accountant, Mr. Olanrewaju Sharafa, described the death of the doyen as a great light that has gone out of the world of accounting.

Sharafa noted that the global accounting community and the entire ICAN family had been thrown into mourning a man who laid the foundation of the institute.

“My heart goes out to his family, the Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), the International Federation of Accountants (IFA) and the entire ICAN family,” he said.

Seni Williams said Nigerians should learn the attributes of trust, honesty and ability to meet obligations from his late father.

He said the level of professionalism in accounting has risen, and new firms are coming up with the quality improving and shareholders becoming fairly sure.

Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun on Monday in Abeokuta described the demise of Nigeria’s pioneer chartered accountant, Akintola Williams, as the end of an era.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Williams was reported to have died on Monday at his residence in Lagos at the age of 104.

The governor, in a statement he personally signed, lauded the immeasurable contributions of the late accountant to the field of Accountancy.

“His impact in the profession will continue to be remembered and celebrated among generations of accountants in years to come.”

Read Also: 14 things to know about late Pa Akintola Williams

Abiodun, therefore, prayed for the repose of his soul and for the family and well-wishers to have the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.

“While we are going to miss his priceless contributions for over seven decades in the field of Accounting, our solace lies in the profound legacies he left behind and his indelible footprints.

“May God Almighty rest his soul and continue to strengthen his family, numerous mentees and all his admirers all over the world,” he said.

(NAN)

The Doyen of Accounting Pa Akintola Williams is dead.

He reportedly died by 9am on Monday.

Here are things to know about late Pa Akintola Williams 

1. Chief Akintola Williams was born on August 9, 1919.

2. He was 104.

3. He was a Nigerian accountant.

4. He was the first Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant.

5. He began his education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Bankole street, Apongbon, Lagos Island, Lagos, in the early 1930s, the same primary school his late junior brother Chief Rotimi Williams attended.

6. His youngest brother Rev James Kehinde Williams was a pastor in the same church. Olowogbowo Methodist Church.

7. His firm, founded in 1952, later grew organically and through mergers to become the largest professional services firm in Nigeria by 2004.

8. He went on to Yaba Higher College on a UAC scholarship, obtaining a diploma in commerce.

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9. Williams participated in founding the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

10. In 1944, he travelled to England where he studied at the University of London. Sturdying Banking and Finance, he graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Commerce.

11. He continued his studies and qualified as a chartered accountant in England in 1949.

12. After returning to Nigeria in 1950, Williams served with the Inland Revenue as an assessment officer until March 1952, when he left the civil service and founded Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos.

13. The company was the first indigenous chartered accounting firm in Africa.

14. Between April 1999 and May 2004, Akintola Williams & Co. merged with two other accounting firms to create Akintola Williams Deloitte (now known as Deloitte & Touche), the largest professional services firm in Nigeria with a staff of over 600.