When Citibank pioneer alumni hosted Cardoso, the CBN governor

•  … and he got a bull’s head

The 1984 alumni and pioneer set of Citibank Nigeria recently gathered for a private dinner at a venue in Ikoyi, Lagos. The event was held to celebrate the appointment of Olayemi Cardoso, one of their own, as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Cardoso, who is a member of the 1984 alumni and pioneer set of CitiBank Nigeria, served as the bank’s chairman for 12 years and retired in 2022.

In 1984, Cardoso made a pivotal career move, transitioning from accounting and economics to banking, joining CitiBank as a pioneer employee in its Nigeria office. At the time, CitiBank was one of the world’s largest financial services organisations, with over 200,000 employees in more than 100 countries. This move was a major turning point for Cardoso, who would go on to have a long and successful career in banking. Under his leadership, CitiBank Nigeria would become one of the most successful and profitable banks in the country.

Cardoso began his career at CitiBank with the credit training programme in Athens, Greece, in 1982. This programme gave him a solid foundation in the basics of credit and banking. After completing the program, he was assigned to the CitiBank office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he gained valuable experience working with international clients and dealing with complex financial transactions. In 1984, Cardoso had the opportunity to return to Nigeria to help establish the new CitiBank office in Lagos. He was appointed as Head of World Corporate Group, responsible for managing CitiBank’s most important global relationships.

In 1988, just four years after joining CitiBank Nigeria, Cardoso was given the task of establishing the bank’s first branch outside of Lagos, in the northern city of Kano. This was a challenging assignment, as Kano was a very different market from Lagos, with a different culture and a less developed financial sector.

Despite the challenges, Cardoso was able to successfully launch the new branch, and he quickly made a name for himself as a skilled and resourceful banker. As a result of his success in Kano, he was promoted to vice president, making him one of the most senior bankers in Nigeria.

In 2007, Cardoso was appointed to chair the audit committee of the board of directors at CitiBank Nigeria. This was a critical role, as the audit committee is responsible for ensuring that the bank’s financial statements are accurate and transparent. It was a clear sign of the trust and respect that Cardoso had earned over his many years at the bank.

Cardoso was not the only pioneer member of the CitiBank Nigeria team to go on to great success. Funke Osibodu, who worked closely with Cardoso in the early days of CitiBank, went on to become managing director of Ecobank and then group managing director of Union Bank. Jubril Aku also had a successful career in banking, becoming managing director of Ecobank before joining the public sector. Olukayode Pitan, another pioneer CitiBank member, went on to become managing director of Bank of Industry (BOI). Ben Akabueze was another pioneer member of CitiBank Nigeria who went on to great success. He became managing director of NAL Bank and later served in a variety of high-level government positions, including commissioner for economic planning and budget in Lagos State. This was a position that Cardoso had previously held, making Akabueze his successor in the role. Akabueze is currently the director general of the Budget Office.

While CitiBank was the foundation of Cardoso’s professional success, it was also the place where he met his life partner, Bimbo Benson. Benson, the daughter of Theophilus Benson,Nigeria’s first minister of information, broadcasting and culture, had a promising career at CitiBank as part of the 1984 pioneer class. However, she chose to leave her career to focus on building a family with Cardoso.

At the alumni dinner, the CitiBank alumni presented Cardoso with a thoughtful gift, a bull money box to symbolise the country’s economic future under his leadership. The bull represents strength, determination, and tenacity, all qualities that are needed to steer the economy towards growth and stability. The alumni also praised Cardoso for his efforts to reduce inflation and repay foreign exchange backlogs, acknowledging the positive impact these measures have had on the banking sector.

In addition to the gift, the alumni offered words of praise and well wishes to Cardoso, hoping that the foreign exchange and money markets would be “bullish” during his tenure as governor. They also expressed optimism that the Nigerian economy would strengthen, investor confidence would be restored, and positive indicators would be seen under his leadership.

The alumni, all of whom were proud of their alma mater, raised a toast to Cardoso and prayed for continued success and change for the better under his administration.