By Chido Nwakanma
The Corporate Communications function and the Central Bank of Nigeria hierarchy gathered on 14 November 2022 to pull out a significant personage and team member for 17 years, Mr Sam Adighibe Okogbue. In years of critical contributions managing his brief, glory and honour have been Sam’s lot.
Sam Okogbue exemplifies the cross-functional executive who brings to bear training, exposure, and experience across disciplines. He trained as an economist at the University of Nigeria and the University of Lagos. He has worked in credit management, business journalism, and corporate communications.
We were Client Service Executives at Patike Communications Limited in Surulere, Lagos, the consultancy that Prof Pat Utomi and his friend, the late Ik Emeagwali, founded to provide a stepping stone for young people to work and learn the skills of public relations. Other engagements included working with the credit risk firm CMC International Ltd at Ajele Street, off Campbell, in the Lagos business district. At CMC, he coordinated the preparation of credit and due diligence reports for various organisations, notably for SMEs, as Nigeria began to focus on that sector. He prepared and wrote over 120 credit reports for various financial institutions, including the US EXIM Bank, the Commercial Service of the US Embassy, and local banks, as well as business viability reports on 12 SME firms for various banks for the SMIEIS scheme.
Serendipity is a critical factor in life’s journey. When Businessday needed to beef up its economic desk, I persuaded Sam to plunge into journalism. It was fortuitous. Soon the Central Bank needed persons with a grounding in economics and journalism, and Sam was a shoo-in.
By all accounts, he did well. He left on 14 November as the Number 2 in Corporate Communications as Deputy Director and Head of Internal Communication. He acted severally as the Director Corporate Communications Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He was Media and Public Relations Manager from 2005-2009, Senior Manager from 2009-2013, and Assistant Director from 2013 to 2017.
Sam made the Central Bank’s star publication, Bullion, a readable journal of informed economic analyses.
My friend leaves to conquer new terrains in the journey of life. Join me in wishing him exciting adventures this second coming, Godspeed.
