SmartPreneur
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Trending News
  • Brand Insights
  • Profiles
  • Hustle Life
  • Weekend Teaser
  • Radio
  • TV
  • Games & Quizzes
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending News
  • Brand Insights
  • Profiles
  • Hustle Life
  • Weekend Teaser
  • Radio
  • TV
  • Games & Quizzes
No Result
View All Result
SmartPreneur
No Result
View All Result
Home Profiles

Kenneth Ozumba Mbadiwe; Notable businessman and politician in Nigeria’s history

- The man in Reekado Banks hit single

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 2, 2023
in Entertainment, Hustle life, Profiles
0
Kenneth Ozumba Mbadiwe; Notable businessman and politician in Nigeria’s history
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp

The name Ozumba Mbadiwe may not have been so popular, but this was only until it became a hit track from Reekado banks. Ozumba Mbadiwe is a prominent neighborhood in Victoria Island, Lagos State Nigeria. It was named after Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, a businessman and politician from Nigeria’s first republic.

Join our communityJoin our communityJoin our community

Known for his glamorous and flamboyant style, Mbadiwe was a businessman, an activist, and an important political figure in Nigeria’s First Republic. Here is the story of the man that was nicknamed ‘A Man of Timbre and Calibre’.

Meet Ozumba Mbadiwe, The Man Rekaado Banks Sang About.

Birth and education

Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe was born on March 15, 1915, to the family of Mbadiwe Odum from Arondizuogu, Orlu (present day Imo state). For his primary education, he attended St Mary’s Catholic School, Port Harcourt, and went on to a Government school in Aba. His secondary education ran across several schools including the Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, Aggrey Memorial College, Arochukwu, Igbobi College, Lagos and the Baptist Academy, Lagos.

He would later leave Nigeria to study at Columbia University and New York University. Ozumba Mbadiwe is credited with establishing African Student’s association, which caught the attention of the then U.S.A First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who received him and his organization in the White House.

Entrepreneurship

Right after his secondary education in Nigeria, Kenneth made his first attempt at entrepreneurship. He set up the Mbadiwe Produce Association in 1937 and started trading. He kept this business running until he had to travel out of the country in 1940 to continue his education in the United States of America.

Upon his return to Nigeria after his education, he established another trading business. He also founded a Research Institute on African Arts.

Much later during his political career, Ozumba Mbadiwe set up his own newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, although it functioned more as an organ of protest than as a business.

His brother, James Green Mbadiwe was also a businessman conducting on his account in the Northern Region. He owned the now defunct Green’s Hotel on Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna built and commissioned in 1939. The property later became a shopping center.

 

Mbadiwe as a politician

Upon return to Nigeria, Kenneth Ozumba Mbadiwe joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). It was common then to see the educated elites lead in the political space, especially those who had travelled to other countries to school, and been exposed to the way things worked in sovereign nations.

In 1951, Mbadiwe was elected into the Eastern Region House of Assembly, and re-elected in 1954. He was later appointed Minister for Lands and National Resources, and in 1957, became the Minister for Commerce. He left NCNC at some point in the late 1950s to create the fringe Democratic Party of Nigerian Citizens, and rejoined NCNC later on. He served as Minister for Trade and Communications, and also a Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on African Affairs.

Mbadiwe also served in the second republic under President Shehu Shagari as a Personal Adviser on National Assembly Affairs. He was also the first and only “Ambassador Extra-Ordinary and Plenipotentiary” appointed to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ozumba Mbadiwe, aka “Man of Timber and Calibre” had a larger than life character. Some of his accolades include the Ononenyi of Orlu, the Maye of Lagos, the Agadagbachiriuzo of Arondizuogu, among others.

He built and inhabited the landmark, The Palace of The People, at Ndianiche Uno commissioned by late Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1965.

Death

Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe however died in 1990 at the age of 75, and was survived by six children. In his honour, a road in Victoria Island was named after him.

 

 

 

Tags: Kenneth Ozumba MbadiwePopular roads in Victoria IslandReekado banks
Previous Post

Opportunities and Challenges Nigerian Entrepreneurs are Likely to Face in a New Political Climate

Next Post

Verified or Not: Why the New Social Media Verification Badge System Won't Make or Break Your Online Business

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon

Related Posts

Chinazom Arinze
Hustle life

How I saved my company from making a 30 million naira loss – Chinazom Arinze

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 29, 2023
0

Money is the lifeblood of any business, and while looking for ways to make money, entrepreneurs have to proactively look...

Read more
How to build business partnerships that last a lifetime
Trending News

7 things investors want to see in your Pitch Deck / Presentation

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 27, 2023
0

If you are at the point in your entrepreneurial journey where you have to seek funding from investors, then you...

Read more
Preparing for a product launch? Here’s 5 things you should do
Weekend Teaser

Preparing for a product launch? Here’s 5 things you should do

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 14, 2023
0

A product launch is often a much-anticipated activity in business circles, especially for entrepreneurs in the tech space. A product...

Read more
How to build business partnerships that last a lifetime
Hustle life

How to build business partnerships that last a lifetime

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 14, 2023
0

One way to build a strong team for your business is first to find a business partner with the right...

Read more
successful entrepreneurs
Hustle life

Building a Successful B2B can get tricky: Here’s 5 tips to help you out

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 9, 2023
0

Building a B2B brand is an entirely different ballgame from a B2C brand. While a B2B model seeks to service...

Read more
Entrepreneurship: When and when not to be a micromanager
Hustle life

Entrepreneurship: When and when not to be a micromanager

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 6, 2023
0

The term “micromanaging” is often used in the most unsavory manner. It mostly tries to depict a management style where...

Read more
6 free business courses every entrepreneur should take
Hustle life

How to shock-proof your business in 2023

by Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon
March 1, 2023
0

The year 2023 started with high hopes and lots of expectations, but a lot of businesses have been on the...

Read more
Load More
Next Post
Verified or Not: Why the New Social Media Verification Badge System Won't Make or Break Your Online Business

Verified or Not: Why the New Social Media Verification Badge System Won't Make or Break Your Online Business

Please login to join discussion

Recent News

7 Things to Normalize in Your Daily Business Operations

7 Things to Normalize in Your Daily Business Operations

March 29, 2023
Chinazom Arinze

How I saved my company from making a 30 million naira loss – Chinazom Arinze

March 29, 2023
Twitter will be removing Blue Ticks from April 1, 2023

Twitter will be removing Blue Ticks from April 1, 2023

March 29, 2023
How to build business partnerships that last a lifetime

7 things investors want to see in your Pitch Deck / Presentation

March 27, 2023
SmartPreneur

© 2020 SmartPreneur

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Trending News
  • Radio
  • Games & Quizzes
  • TV

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending News
  • Radio
  • TV
  • Hustle Life
  • Brand Insights
  • Profiles
  • Game & Quizzes
  • Weekend Teaser

© 2020 SmartPreneur