Group honours Kanu, Wagbatsoma, Okoya, others

Business Leadership Awareness Group will honour Kanu Nwankwo, Walter Wagbatsoma, Sade Okoya.

A non-profit organisation, Business Leadership Awareness Group, BLAG, has concluded arrangements to honour three successful entrepreneurs for their invaluable contributions to humanity.

Former Super Eagles’ captain and ex-international, Kanu Nwankwo, Oil & Gas mogul, Walter Wagbatsoma, and philanthropist, Sade Okoya, will be honoured for their “heart of gold” contributions at a colourful event scheduled to hold towards the end of the year in Lagos.

Speaking on the forthcoming event, the Executive Director of BLAG, Ossy Otegba, disclosed that the non-profit organisation is currently working on a yearbook that will promote these outstanding individuals so that they can be encouraged to do more for humanity.

Popularly known as Papilo, Kanu Nwankwo came from a humble background but rose to fame with remarkable exploits in football and business.

Today, he owns a chain of businesses with diverse interests in oil, property, hospitality and photography.

The Owerri, Imo State-born businessman is regarded as one Nigerian with a heart of gold because of his immense contributions to the society.

Through his many charitable works, it was no surprise that Nwankwo was a made a UNICEF ambassador for two consecutive years.

A few years ago, the former soccer star encountered a life threatening heart ailment but miraculously got healed after surgical operations in the United States as well as prayers from family, friends and fans all

over the world. Immediately he got healed, Kanu returned to active football and used his fame to help assist numerous others also battling with heart ailment. He supported many charity organizations

including Heart of Gold Hospice and later launched the Kanu Nwankwo Heart Foundation – a non-profit organisation that raised millions of Naira for children with heart related diseases.

With the help of Kanu Nwankwo, many have been treated both at home and abroad and are now living healthier, better life.

Walter Wagbatsoma has made a name for himself as one of Nigeria’s most successful businessmen in the energy sector. He is the co-founder of Ontaro Oil & Gas, a pan African oil and gas company that is notable for its delivery on assured promises.

Mr. Wagbatsoma track record as a professional in the banking and energy sectors speaks volumes.

His selfless contributions to humanity also endeared him to many within and outside the country.

Humble and cheerful, Walter Wagbatsoma, who hails from Delta State, previously worked with the audit department of Shell Petroleum Development Company in the 1990s. Walter later moved to Zenith Bank, Ecobank, FSB International and Trade Bank where he displayed his leadership and entrepreneurial skills to the satisfaction of his co-workers. Everyone who knows Wagbatsoma would always testify to the fact that he is a goal getter and certainly not surprised when Walter won the Leventis Group’s account for Zenith Bank several years ago.

After a stint at Trade Bank where he helped establish the energy subsidiary, Walter Wagbatsoma later moved into the oil and gas sector. His wealth of experience and customer loyalty helped him get to the front burner of the energy sector within a short period of time.

He made an overwhelming success of his energy business but never forgot to invest back into the lives of the less privileged in the society. Fondly described as a “man with a heart of gold”, Mr. Wagbatsoma

also used his influence to resolve conflicts in the Niger Delta. Some of his philanthropic deeds include contributions towards eradicating malaria and HIV/AIDS in African countries. One of Walter’s

establishments, Canaan Logistics, also donates about 80 per cent of its annual profit to charitable organizations working with children.

An Accounting graduate of University of Lagos, Walter Wagbatsoma also earned his Masters degree in Business Administration in the same institution. Walter is happily married to Otsaye and blessed with two lovely children.

Sade Okoya, wife of top industrialist, Chief Akanni Rasak Okoya, is one of the nation’s most glamorous women and socialite per excellence.

Tall and elegant, the graduate of Sociology from University of Lagos knows how to get everyone’s attention with her fab attires. However, Sade is not just a smart woman with a pretty face, she is one woman that has a heart of gold for the less privileged.

With the support of her husband who is the chairman of Eleganza Group and RAO Property, she annually awards scholarships to 40 less privileged students studying in various institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.