The good that people do often live after them. Such is the life of this woman that was not only a trailblazer in the banking industry, but a philanthropist to the core. Her scorecards showed her as someone who cannot be forgotten easily as SUNNY IDACHABA writes.
Former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, no doubt, had knacks for seeking out professionals with whom he worked hard to take Nigeria to the promised land. No wonder, his regime had a considerable measure of success and lasting legacies long after he left office.
One of those professionals who helped him to steer the ship of the state from behind the scene was the late Mrs. Maria Sokenu, a banker who died in the ill-fated Bellview Airline that crashed at Ogun state in 2005.
She was the pioneer managing director of the defunct Peoples Bank of Nigeria established by Babangida’s administration to bring banking services closer to the underserved and she did the job diligently alongside the chairman, the late Tai Solarin, and other management staff.
Essentially, she was the one that grew the bank from inception until the institution developed its own structure to serve Nigeria for years before it folded up. The fold up however happened long after she exited the bank.
Originally from Irele family of Edo state, she, however, lived her entire life in Lagos and also got married to a Lagosian.
Before her stint with Peoples Bank, she had earlier worked with Owena Bank, New Nigerian Bank (all defunct) and Eco-Bank on her return to the country from the United Kingdom where she had earlier worked.
She was a trailblazer banker, having been one of the first females to occupy management positions in the banking sector at that time. As a pioneer MD of Peoples Bank, she made significant contributions to the country’s financial sector.
For instance, under her leadership, the bank implemented innovative programmes such as micro-credit schemes to support indigent Nigerians and promote economic empowerment because of her belief in touching the lives of indigent people.
Even after she left the bank years later, she continued in that regard as she established a foundation with which to touch the lives of downtrodden people. That was what led her to establish the Institute for Poverty Eradication which focused on providing economic empowerment and training for vulnerable individuals.
Although her death came unannounced, her legacies have continued to inspire generations of women in the banking and financial services and her foundation, being carried on by her daughter, Kemi has carried on supporting economic empowerment for the less- privileged and has continued on the same trajectory.
In recognition of her contributions to the society, even though she wasn’t from Ogun, the state government named the Health Insurance Agency building after her as ‘Maria Sokenu Complex’.
Her remarkable life and achievements serve as a testament to her dedication, hard work and passion for making positive impacts on people.
Tony Olutomiwa, a family friend of the Sokenus, recalls his last encounter with this woman when he said, “For me, that monumental crash was a personal loss. I lost a dear mother and clearly my best friend. Still a rude shock, unbelievable but real that I could no longer see and interact with such a wonderful woman. Yet perplexing was the fact that our discussions and events preceding the sudden separation never gave any warning or inkling that disaster was lurking.
“Exactly twelve days before the crash, I had boarded the same Bellview plane with her from Abuja to Lagos. Two days to the unfortunate incident, I had met with her to discuss one more of her limitless ideas. As her car moved, she asked me to call her and waved bye. I never did.”
While lamenting about the grim picture of the incident that took the life of this woman, Tony said further, “With the obvious ineptitude exhibited by the various agencies associated with the aviation industry over the ill-fated Bellview plane crash and indeed the vexatious buck-passing which trailed the tragedy, we may never know what exactly happened on that black Saturday.
“What is clear with enduring impact however is the sorrow and anguish that had befallen the families, relatives, and friends of the victims. It was really a moment of despair, when life literally ceased to exist – depending on who is feeling the pain.”
This is the pain her sudden exit left on the faces of people with whom she shared professional and business relationships, but perhaps, the one who gave a sordid account of her life and the last moments just before that ill-fated flight is her older daughter, Kemi who has continued in her footsteps by touching lives through the foundation the mum sets up before she died.
While giving insights into the life of her mother in an interview, she said, “My mother was passionate about women empowerment and I have found myself doing just that. Back then, my mother would force me to come home for the holidays. I would go under the Stadium Bridge in Surulere, Lagos, with her, giving out food to people and carrying out medical missions. I didn’t know that I would end up doing so.”
She said, “People’s Bank of Nigeria under her leadership was very innovative. The bank was birthed as a result of a gap that she saw as a banker. Also, as someone who had worked in several banks in the United Kingdom before returning to Nigeria to work for the New Nigeria Bank, Owena Bank, Ecobank and People’s Bank of Nigeria, she was a pioneer member of the banking industry for women.
“I always knew her as a hard worker and she became a banker when there were not many female bankers at the time. She was extremely smart and proved her mettle in the banking sector; I think that was the trait in her that former President Babangida saw and appointed her the managing director of Peoples Bank of Nigeria as against the arrays of men already in the sector. During her tenure, she always thought outside the box.
“Being a banker, she had to do a lot with numbers, collating ideas and finding solutions to problems and her philanthropic side was about giving back to society. Consequently, she was able to mix both sides well.”
On their last encounter just before the air crash, Kemi said, “It was a dark and spooky one for the family. It was traumatic and each one of us had different experiences. There are a lot of things we wished we could have done differently. Out of six biological children and one adopted child that my mother had, I was the only one living in Nigeria at the time and I was in Cairo, Egypt where I had gone to give a speech at a colloquium on HIV/AIDS and Blood Safety.
“I arrived in Lagos on October, 21, 2005 and my company booked a hotel for me close to where my parents stayed in Ikoyi. My husband and children were in Abuja, so I needed to see them quickly; so I remember saying I would return to Lagos the next weekend to see my parents. They knew I was on my way back though but didn’t know that I had arrived Lagos and sneaked into Abuja. The next day was October 22 and I boarded the plane and got to Abuja. My housekeeper then told me that my mother had been trying to reach me all day so I knew my parents already found out that I spent a night in Lagos without seeing them.”
Continuing, she said, “I was sitting at the dining table with my husband and kids eating lunch when she called again and said, ‘Kemi, I have been calling you all day, is it that you don’t want me to come and wear your high-heels or drive your nice car?’
“Then I said, ‘Mummy, where are you?’ She said that she was on an Abuja-bound plane. I could hear noise in the background.
“I asked her what the noise in the background was and she replied that she would tell me when she arrives. I bid her safe trip, but she didn’t answer. I could hear the flight attendant telling everyone on board to fasten their seat belts. That was my last conversation with her.
“I could feel the excitement in her voice and was confident that she was going to give me good news; so I was anticipating her arrival. I told my husband that I had made dinner for her and I went to bed. Then, I got a phone call from a friend who knew I was in Abuja. He asked if I heard what happened to Bellview; that was how I knew that something had happened to the plane my mother boarded. Someone I had spoken to like an hour ago! As I was putting the phone down, my husband walked in with tears in his eyes. It’s been a nightmare ever since, but she left a great legacy.
“When my mother was alive, we shared everything with her; bad, naughty and nice. I think I felt sorry for my father the most because he is an only child of his parents and my mother was his best friend. They had been friends since age 11; so it was quite traumatic,” she said.
As a woman whose life showed the present generation of women that whatever a man can do, a woman can do better, especially in the banking sector, she remains an unforgettable hero.