Wealth Fund Become a Sovereign Development Engine?
Eleven years ago, I sat across from Segun Ogunsanya in his office at Airtel’s headquarters in Lagos. Behind him was a vast stretch of water visible through a glass wall overlooking an ocean at Banana Island. As he reflected on what the view meant to him, he offered a remark that has stayed with me ever since. “The water is unlimited,” he said. “We see in it the future. We see an expanse of opportunity for our business, just waiting to be tapped.”
At the time, he was talking about telecommunications. Today, as Chairman of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, he confronts a much larger ocean: the challenge of deploying capital to unlock Nigeria’s economic future.
Of course, when Segun Ogunsanya turned 60 last week, many of the tributes focused, understandably, on his remarkable corporate career. Few Nigerian executives have built a reputation for execution quite like his. From leading Airtel Nigeria through a fiercely competitive telecommunications market to eventually overseeing Airtel Africa’s operations across multiple countries, Ogunsanya demonstrated an ability to translate strategy into measurable results.
Yet his most consequential assignment may still lie ahead.
