By Goodluck Ikiebe.
Honour to whom it’s due, such is the case of Dr Albert Akinyemi, a successful and accomplished entrepreneur, who is a man worthy of adoration, mentally alert and indefatigable.
A toast to the Chairman of Chairmen at 79.
Who is Dr Albert Akinyemi?
He is the Chairman, Board of Trustees, MSME Forum, the MD/CEO of Neubertosh Chemical Industry, Ofatedo, Osogbo and Chairman, Concerned Organization of Small Scale Entrepreneurs of Nigeria, COSSEN.
Bring out your wine glasses to honour Dr Akinyemi, who just turned 79 years today, February 18, 2022.
He was born on this day in 1943 at Ikole-Ekiti.
In a congratulatory message, Director, Media and Publicity, MSME Forum, Segun Adeleke, says that, “if Dr. Akinyemi is to take a shot at the highest political office in the land, his antagonists would oppose him for his age. But age is just a number, and alert mind is a bolster”.
Mr Adeleke said that even at this seven decades plus nine, Dr. Akinyemi”s mind is full of vitality. He has demonstrated this in the way and manner he directs the affairs of the MSME FORUM as its Board of Trustees Chairman.
“Impartial and fair-minded, he is a man given to idealism, pragmatism and strategic thinking. Compassionate with a vivacious laughter” Adeleke noted.
“He is no doubt, an indestructible battleship, always ready to deploy his energy to fight whatever stands in the way of a good cause he strongly believes in”.
Mr Adeleke explained that Dr Akinyemi doesn’t mince words when it comes to speaking truth to power, particularly on issues concerning the development of the MSME sector of the Nigerian economy, a sector whose growth and development he is passionate about. “It was this passion that got him to the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists, NASSI and the International Small Business Congress in the United States. As President of NASSI, he was active, he was active in the MSME policy formulations during the governments of former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar and President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was on the economic delegations of the former Nigerian leaders to international fora, where issues concerning the challenges militating against MSMEs worldwide were placed on the front burner.
“Yes, access to finance is one of these challenges. This was why he was a strident voice in the establishment of Bank of Industry and the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme, SMIEIS, that came to effect in 2001.
The birth of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, in 2003 to coordinate the affairs of the MSMEs was also not without his insight and push.
Of late, the birth of Forum of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Organizations of Nigeria, MSME FORUM, in 2015, was an idea triggered by his consultations with men and women of like minds in the MSME space.
Although he is based in Osogbo, some hundreds of kilometers to Abuja, Dr. Akinyemi has never missed MSME FORUM’s quarterly Strategic Planning Meeting, where the leadership of the BMOs to which the organization is an umbrella body, are invited for proper intimation about the Organization, their expected obligations and what they stand to gain by being members. Traveling to and fro to attend the meetings is a strenuous undertaking for a man of his age, he is happy embarking on the trips because it is a national service that requires his total commitment and dedication.
Our checks revealed that good will messages in torrents have been pouring in from associates within and outside Nigeria to honour this stateman and prayed for the Lord to continue to preserve and bless him with more years.
