* Says he belongs to rare generation of entrepreneurs who turned private ambition into public value
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has felicitated renowned banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr. Jim Ovia, on his 75th birthday, describing him as one of the quiet architects of modern Nigerian enterprise.
He particularly said Ovia’s greatest achievement is not the wealth he created, but the institutions, opportunities and people he has raised along the way.
The vice-president, in a message issued on Thursday, reflected on his longstanding friendship with the founder of Zenith Bank Plc, saying there comes a point in a successful life when achievement is measured less by accumulation and more by what remains useful to others.
“At 75, Jim has reached that enviable season of life where the evidence of success is everywhere, yet its most important dimensions cannot be captured on a balance sheet. A bank can be valued. Buildings can be priced.
“Investments can be counted. But how does one put a figure on the confidence given to a young entrepreneur, the education made possible for a child, or an institution built strongly enough to continue without its founder?” he asked.
Shettima observed that Ovia’s remarkable journey offers an important lesson about the nature of enduring success, noting that while many people build businesses, only a few succeed in building institutions capable of surviving their own immediate presence.
His words: “Jim understood quite early that enterprise is ultimately an act of faith in the future. When he founded Zenith Bank, he was not merely opening another bank; he was making a wager on Nigerian talent, technology and possibility. The institution that emerged from that conviction has become part of the architecture of our economy.
“But what I admire even more is that his imagination did not end with banking. He carried the same belief in human possibility into education and philanthropy. Through scholarships, investments in learning and the institutions he has established, he has increasingly devoted his accomplishments to enlarging the possibilities available to another generation.”
The vice-president said his personal relationship with Ovia had also afforded him the privilege of encountering the man behind the public accomplishments.
Shettima described the celebrant as a friend whose warmth, discipline and constancy have endured through the changing seasons of public and private life.
“Friendship teaches us things that public reputation cannot. Over the years, I have come to know Jim beyond the impressive statistics attached to his name. I have seen a man of immense accomplishment who remains curious, composed and deeply invested in the progress of others. There is strength in that constancy.
“Life, eventually, asks each of us a simple question: after all the striving, who is better because we were here? At 75, Jim Ovia can look around our country and find part of the answer in thousands of lives, careers and institutions that have been enlarged by his vision.”
The vice-president prayed for continued health, wisdom and fulfilment for the celebrant, saying the nation still has much to gain from the experience and perspective of accomplished Nigerians such as Ovia.
“On behalf of my family, I celebrate my dear friend, Dr. Jim Ovia, at 75. May the years ahead bring him the quiet satisfaction that comes from seeing seeds planted over a lifetime become shade for generations one may never meet. I wish him good health, abiding peace and many more years of purposeful service to Nigeria and humanity. Happy birthday, Jim,” Shettima further stressed.