By Lekan Adejuwon
Pa Akintola Williams, the Nigerian doyen of accounting died in the early hours of Monday at the age of 104.
William, who was also a prominent founding figure of Lions Clubs International, died in sleep, at his residence, Lagos.
Here is the timeline of the Nigerian foremost accountant:
Early life and education
Chief Akintola Williams, the first chartered accountant in Nigeria, was born on August 9, 1919, in Lagos State.
His father, Thomas Ekundayo Williams, was a colonial service clerk who established a law practice in Lagos after receiving legal training in London, England. His grandfather, Z. A. Williams, was an Abeokuta-based merchant prince.
He was the senior sibling of the late Rev. James Kehinde Williams, a Christian clergyman, and Frederick Rotimi Williams, who eventually rose to prominence as a lawyer.
He had his primary education at Olowogbowo Methodist Elementary School, and secondary education at CMS Grammar School, both in Lagos
He continued his education with a UAC scholarship to Yaba Higher College, where he earned a diploma in commerce.
Williams then proceeded to England in 1944 to enrol at the University of London, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce in 1946 after studying banking and finance.
He went to England, finished his education, and earned his chartered accountant certification in 1949.
Career and business life
Williams served as an assessment officer for the Inland Revenue after his return to Nigeria in 1950 until March 1952, when he left the government service and established Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos State, which happened to be Africa’s first indigenous chartered accounting firm.
Five significant international corporations dominated the accounting sector at the time. Despite the fact that there were a few tiny local businesses, they were certified rather than chartered accountants.
Williams benefited from business from local firms such as the West African Pilot, founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe; the African Insurance Company, founded by K. O. Mbadiwe; the Fawehinmi Furniture Company; and the Ojukwu Transport Company.
Additionally, he rendered services to the new state-owned businesses, such as the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the Western Nigeria Development Corporation, the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
His company, Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos, which was established in 1952, expanded organically and through mergers to become Nigeria’s biggest professional services organisation by 2004.
Williams was engaged in the establishment of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He has won numerous awards throughout the course of his lengthy career.
Charles S. Sankey, the company’s first partner, joined in 1957. Mr Njoh Litumbe, a Cameroonian, then took his place. Litumbe established satellite offices in Port Harcourt and Enugu, and she later led international expansion.
Some branches were established in Cameroon in 1964, and then branches were established in Swaziland and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as affiliates in Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya. The business employed 535 people and had 19 partners as of March 1992.
The Companies Act of 1968, which mandated that businesses doing business in Nigeria establish locally incorporated subsidiaries and release audited yearly accounts, increased demand. There was a drive to promote indigenous company ownership in the early 1970s.
The drive affected Chief Arthur Mbanefo’s management consulting firm, AW Consultant Ltd., which was spun off in 1973. In addition to acquiring a secretarial and computer service business, the company also entered into a profit-sharing agreement with Touche Ross International in 1977. Williams served on the boards of several additional businesses and was a significant shareholder in them. He left his job in 1983.
Akintola Williams & Co. combined with two other accounting companies between April 1999 and May 2004 to form Akintola Williams Deloitte (now known as Deloitte & Touche), the largest professional services company in Nigeria with more than 600 employees.
Honours and awards
Williams received the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) award from the Nigerian government in 1982.
After he retired in 1983, Williams devoted his time to a project to build a music centre and performance hall for the Music Society of Nigeria.
He was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in April 1997 for contributions to the accounting industry and support of the Musical Society of Nigeria in promoting music, art, and culture.
In his honour, the Akintola Williams Arboretum is located inside the Nigerian Conservation Foundation’s main office in Lagos.
On May 8, 2011, John Kufuor, a former president of Ghana, and Akintola Williams received awards from the Nigeria-Britain Association in recognition of their services to democracy and development in Africa.
He was awarded ICAN’s first ever Gold Medal Merit Award in 1988
CREDIT: VANGUARD
