In a time when many believed a woman’s place was at home, one Ibadan girl dared to dream bigger — and she rose all the way to the top of Nigeria’s financial world. This is the story of Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, who turned doubt into determination and broke every barrier along the way.
In Nigeria during the 1970s and 80s, society was largely patriarchal. Most believed a woman’s place was in the kitchen, not the classroom.
Mrs. Ibukun Awosika’s experience was no different from many Nigerian girls born at that time. The traditional expectation was for girls to marry soon after adolescence. Sending girls to school was often seen as a waste since their future roles were thought to be limited to the home — as wives and mothers.
Despite these odds, some girls were fortunate enough to attend university. They seized opportunities and rode the wave of industrialization in their communities. They defied the norm and shaped their own futures instead of following the crowd.
Mrs. Awosika’s story offers a powerful lesson to young girls today. It shows that dreams have no limits if you stay focused on your goals and that even your gender cannot hold you back.
Born on December 24, 1962, into a modest family in Ibadan — the capital of the old Western Region and one of West Africa’s largest cities — Ibukun started her education at St. Paul’s African Church Primary School in Lagos before moving to Methodist Girls’ High School, Yaba.
She was admitted to Obafemi Awolowo University, formerly known as the University of Ife until 1987, where she studied chemistry. Originally, she had wanted to study architecture at the University of Navarra.
Growing up, she dreamed of becoming an architect, accountant, or lawyer. But fate placed her in the chemistry department at OAU. She did not enjoy chemistry and tried early on to switch to law, but it was not possible.
With no chance to change courses, she gave up on becoming a lawyer and focused on accounting instead.
For Awosika, education was more than a degree. It was a step toward the future she wanted. From her second year, she took accounting electives courses, paving a new path.
She refused to let the patriarchal traditions around her limit her. Instead, those experiences fuelled her drive to create change.
During her one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Kano State, she worked as an audit trainee at Akintola Williams & Co., now Deloitte.
After NYSC, she explored different jobs, including showroom manager at a manufacturing company.
In her mid-20s, with no family wealth or connections, she possessed three key qualities for success — courage, clarity, and conviction.
Driven by vision, she went into business. This decision transformed not only her future but also the future of women in African entrepreneurship.
Though she never studied business or came from wealth, she started her own furniture company to meet a real need.
She founded QBS Limited, now The Chair Centre Limited.
At the time, most office furniture in Nigeria was imported, and locally made pieces were seen as poorly designed and substandard.
This was a turning point for Awosika, a young woman once unsure of her career path.
She stayed the course until 2015, when she became the first female chairperson of First Bank Nigeria.
She rose as a trailblazer and entrepreneur in finance despite her manufacturing and entrepreneurship background.
Mrs. Awosika has received several awards, including the Forbes Woman Africa Chairperson Award in 2020.
She was appointed to the Binance Global Advisory Board and serves on the boards of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Digital Jewel Limited, and the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI).
She is also founder and CEO of The Chair Centre Group, a leading manufacturer of office furniture and banking security systems in Nigeria, and a motivational speaker.
Mrs. Ibukun Awosika’s journey shows that there are no limits to what can be achieved. From academic uncertainty, she carved her own path and made a lasting impact.
