Twenty-three years after leaving Fidelity Bank, its pioneer Managing Director, Nebolisa Arah, continues to inspire banking leaders shaped by his integrity, humility and accountability. At his 75th birthday thanksgiving in Lagos, former colleagues and associates celebrated his contributions to Fidelity and enduring mentorship, writes Sunday Ehigiator Twenty-three years after leaving the Managing Director’s office at Fidelity Bank, Nebolisa Arah returned to the company of many of the professionals he once led, only to discover that time had done little to diminish his influence. At 75, Arah was celebrated not merely as the pioneer Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, but as a mentor whose former colleagues credit with shaping their careers and instilling values that have endured across generations of bankers. The August 8, 2026 thanksgiving and reception in Lagos, attended by bankers, lawyers, politicians, statesmen, family members, friends and associates, was therefore less a birthday party than a celebration of a leadership legacy built on integrity, humility, accountability and mentorship. Arah’s career route Arah’s route to banking was not a conventional one. Born on August 8, 1951, in Port Harcourt to Akunwata David Okwudi and Mrs. Lily Obiamaka Arah, he attended schools in Port Harcourt, Victoria in Cameroon, Onitsha and Lagos before completing his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Owerri. He proceeded to the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics. In 1976, he travelled to the United States for further studies at Ohio State University, Columbus, earning an MSc in Agricultural Economics and an MBA in Finance. His first professional experience was outside banking. From July 1977 to August 1978, he worked as a Brand Marketing Trainee at Lever Brothers Nigeria Limited. He joined International Merchant Bank Limited in March 1981 and rose from Analyst to Senior Manager before leaving in August 1988. Two months later, he took up the position of General Manager/Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Union Merchant Bank Limited, which later became Fidelity Bank Plc. He remained there until December 2003, making him the institution’s pioneer Managing Director and one of the central figures in its early development. But Arah’s career did not end with Fidelity. Between 2004 and 2005, he served as an independent director in two commercial banks and worked as a merger consultant to five banks. He subsequently founded AGL and LDL before returning to executive banking as Managing Director and CEO of Afribank Nigeria Plc from 2009 to 2011. He also served as Chairman of Afribank International in Dublin, Ireland, and sat on the boards of several financial institutions, including Consolidated Discounts Limited, Trustfund Nigeria Plc and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System. Celebrating Enduring Legacy Amongst the numerous persons he inspired was the Managing Director of FSDH Merchant Bank and Chairperson of the Planning Committee, Bukola Smith. For her, the decision to honour Arah was deliberate: His former colleagues wanted to celebrate the man while he could still see the impact of his work. She added: “As the pioneer MD of Fidelity Bank, he was one person who stood on integrity; he was forthright, and he was a very humble person. So that legacy is what we are celebrating today as we remember him.” For Smith and the alumni of the bank’s pioneer management team, Arah’s story was a reminder that the most enduring form of leadership was not the power attached to an office, but the people left better because of one’s stewardship. “We feel that it is best to honour somebody while they are still alive rather than waiting for when they pass on,” Smith said. That philosophy was particularly significant given that Arah had faced health challenges in the preceding two years. “For us, it was a thanksgiving service to celebrate the man who we love, the man who stands for a lot of things for a number of us in the banking industry today,” she said. The occasion also became a reunion of professionals who had started their banking careers under Arah and subsequently spread across Nigeria’s financial services industry. Smith explained that the gathering was not the first time the alumni had celebrated their former boss. “He exited the bank 23 years ago. When he turned 70, he had a book launch, and there was also a service where the alumni, the association, came together. So we had a big party for him at 70. “But since 70, five years ago, we haven’t had anything. So, because he’s turned 75 now, not only to celebrate him but also as a means of reunion. So that all the members that he nurture
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