CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Captain (Dr.) Idahosa Wells Okunbo was a man of great foresight and immense capacity in business engineering and management. His vast and ever-expanding commercial enterprises, which he built, largely through sheer determination and hard work, rather than happenstance, made him one of the most successful businessmen and investors in Nigeria. The outstanding range of Captain Okunbo's business portfolios span Marine Security, Marine Logistics, Property and Real Estate, Hotel and Hospitality, Aviation, Entertainment, Energy, Power, Telecoms and Agriculture. In his lifetime, he provided jobs for thousands of Nigerians.
He was the Executive Chairman of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMS), a company that provides relevant, effective and modern solutions to high-risk security concerns in Nigeria. Among other services, OMS provides Maritime Management and Logistics, Sea Patrol Security, and Ocean Vessel Escorts.
As Chairman, Captain Okunbo continued to provide leadership for a host of other successful local and international companies. Principal among them are: CMES-OMS Joint Venture Limited (an integrated energy-related company with an enormous capacity to provide financing and technical solutions to the upstream Oil and Gas sector), Wells Property Development Company Limited (a company involved in the development of affordable properties for low-income earners, high net-worth individuals and office development), Gyro Air Limited (a private airline charter service with a fleet of aircrafts in its ownership), Secure Anchorage Area West Africa (SAA), Wells Procurement Services Limited, The Wells Carlton Hotel and Luxury Apartments (Abuja), The New London Carlton (London), Wells Entertainment Limited (entertainment and movie production), Westminster Security Solutions Nigeria Limited (franchise of Westminster Group Plc UK, in which he was a shareholder), and FEVA TV Canada (the foremost black TV station in Canada).
Captain Okunbo was also on the board, as non-Executive Director, of the following companies: NATCOM NTEL (formerly NITEL), Funds Electronics Transfer Solutions (provider of electronic payment solutions), and Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company Limited (core investor in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Limited).
Captain Okunbo's benevolence transcended his achievements in business. As a well-known and celebrated philanthropist in Sub-Sahara Africa, he contributed immensely towards the development of education and scholarship, the promotion of entrepreneurship and youth development, and poverty reduction programs.
In recent years, he made large donations to projects aimed at the total annihilation of illegal migration and human trafficking of young Africans. The menace of irregular migration and trafficking in persons was far more personal to him because of his understanding of how deep this challenge batters the economy and the devastating effect it has on families and the society. It is for this reason that he singlehandedly partnered with and sponsored the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) and launched an initiative themed: International Action on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons, whose anchor project, Skills and Entrepreneurship Development Program (SED-P), was designed to identify young Nigerians and redirect them towards self-reliance and strategic development. With his huge contribution, the program was able to organize its first International Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2019. It was a huge success and saw the convergence of representatives from various United Nations, International, and African agencies, as well as several panel experts and other development partners. The Skills Entrepreneurship Development Program (SED-P) has thus far trained hundreds of persons in various skill-acquisition drives across Nigeria.
This bio would certainly not be complete without mentioning the extraordinary work Captain Okunbo carried out in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. He actively spearheaded robust initiatives towards restoration of the environment, provided security and safety for the oil pipelines, and provided employment and a life of comfort for thousands of youths and families in the region. For his outstanding work in the Niger-Delta, Captain Okunbo was honoured numerous times through various recognitions and awards by the leaders of the host communities of the region.
Time would fail to enumerate the numerous philanthropic gestures of Captain Okunbo. Hardly a day went by without seeing him reach out to different classes of individuals and organizations in need of financial assistance. For him, the act of giving came as naturally as the act of breathing.
It is note-worthy to mention that Captain Okunbo was one of the architects behind the introduction of transparent ballot boxes for the electioneering process in Nigeria (by Vision Technologies) and was responsible for the development, manufacture and delivery of over 75,000 transparent ballot boxes used for the 1999 general elections.
Having conquered the air (as a pilot at the age of 30), and the sea (with over 60 active vessels on the water), Captain Okunbo was an accomplished businessman who always insisted (contrary to popular opinion) that he was yet to conquer the land.
Towards the end of his life on earth, his investment of millions of dollars into the establishment of the fully functional, highly technological Wells-Hosa Greenhouse Farms (in Benin City, Edo State) created a jaw-dropping spectacle, which simply put, must be seen to be believed. As outstanding as this monumental project stands today, Captain Okunbo intention (had he lived longer) was to replicate this same concept in many other locations, with a view to changing the narrative of Agriculture in Nigeria.
Captain Okunbo contributed immensely to Youth Awareness, Empowerment and Employment Programs, organized and financed from his resources, with a view to uplifting the quality of life of his people as a service to humanity.
He participated in numerous national and international fora as a resource person and was honoured by different organizations and institutions. In 2007, this distinguished gentleman was honoured with the Justice of Peace (JP) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the promotion of peace and good governance and the development of his constituency. In 2012, the American Congress honoured him with the “African Titan” award for being a voice for the Niger Delta people through his movie: “Black November”. An honorary doctorate degree was also conferred on him in November 2012 by the prestigious University of Benin for his contributions and benevolence to humanity as well as his achievements as an entrepreneur. In a lavish ceremony in 2016, Captain Okunbo was prestigiously named "Vanguard Businessman of the Year”. In 2019, at the United Nations Day for Global Peace, in Geneva, Switzerland, he was decorated with the “ORDER OF LAFAYETTE” award. In 2020, Captain Okunbo was honoured by the Nigerian National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as its Anti - Human Trafficking Hero (in recognition of his outstanding contributions and partnership with the agency to stop the menace of human trafficking). Also, in September 2020, Captain Okunbo was proudly conferred with the “Forbes BEST OF AFRICA” award. This award was presented by Forbes USA.
Captain Okunbo was an embodiment of fulfilment, characterized by integrity, honesty, hardwork, justice, equity and fair play. He was an unrepentant believer in the rule of law. He was a firm believer in Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy that: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Captain (Dr.) Idahosa Wells Okunbo was happily married. In his lifetime, he was blessed with twelve amazing children.
Captain (Dr.) Idahosa Wells Okunbo was born on the 7th of January, 1958, into the family of the late respected community leader, teacher, disciplinarian and clergyman, Reverend Robert Amos Okunbo.
He attended Government Primary School (Benin City) and Federal Government College (Warri), where in 1975, he wrote and passed the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) in flying colours.
In 1979, he graduated from The Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre (Zaria) as a professional Commercial Pilot. He was just 21 years old at the time. He began his professional career with Aero Contractors Nigeria Ltd. He later joined Intercontinental Airline, where he accumulated most of his flying experience in jet time. He thereafter proceeded on further training at the Acme School of Aeronautics in Dallas (Texas, USA) in 1983, where he obtained his Airline Transport Pilot license. The young Idahosa Okunbo was promoted in the same year to the position of Airline Captain, having accumulated a compulsory 4,500 flying hours to his credit (at the age of 25 years).
Having reached the zenith of his profession at the age of 25, with a broad horizon of experience traversing various aircraft types and flying over different continents, he felt the need to pursue new challenges and subsequently ventured into other endeavours.
It was this singular decision and the desire to engage in new pursuits that led him into the Oil and Gas terrain. He quickly identified the window of opportunities inherent to his new aspiration in the Oil and Gas sector, and registered his company, Hoslyn Ventures Nigeria Limited in 1986. Its main objective was to service the Oil and Gas sector, targeting procurement for refineries as the area of core competence.
Captain Okunbo later realized the enormity of the commitment required in this industry (which had zero tolerance for part-time human capital investment). At the age of 30, he resigned as an Airline Captain with Okada Airline, after booking over 7,500 hours of flight time (most of which was jet experience).
Hoslyn Ventures was responsible for the successful supply of refinery catalysts which were used in major refineries in Nigeria. Hoslyn was also involved in major revamp projects and procurements in the Oil and Gas sector and also participated in the procurement of major engineering components for the Warri Refinery Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) in 1992. Never scared to take on new challenges, Captain Okunbo, through Hoslyn Technologies Nigeria Limited, one of the first indigenous companies to carry out Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts in Nigeria, was able to complete and commission the early production facility for Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at Ajoki Oziengbe South Field in 2001.
​