Nigerian economy will recover •In ten years

Professor Herbert Onye Orji is a certified Global Investment Banker, Chartered Stockbroker and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK and Nigeria). He is the Chairman of SUMMA GUARANTY & TRUST COMPANY (SGTC) PLC, a blue chip Issuing House and Broker/ Dealer member firm of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

He graduated with honors in Mathematics and Economics from Howard University, Distinction in MBA (Finance Operations & Research) from Michigan , Ph.D from Union , and PMD from Harvard Business School .

NAL Bank, Washington DC (now PNBank N.A) as a Computer Systems Programmer in 1973. From 1975 – 1979, he served as a Management Trainee, Manager (Commercial Accounts) and Assistant Treasurer and rose to Second Vice-President of the American Express Bank on Wall Street, New York, the first African at that level in a major global bank on Wall Street.

For about five years, he worked at General Management levels in Commercial and Corporate Banking with the UBA Plc in Lagos and later as the Pioneer Representative & General Manager of UBA Plc London with responsibilities for the UK and Western Europe.
In 1985, he was appointed the Managing Director & CEO of Progress Bank of Nigeria Plc and served meritoriously until his voluntary disengagement in 1991.

Thereafter, he worked with the Emerging Markets Incorporated, USA, as a Consulting Senior Advisor on Financial Projects (e.g. Discount Houses) for the International Finance Corporation in English speaking West African countries before joining SGTC Plc in 1993.

Professor Orji has published four books: two award winning publishers’ bestsellers and over 60 articles in Nigeria and abroad on the leading edge of Banking, Finance, Operations Research, Investment Management and the Applied Economics of Development.

He was the Chairman of the Board of Business in Africa Group Ltd, South Africa and current President and Chairman of Council, African Banking and Finance Association (ABFA). He is the Chairman of the Research & Development Committee of the African Business Round Table (ABR), the Pan-African organization that heads the NEPAD Business Group.

He also served as the Vice-Chairman of the Industrial Training Fund (the Federal Government of Nigeria premier capacity building fund), Director of African Development Insurance Company Limited (ADIC), International Wireless Incorporated, Houston Texas , and Gridline Communications Holdings Corporation, Albuquerque New Mexico.

Professor Orji is an active member of the US Corporate Council for Africa, having served as a member of its pioneer Board of Directors for three years simultaneously with his ABR Board membership as a co-founder of the US Corporate Council for Africa in Washington DC. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences, and workshops. He has lectured at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS),Kuru, Jos; and taught Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures and Evaluation of companies at the Lagos Business School MBA and Executive Education Programs as a part-time Senior Faculty member. He has also lectured at Howard, Union , Harvard and Clark Atlanta universities.
From 1996, he served on many international committees on privatization of utilities, oil & gas, and infrastructure in Africa under the auspices of the ABR, World Bank – IFC, ADB and BIA investment conferences.

He is the Chairman and President of the Governing Council of the United Way, Nigeria; a member of the United Way Global Board, President of United Way Coordinating Council for Africa and the immediate past President & Chairman, Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria. On July 1st. 2010, he was appointed to the worldwide parent board of Harvard Business School Alumni Association, the first from Africa outside of South Africa . ??In 1979, Professor Orji won the prestigious Gold Medal Award of the American Express International Banking Corporation for his professional excellence in turning extremely difficult and loss-driven major lending relationships into sustainable profitability in North East United States and English speaking provinces of Canada e.g., the US Consolidated Railroad Corporation, and Massey Ferguson Tractor and Agricultural Equipment Manufacturing Company of Ontario, Canada.

He was voted “The Best Banker of the Year” by his peers in 1990 and 1991.In 2005, Professor Orji won “The Most Distinguished Chartered Stockbrokers Award” - a unanimous selection by his peers, capital market stakeholders and the banking & finance and capital market media in Nigeria and South Africa.
He has trained and employed (or facilitated the employment of) many bankers, accountants, chartered stockbrokers and lawyers. He has donated his time, skills and energy to projects and causes affecting education, health and professional skills acquisition in Abia State, the Niger Delta, Nigeria in general, Lagos Business School, the Roman Catholic Church, Boys’ Scouts and many other organizations.

In 2006, he was appointed Professor of Banking, Finance and Applied Economics of Development by the City University of Los Angeles . In 2008, the Chancellor and the University Council appointed him a member of the President’s Council for excellence in the state-of-the-art research, teaching and publishing.??Professor Orji is an avid athlete and a keen sports man. He is married and has seven children. In this interview he delved he discussed the economy and recent developments at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Excerpts: