Nigeria, March 9 -- I first met Herbert in 2000 at the then Guaranty Trust Bank under the leadership of Fola Adeola. I was a young management consultant at ReStraL Consulting, and the bank was one of ReStraL's significant clients. At first sight, Herbert came across as an emerging leader in the bank. The few times I saw him at meetings and events in that period, he was full of youthful energy. I was not close to him. I only saw him from a distance.

Shortly after, precisely in 2002, I left Nigeria to study in the United Kingdom on the British Chevening Scholarship. The same year, Herbert co-founded Access Bank with his business partner, colleague and friend, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and became the pioneer deputy managing director of the ba...