Buhari lauds Olusegun Ogunsanya over appointment as CEO Airtel Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended Olusegun Ogunsanya over his appointment as the new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Airtel Africa.

In a statement on Thursday, the telecom giant announced Ogunsanya’s elevation from MD/CEO of Airtel Nigeria to the new office with effect from October 1, 2021.

Ogunsanya will take over from Raghunath Mandava, who will be retiring on September 30.

Reacting to the announcement, Buhari described Ogunsanya’s appointment as commendable saying “the reward for hard work is more work”.

Femi Adesina, the president’s special adviser on media and publicity, in a statement, said Buhari noted that the development shows that “the flag of Nigeria has been hoisted proudly across the African skyline once again”.

Buhari said the appointment has once again proven that Nigeria has a surfeit of quality professionals, who can hold their own in any part of the continent, and even beyond.

“President Buhari is sure that, with the cognate experience of the new MD/CEO for Africa, which spans consulting, banking, fast moving consumer goods, and telecommunications, he would acquit himself creditably in his new role, and repeat the strides that made him position Airtel Nigeria as the second largest telecommunications company by revenue, serving over 50 million customers,” the statement read.

“He urges younger Nigerians to draw inspiration from Ogunsanya, saying with focus, dint of hard work, and resourcefulness, they would reach the peak of whatever careers they have chosen for themselves.”

Ogunsanya is said to possess over 25 years business management experience in banking, consumer goods and telecoms.

Before joining Airtel, he held roles at Coca-Cola in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya (as MD and CEO); MD of the Nigerian Bottling Company; and group head of retail banking operations at Ecobank.