How My Late Mum Inspired Me To Excel In My Banking Career - Ex- Zenith Manager, Bukola Latunji

She is clearly an accomplished woman. Vibrant, full of energy, brilliant and always with a pleasant smile on her face. Bukola Latunji was all of these two more.  And lest we forget, this slim and young looking, pretty lady was a damn good banker too. 

As one of the most outstanding female bankers in the financial institution during her time, Bukola broke boundaries, excelling in every responsibility she undertook in the course of her hugely successful banking career and subsequently getting to the peak of her career. She  called time on her illustrious career when she retired as the General Manager, Zenith Bank. 

Presently, this selfless lady who's incredibly passionate about the wellbeing of the Nigerian woman has been quite as busy as ever. She is involved in a lot of things from teaching young people Leadership skills, entrepreneural skills to offering wellness tips and doing fitness exercises on Instagram, etc. Bukola literally has hands her full, imparting knowledge and leaving her own little footprints in the sands of time. Having drawn a great deal of inspiration from late beloved mum herself, Bukola Latunji continues to significantly motivate the women folk to keep pushing on, urging them to excel and become the very best that they desire to be.

Last week, this charming lady was recognised at the City People Female Entrepreneurs awards ceremony. The event took place at Up Asso, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos. She was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for her invaluable contributions, not just to her constituency, the banking institution, but to humanity as a whole. 

City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) spoke briefly with Bukola shortly after she picked up her award and she was happy to share with us a bit of her background and how she has been able to overcome the many challenges she has had to face in the course of her journey through life. She also talked about the many things she’s been doing since she left banking. Enjoy excerpts.    

 

It's indeed a big honor to be speaking with you and congratulations on the award you just picked. Share with us your thoughts at this time, how do you feel with that recognition?

It's really amazing. I'm actually shocked, I'm surprised, you know, because I just thought, okay, female entrepreneurs, that’s good, but for a Lifetime Achievement Award? It's really awesome and I am just so grateful that you're doing your thing quietly, just, you know, trying to be the best that you can, trying to impact knowledge, trying to just make the world a better place for young people, especially for women, and then you're getting recognized for it. I mean, that's just like icing on the cake. So thank you so much City People.

That's beautiful. And then you followed that up with a really fantastic speech, very motivational. Within those few moments, the speech highlighted your passion for the women folk, your desire to see women rise above their challenges, rise above their obstacles. Tell us a bit of your background that shaped you to be the person that you are today.

Well, I cannot say anything but to start from my mother, and who just passed on last year, late last year. We buried her in December. She was like the strongest woman that I ever knew. I grew up knowing a strong woman who could go out there, fend for herself, fend for her family, stand her ground, and just be there, a support system for her family, for her friends, for her church, for the society at large, within the means that she had. She was selfless. She had all the love, you know, and most importantly, she had integrity and love. So, for me, that's like a springboard for me. I couldn't have learnt and done anything any other way. So I have the passion to give in whichever form that God has blessed me with. Give knowledge, material things to the extent that I can do, you know, and just make sure that as much as possible, people benefit from the wealth of experience that I have. So that's what motivates me to keep going without thinking of material rewards for it. It's just a motivating factor.

While you were in the bank, despite enormous pressure that goes with the job, you always managed to find a way to have this smile on your face, almost all of the time. Apart from mum, what other things helped you through life, helped you overcome your challenges, and still stand tall and telling women, keep pushing on?

You know, like, I can't stop talking about the genetics of it, from my mom. I mean, if you talk about energy, if you talk about being energetic, if you talk about love, and that is what she instilled in us, me and my siblings, and it is how we are. So, going to school, and of course, she embodied excellence in everything that she did. And that's what she taught us. That's what we took to school. You have to excel going to school, in any vocation, in any talent that God has given you. She expects excellence, hard work, excellence, and that's what we did. That's what I took to all my life, going to school, excelling. I graduated second class upper, Pharmacology was my first degree from College of Medicine, University of Lagos.Then, and I moved to banking, I have an MBA, finance, that was it. And being in the banking sector, excellence was it. It was about moving forward, giving your all.

Banking was very challenging, you know, but you went through it. Even if you go to the corner and cry, you come back and you do what you have to do and that's my spirit. Like I said, it's genetical. It can't go, and because it's something you have been doing for so long, it has become part of you, it is what I'm passing to my own child, you know. So, it's all about excellence, and of course, the love of God because in everything that we are, in all the gifts that God has given us, in all these things that we do, we have to put the grace of God there, because that's what keeps us going.

Absolutely, but did you set out to become a banker? Did you have your plans all mapped out neatly, even before you got into the banking sector, or you had other ideas?

Alright, okay, so let me say that, because I would be what you call a generalist, growing up, I was good in science, I was good in social sciences, I was good in Arts. So, it was more like, what do you want to do? Okay, what do you want to start with? Okay, so I'm like, okay, medical science, let's see. But at the end of the day, I knew that, this medical science, I can't deal with all this blood and handling of rats, and you know, things like that. So, I knew that, well, okay, but I was always so good too, in social sciences and I've always loved it, okay, Accounting, Economics, stuff like that and that's actually what took me to banking. If I may just tell a small story, while I was in Medilag, I had a lecturer in what you call Pharmaceutical Chemistry and he had an MBA. Yes, even though he was a Pharmacist, but he had an MBA. And you know, your teachers have a way of seeing your potentials and then he would just say, Bukky, you have business orientation. I can see your aptitude is so high. You know, you're like, you are a perfect candidate, for business, for banking, for accounting. And then he started giving me books to read while I was still in medical school. And that's just how I started. And then my love just blossomed from there. But I'm about so many things, you understand. And of course, for my health, wellness and fitness is another love that I have. So, it's one of the digital platforms that I have. Teaching people how to be healthy, you know, young people from 40, especially women, how to keep your health and stuff like that.

Is that what you dived into immediately after you left the bank?

Everything. I'm still into my leadership. I'm into self-development and improvement, personal growth. I’m into finance and fitness too.

I'll get you to a share of all of that with us much later, but I'd like to ask you, at the time you were very actively involved in the financial sector, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll say that it was a lot difficult for the ladies to really excel. And you were lucky you got to the pinnacle of your career.

It wasn’t luck. It was hard work and it was God. And like I said, you know, if you've always excelled in academics, you've always excelled in anything that you are supposed to learn, and that's exactly what I did in banking. I learnt it and I learnt it. It's not about being a lady. It's about knowledge. Banking is a profession that you learn. And when you know how to do it, you will get ahead. And that's what I did. And I was into almost all the aspects of banking. I started with treasury.So I did what you call e-business in those days. I did treasury operations, so many things. Marketing, oil and gas and everything. Then of course, in the last 10 years while I was in the bank, I went into branch management, zonal management. I became general manager, group zonal head, managing branches and developing the business and growing the business so to speak and that comes with knowledge. That comes with knowledge and hard work.

How did you get into all of these, the leadership thing, the entrepreneural thing and of course, the wellness particularly. How dear to you is that? And how has it impacted on lots of women that you've actually lived with directly? Because I know that's one subject tha's become not just a Nigerian thing. It's become a phenomenon.

I know. I'm a teacher by nature and by virtue of my training in banking and business, I'm getting to almost the zenith of my career as a general manager. When you get to board, that's political appointment. At that level, you have learnt a whole lot. You have gone through a whole lot of training. You have gone local, you have gone abroad. And for me, teaching comes naturally to me and leadership is something that I know that is paramount to the success of anybody. It starts with yourself as what I call self-leadership and how you will be able to lead other people because you have to lead yourself first before you can lead other people.

So for me, it came natural to me. And for my other passions, let me put it that way, of course, that was just banking, but I had so many other passions. Remember, I’m a Pharmacologist, so health, wellness comes to me naturally and you know about the body. You know about what affects the body. So that is basically one of the things I try to teach. How people should live, how people should live healthy, eat healthy and of course, most importantly, exercise and stay healthy. Its very important, which affects every part of our body from our brain to our head. And of course, in these days, I'm beginning to focus more on women from 40 and above, you understand? Because I noticed that that's one area that's a bit neglected in terms of menopause, Menopausal women and the things it causes with all our issues and brain issues that it can lead to and stuff like that.

So, like I said, I have the background for it and I have the love for it. But what I'm noticing now is a lot of women are getting more open because when they see me online, doing all these things, I'm not shy. I'm doing my exercises and they think, Bukky, oh my goodness, you're 55 and you look this way. Okay, maybe I can try, but this thing you're doing is a bit too strong. I can't start wth that, its fine. But I believe it motivates them because people will call me and say, Bukky, I like what you're doing. I'm watching your gym videos, I love it, its inspiring me, I gave it to my wife. Even if it's just one person that has been able to be inspired and motivated to act, to move, because that's basically what I call it, movement. Movement comes in so many ways, you understand? Just move. I'm fine. I have done. I've achieved. You've done your bit.

Last word for the women out there.

Well, for women, never shrink yourself to make anybody else bigger. Take yourself seriously. Work hard. Learn. Learn new skills. It helps to keep improving your brain power. And pray for motivation and keep fit. The sky's the limit.That's just the oyster. It's yours. Keep pushing.Thank you so much.