Madonna University has announced plans to confer an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration on the Group Chief Executive Officer of Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to business and job creation in Nigeria.
During the presentation of his nomination letter at Wakanow’s headquarters in Lagos, the university’s spokesperson, Chima Achu, disclosed that the honour was approved by the institution’s senate after a rigorous vetting process.
Wakanow is one of the prominent travel agencies in West Africa with about a 2000-strong workforce.
Achu stated that in the past decade, Madonna University had not awarded any honorary doctorate, making this recognition particularly significant. Only two distinguished individuals will receive the honour during a ceremony to be held later this month.
He emphasised that the award was purely merit-based and not financially motivated, citing Adedeji’s remarkable impact in creating employment opportunities for thousands of Nigerians.
“We identify young persons, people whose work over time can influence young persons. And that accounts for why we decided to identify Mr Adedeji, “Achu said. For us, this is not about money. That is why we are not even giving any politician at all. No politician is coming that day to be honoured.”
He added, “But for someone who has given employment to over 2,000 Nigerians, that is unique. That is a significant impact. That is something that you cannot throw away.”
Achu further described Adedeji as a role model whose achievements embody the university’s values: “For us, we want to encourage him to do more. We want to make him an ambassador of the university globally. I graduated from the university 21 years ago, and I can tell you for sure, anywhere you go across the globe, Madonna graduates are doing excellently well. So, we want him to be a unique ambassador for the university. We want to build a relationship that will stand the test of time.”
Reacting, Adedeji expressed gratitude for the honour, describing it as a deeply moving validation of his hard work and leadership journey.
He said, “I took over Wakanow six years ago. Wakanow was in a lost position. Wakanow was losing money and bleeding like a gunshot wound. I took over the business.
“I thought that we had like 200 people. I get to find out that I have 600 direct employees. Wakanow has 800 direct employees. Indirectly, we probably have over 2,000 people who work and earn a living from the vision of one person, from the diligence of one person, from the hard work. Of course, all of us work hard. It is not just that. It is done by the guiding principle of integrity, of delivering value.”
