Tony Elumelu narrates How He Went from Second Class Lower Degree to Nigeria’s Billionaire

Tony Elumelu, one of the richest and the most influential businessmen in Nigeria has shared how he moved from a second-class lower university graduate to becoming one of the most influential men.

Tony Elemelu had begun by humbly applying for a position he was not qualified for in a bank and went to excel and became a branch manager at the bank at the age of 27 years old.

The economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist later became the CEO of of Nigeria’s oldest banks, UBA after leading a merger team to take over the bank in 2005. He is also the chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Narrating his story on how he climbed the ladder, Tony, in one of his posts recalled that part of his cover letter asked the bank to disregard his grade and not see it as a measure of his intelligence and give him the job he applied for.

“I know I may not have met the qualifying criteria for the advertised roles, but I am intelligent, driven, ambitious and I will make the bank proud. My 2:2 degree does not demonstrate the full extent of my intelligence and ability, and I know I can do so much more,” Tony revealed.

He said his application was examined by the CEO and he was shortlisted, interviewed and placed on entry-level. Within a year, Elumelu proved himself and went on to become the youngest branch manager of the bank at 27 years old.

That gave him a leeway into other leadership positions in the bank.

According to the Delta-born entrepreneur, he worked hard, was energetic and gave priority to getting things done.

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