Yetunde Oni Shares THRIVE Blueprint with Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy Fellows

Yetunde Oni Shares THRIVE Blueprint with Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy Fellows
By prince Benson Davies

Thirty young Nigerians, selected from an initial pool of 25,000 applicants, gathered recently for a closed-door session that moved beyond titles and playbooks. The speaker was Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria. The setting was the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, a Lagos State Government fellowship designed to develop ethical, competent leaders in memory of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the state’s first civilian governor.

The Academy’s programme is facilitated by the Africa Leadership Initiative, West Africa, ALI WA, an organization known for its work in values-based leadership development. Fellows are drawn from diverse fields and backgrounds, and the curriculum emphasizes character as much as competence. Into that space, Mrs Oni brought a conversation rather than a keynote. She spoke directly about the beliefs that have guided her 30-year career, the obstacles she navigated, and the personal standards that shaped her path to the top of Nigeria’s banking sector.

Early in the session, she introduced a framework she uses to stay grounded. She called it THRIVE. Each letter stands for a principle she considers non-negotiable for anyone serious about leading.

The first is T for Take ownership of your relationships. She told the fellows that leadership starts with how deliberately you manage the people around you. Relationships are not side notes in a career. They are the structure that holds everything else up.

H stands for Honour God. Mrs Oni described faith as a stabilizing force in her life, one that keeps ambition in perspective and decisions anchored to a broader purpose.

R is for Recharge and refresh. She was firm that physical and mental health cannot be postponed until after the work is done. A leader who ignores wellbeing will, over time, have less to offer the people and institutions they serve.

I stands for Invest in your growth. She stressed that personal development requires continuous, intentional effort. Markets change, roles change, and relevance has to be earned again and again through learning.

V is for Value your work. She challenged the cohort with direct questions: What do you represent? Are you creating real value? What is your personal brand saying when you are not in the room? She urged them to answer those questions early and honestly.

E means Embrace setbacks. She explained that failure is part of progress, not its opposite. The difference between leaders who last and those who stall, she said, is the ability to process disappointment, extract the lesson, and move forward.

Throughout the discussion, Mrs Oni returned to the role of people in any leader’s journey. She said plainly that she did not get to her current position by herself. She acknowledged her parents, her husband, and a network of mentors, friends, coaches, and sponsors who guided her at critical points. She made a clear distinction between a mentor and a coach, noting that both are important but serve different purposes. Mentors provide wisdom and perspective drawn from experience. Coaches help you build specific skills and hold you accountable to your goals.

She linked much of her own advancement to values she described as deeply Nigerian: hard work, honesty and integrity, courtesy, and respect. These qualities, she told the fellows, are not outdated. They are the reason doors opened for her across markets and institutions.

On the subject of self-belief, Mrs Oni shared two personal stories. The first was about her appointment as MD/CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Sierra Leone. She admitted she had not considered applying because she did not think she would be selected. Her husband encouraged her to submit her name. She did, and she got the role. She later became the first woman to lead a Standard Chartered operation in that market.

The second story was about her move to Union Bank of Nigeria. She said she was not aware the position was available after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the bank. The opportunity came through people who knew her work and put her name forward while she was still based in Sierra Leone.

Her point to the fellows was simple: Take the risk. Apply for the role you think is beyond you. The opportunity you need may be one you cannot see yet, and it may reach you through relationships you have built over years.

Sessions like this do not generate quarterly reports or market updates, but they address a longer horizon. Union Bank has consistently supported leadership development because institutions are only as strong as the people who run them. The Africa Leadership Initiative, West Africa continues to provide the structure and facilitation that gives the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy its depth. The Academy’s selection process remains rigorous, reducing 25,000 applicants to 30 fellows who are ready to serve.

For Mrs Oni, the session was an investment of time and experience in leaders who will shape Nigeria’s public and private sectors. She offered her story without polish and her advice without pretense. That is what experienced leaders do when they are committed to the next generation. They share the path, and they show how to THRIVE on it.