In a heartfelt tribute, Afrinvest Group Managing Director Ike Chioke has eulogised the late Nigerian business titan Pascal Gabriel Dozie as a “humble transformer” whose impact extended far beyond his remarkable business achievements. Dozie, the founder of Diamond Bank and former chairman of MTN Nigeria, passed away on 8 April 2025, just one day before his 86th birthday.
“In every interaction, PGD exhibited an uncommon fusion of strategic foresight and deep compassion. He listened more than he spoke; and when he did speak, he did so clearly, humbly and insightfully,” Chioke stated in a 2 May statement, drawing parallels to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to describe Dozie as a metaphor of “calm and peace at the summit.”
Dozie’s impressive business portfolio included founding Diamond Bank (later acquired by Access Bank), serving as MTN Nigeria’s chairman, and holding leadership positions in both the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. However, according to Chioke, these visible achievements “pale into insignificance” compared to his profound impact on countless individuals.
“His vast educational philanthropy was never sporadic; it was an intentional, consistent, and sustained commitment to uplift others,” Chioke noted, highlighting how Dozie sponsored numerous young Nigerians to attend Harvard Business School and other Ivy League institutions during the mid-1990s as part of a calculated effort to shape Nigeria’s economic future.
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Born in 1939 in Egbu village of Owerri, Imo State, to a Catholic catechist father, Dozie built his impressive career after studying Economics at the London School of Economics and earning a Master’s in Operational Research and Industrial Engineering from City University in London. His professional journey included roles as an economist at the UK’s National Economic Development Office, a part-time lecturer at Northwestern Polytechnic in London, and a consulting economist for the African States Consulting Organisation in Uganda.
Upon returning to Nigeria at his mother’s urging, Dozie was recruited by then-Central Bank Governor Clement Isong to study Co-operative and Commerce Bank operations. By 1985, he had become Chairman of Progress Bank, and later that same year applied for a banking licence specifically to assist traders in South Eastern Nigeria who faced banking challenges.
What began with just N10 million in share capital and 21 interested shareholders in 1985 evolved into Diamond Bank, which officially launched operations in 1991 with Dozie as CEO—a position he would hold until 2006.
Chioke, whose Afrinvest firm provides research content on Nigerian markets and advises blue-chip companies across West Africa, praised Dozie’s leadership style: “His presence was never imposing, but was always commanding—he was a delight to follow. He led by the power of his example, not by the example of his power.”
The Afrinvest chief concluded his tribute by emphasising that Dozie’s life demonstrated how “one man, with vision and compassion, can indeed alter the trajectories of countless lives,” leaving behind a legacy of “service without self-interest, leadership without arrogance, and faith without cynicism.”
