Chief Akintola Williams was a Nigerian accountant and a key figure in the formation of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, which he co-established with Dr Oni Akerele as President and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Secretary, in London. He was born on 9 August 1919 and passed away on 11 September 2023. He was recognized as Nigeria’s inaugural chartered accountant.
In the early 1930s, Williams began his education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, located on Bankole Street, Apongbon, Lagos Island, Lagos; this was the same primary institution his late younger sibling Chief Rotimi Williams attended.
His firm, established in 1952, grew both organically and through mergers to become Nigeria’s largest professional services company by 2004.
Williams played a role in the founding of both the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Throughout his extensive career, he received numerous accolades. He reached the centenarian milestone in August 2019 and passed away peacefully at home in Lagos on September 11, 2023, at the age of 104.
Education and Birth
Williams was born on August 9th, 1919. His grandfather, Z. A. Williams, was an affluent merchant from Abeokuta, while his father, Thomas Ekundayo Williams, served as a clerk in the colonial administration and later established a law practice in Lagos after studying law in London.
He was the older brother of the late Rev. Frederick Rotimi Williams and prominent attorney Frederick Rotimi Williams. In the early 1930s, he attended primary school at Lagos’ Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School before progressing to CMS Grammar School in Lagos.
Later, he enrolled in Yaba Higher College on a UAC scholarship, where he earned a diploma in commerce. In 1944, he traveled to England to study at the University of London.
He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1946, focusing on banking and finance. Continuing his education, he qualified as a chartered accountant in England in 1949. The Oloye Williams, a Yoruba with chieftaincy lineage, was among those who founded the society when it was established in London under Dr. Oni Akerele and Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s leadership.
Accounting Career
Upon his return to Nigeria in 1950, Williams served as an assessment officer for the Inland Revenue. He left public service in March 1952 and founded Akintola Williams and Co. in Lagos, marking the inception of Africa’s first indigenous chartered accounting firm. At that time, five large international firms dominated the accounting landscape. Despite the presence of a few local firms, they were only certified accountants, not chartered.
Williams secured contracts with local companies, such as West African Pilot, founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe, O. Ojukwu Transport, Fawehinmi Furniture, and Mbadiwe’s African Insurance Company. He also provided services to newly established state-owned enterprises, including the Nigerian Electricity Corporation, the Western and Eastern Development Corporations, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Charles S. Sankey, the company’s initial partner, joined in 1957, after which Mr. Njoh Litumbe, a Cameroonian, succeeded him. Litumbe spearheaded the company’s international expansion, establishing branches in Port Harcourt and Enugu.
A branch was opened in Cameroon in 1964, followed by additional branches in Swaziland and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as affiliations in Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya. By March 1992, the firm employed 535 staff, including 19 partners.
The Companies Act of 1968, which required businesses operating in Nigeria to form locally incorporated subsidiaries and release audited annual reports, heightened demand. This demand was further boosted by efforts to promote indigenous ownership in the early 1970s. In 1973, a management consulting subdivision led by Chief Arthur Mbanefo was spun off as AW Consultant Ltd. The firm also acquired a secretarial and computer service company and entered a profit-sharing agreement with Touche Ross International in 1977. Williams was involved with the boards of several companies and held significant shares. He announced his retirement in 1983.
Akintola Williams & Co. operated between April 1999 and May 2004, becoming Nigeria’s largest professional services enterprise with over 600 employees, merging with two other accounting firms to create Akintola Williams Deloitte (now known as Deloitte & Touche).
Roles and Accolades in Public Life
Williams played a pivotal role in establishing Nigeria’s Association of Accountants in 1960, which aimed to train accountants. He served as the association’s first President. He was the inaugural president and founding member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
He was also instrumental in founding the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Even in his advanced years, he remained actively involved in these organizations. At a stock exchange event in May 2011, he urged operators to protect the market and ensure transparency. He advised market stakeholders to seek his guidance when necessary for resolving issues.
Over the years, he held multiple public sector roles, including Chairman of the Federal Income Tax Appeal Commissioners (1958–68), Member of the Coker Commission of Inquiry into the Statutory Corporations of the Former Western Region of Nigeria (1962), Member of the Board of Trustees of the Commonwealth Foundation (1966–1975), Chairman of the Lagos State Government Revenue Collection Panel (1973), and Chairman of the Public Service Review Panel to Correct the Anomalies in the Udoji Salary Review.
Other positions included serving as President of the Metropolitan Club in Victoria Island, Lagos, and founding member and council member of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, as well as Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Musical Society of Nigeria.
In 1982, Williams received the O from the Nigerian government. After retiring in 1983, he dedicated himself to developing a music center and concert hall for the Music Society of Nigeria. In April 1997, he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the accounting profession and his efforts with the Musical Society of Nigeria in promoting the arts, culture, and music.
In his honor, the Akintola Williams Arboretum is situated at the headquarters of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in Lagos. For their contributions to democracy and development in Africa, Akintola Williams and John Kufuor, former president of Ghana, were awarded recognition by the Nigeria-Britain Association on May 8, 2011.
Death
He passed away on September 11; however, the cause of his death remains unknown to the public. Many believe he led a fulfilling life and departed peacefully.
