Exactly a day to his 86th birthday, founder of the defunct Diamond Bank PLC, and pioneer chairman of MTN Telecommunications, Pascal Gabriel Dozie, is dead.
Sources close to the family said he died in the early hours of today.
Born in 1939 to the family of Charles Dozie who was a Catholic catechist in the Egbu village of Owerri, Imo State, Dozie attended Our Lady’s School, Emekuku where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate.
He thereafter attended Holy Ghost Juniorate Seminary and Holy Ghost College, Owerri, where he sat for and passed his West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
After obtaining his high school certificate, he travelled to the United Kingdom where he studied economics at the London School of Economics and obtained a BSc in Economics.
He subsequently attended City University in London where he studied operational research and industrial engineering and obtained a master’s degree in Administrative Science.
In 1990, he founded Diamond Bank, which became one of Nigeria’s most respected financial institutions before its eventual merger with Access Bank. He later handed the reins to his son, Uzoma.
The late Dozie was also instrumental to the launching of MTN Nigeria, serving as its pioneer chairman and helping to lead the telecom revolution in the country. His leadership style marked by humility, integrity, and long-term vision earned him widespread recognition, including the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
He is survived by his wife Chinyere, and children.
