Eddy Olajide Omolehinwa was born on the 20th of April, 1951 in the hinterlands of Igodan Lisa, Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria. He attended King’s College, Lagos between 1965 and 1971. He was appointed McWright’s House Captain in his final year at the college. Thereafter, he went to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he studied Accounting and passed in flying colours. While an undergraduate in UNILAG, he was elected as the Financial Secretary of the University of Lagos Students’ Union in 1973/74 session.
He attended Columbia Graduate School of Business, New York for his MBA and graduated as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honours’ Society for outstanding Business students. He is also an alumnus of Manchester Business School, University of Manchester where he obtained his PhD in Budgeting. He was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Texas Southern University, Houston during 2006/2007 academic session on Exchange Program sponsored by the American government.
Prior to joining University of Lagos as a Graduate Assistant in 1977, he was a Senior Supervisor of Central Bank, Benin City, Edo State and this was after serving at Bauchi Teachers’ College during the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) annual ritual of one year service to the nation.
Over the years, he served in various capacities at the University of Lagos. He was:
In 2014, Prof Omolehinwa was a recipient, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) merit award for his contribution to accounting education in Nigeria. He is indeed, a worthy ambassador of the noble accounting profession. In 2016, he was rewarded with Ondo State '40 icons @ 40' award, as one of the top 40 illustrious indigenes in 40 years of the state's existence.
As one who recognizes the value of recreation, he is an avid soccer fan, and has been a great supporter of Manchester United Football Club since the 80s. He was known as “Eddy Banana” for his banana-like shots in King's College.
His radiant desire for unfolding new horizons of light in his chosen field, and shedding further illumination upon that field has birthed adventures of linking institutions and organizations. These were done via knowledge sharing, research and service, both locally and globally. His research sparked a series of books.
Some of these include:
A good deal of his outstanding success could be attributed to his passion and drive to water others, and see them blossom, starting with his own family. He got married to his dear wife on August 25, 1979, and they had almost 40 blissful years together, with 4 children and 3 grandchildren. All of his children were raised as accounting professionals. A good number of nephews, nieces, cousins and second cousins, have also benefited from his sterling accounting training. Thus, a generation of high quality national assets have been raised.
Beyond the family, his commitment over the years has been a lamp to many of his students, especially those in the University of Lagos, where he served for more than 44 years. As a result, a strong foundation was laid down (through the impartation of high quality accounting education) for many, who have built on his labors, erecting high walls of achievement in various walks of life. During his many years of service at UNILAG, he contributed to the education of thousands of Nigerians. Among them are nine state governors (2 of whom are still in office), the first female Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a former Head of Service of the federation, many professors and leading accountants in public and private sectors within and outside the country.
