Since the age of three, when his mother dedicated him to the Catholic Church, Sir Steve Bamidele Omojafor has remained a Catholic, not a nominal Catholic, but a devout Catholic who was at childhood a Mass Server and is now a Papal Knight. At 78 years old, he remains steadfast in his service to the Church, particularly, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos. Currently, he is the Chairman of Augustine University, a position in which he has devoted time and energy to drive the institution to greater heights in just a few years of its existence.
For over four decades, he has remained constant, an eminent figure in the workings of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos as well as in the Nigerian economic sector. Considering his distinguished service to the Church and his contribution to national development, as well as his reputation as a Papal Knight, The Catholic Herald Board of Editors voted him for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Born and raised in Lagos, Sir Omojafor had his education in Catholic institutions—St. Matthias Catholic Primary School; Holy Cross Catholic Primary School; and St. Gregory’s College, Lagos—before going to Hussey College, Warri for his Higher School Certificate (HSC).
He attended the University of Lagos, where he studied and earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication in 1972. His career took off with a stint in the newspaper at the Daily Times of Nigeria, where he had worked as a Senior Reporter and Subeditor from 1972 to 1974 before venturing into the world of advertising when he joined Lintas Limited.
A few years later, in 1978, he joined forces with friends to found Rosabel Advertising Limited and was the Client Service Director till 1990, when he moved on to establish STB-McCann Lagos, which he successfully entrenched and set up its offices in Ghana and Sierra Leone. From 1990 to 2006, he served as the company’s longterm MD and CEO until his retirement. Today, he remains the Group Chairman and Regional Consultant of the advertising giant.

His credentials as a major force in the country’s marketing communication sector are unassailable: Past President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN); former Vice President, International Advertising Association (IAA), Nigeria Chapter; Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Marketing (NIMARK); and Fellow, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Omojafor, however, is more than a marketing communications guru. He was, for a long time, Director and, later, Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc. He has served as Director and Chairman in several companies in Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, including Audio Visual First, a Lagos-based film production company.
He is also renowned for his philanthropic activities, as manifested in his tireless involvement in many non-governmental organisations, including Bloom Cancer Care and Support Centre, and National Association of Handicapped Persons where he has been a trustee. He is also associated with the National Society for the Blind and National Cancer Prevention Programme, among others. Affectionately called Omo Jesu (Son of Jesus) by friends, Omojafor’s accomplishments extend to the Church, where he utilises his talents and resources to serve God and humanity. He has served two Archbishops in various capacities, but notably as Chairman of the All Purpose Committee, the highest ranking committee that organises Archdiocesan events such as Chrism Mass, Ordinations, Papal Honours’ investiture, Birthdays and Episcopal ordination anniversaries of the Archbishops, among others.
Sir Omojafor is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, an assignment he has focused on with utmost devotion since his appointment in 2015. “The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos had a dream of building a university in Epe, Lagos; and post-retirement, I became very pivotal in setting it up. I headed the fundraising group to get the university running. Then, I became the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, which I still am. I spend a lot of time on the matters concerning the university. I also do a lot of work for the Catholic Archdiocese,” he reflected. Omojafor remains steadfast in his commitment to numerous NGOs and community development projects, and is especially committed to mentoring the younger generation.
“I’m involved in talking to the younger generation. I get invited often to speak at St. Gregory’s College, where I had my secondary school education. And because my daughter belongs to a book club, I’m given a book and we review it. There is a youth club in Lafiaji (Lagos Island), which is the neighbourhood I grew up in; the dance fante, which is a dance imported from the West Coast of Africa. I am a member of the Elders’ Group that sees to what they do and counsels them,” he recently stated.
Asked for three values he treasures most in life, he famously said: “A good name, integrity, equity and fairness.” For all he has done and is still doing, Sir Steve Omojafor is a man to whom honour is due. And indeed, among others, he has two major honours: Papal Knight Commander of St. Sylvester, bestowed on him by Pope John Paul II in 2003 for his service to the Church and Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), a national honour conferred on him in 2014 for his numerous contributions to the growth of the country.
The honours, as he recalled, came to him without any lobbying: “(With) the Papal awards from the Pope in Rome, the Pope does not know you, but (awards) based on the recommendation of your parish or Bishop. I cherish it a lot. The next one is the national award. How it came, I don’t know. But I remember the secretary of our organisation saying they needed names in our industry and asked for my CV. Initially, I was not too keen about it. I was in England when someone called that they saw my name in the papers for the national honours. I went online and when I saw the calibre of the people in the OON category, I said that makes a lot of sense. I really appreciate it and thank God for it because it was a good recognition.”
Nonetheless, he is spurred, not by recognition but by his yearnings for a better society. “Out of my spare time, I have also been able to reach out to the less privileged. I wish I could do more because a lot of people need assistance in the country, government cannot do it alone,” he reflected. Given his quintessential qualities, Sir Omojafor is an apt candidate for The Catholic Herald Centenary Lifetime Achievement Award, which is designed to honour Nigerian Catholics who have made landmark contributions to the Church and society at large.

- Neta Nwosu is the editor of The Catholic Herald weekly newspaper.