Akintola Williams
| Akintola Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 August 1919 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Accountant |
| Known for | First President of ICAN |
Chief Akintola Williams (born 9 August 1919) was the first African to qualify as a chartered accountant. He began his education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Bankole street APONGBON, Lagos Island, Lagos state Nigeria in the early 1930s; the same primary school his late junior brother Chief Rotimi Williams attended..
His firm, founded in 1952, later grew organically and through mergers to become the largest professional services firm in Nigeria by 2004. Williams participated in founding the and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. During a long career, Williams received many honours.
Akintola Williams was born in 1919. His grandfather Z.A. Williams was a merchant prince from Abeokuta and his father Thomas Ekundayo Williams was a clerk in the colonial service who set up a legal practice in Lagos after training in London, England. He was the older brother of Rotimi Williams, who later became a distinguished lawyer. and the late Rev James Kehinde Williams. For his primary education in the early 1930s, he attended Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School situated at Bankole street Apongbon, Lagos Nigeria. This was the same primary school attended by his junior brother the late legal titan; Chief Rotimi Williams. Williams attended the CMS Grammar School, Lagos. He went on to Yaba Higher College on a UAC scholarship, obtaining a diploma in commerce. In 1944 he travelled to England where he studied at the University of London. Studying in Banking and Finance, he graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Commerce. He continued his studies and qualified as a chartered accountant in England in 1949. A Yoruba of chiefly background, the Williams was one of the founders of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa society while in London, with Dr. Oni Akerele as President and Obafemi Awolowo as Secretary.
After returning to Nigeria in 1950, Williams served with the Inland Revenue as an assessment officer until March 1952, when he left the civil service and founded Akintola Williams & Co in Lagos. The company was the first indigenous chartered accounting firm in Africa. At the time, the accountancy business was dominated by five large foreign firms. Although there were a few small local firms, they were certified rather than chartered accountants. Williams gained business from indigenous companies including Nnamdi Azikiwe's West African Pilot, K. O. Mbadiwe's African Insurance Company, Fawehinmi Furniture and Ojukwu Transport. He also provided services to the new state-owned corporations including the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, the Western Nigeria Development Corporation, the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation, the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
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