CITIZENS COMPASS—Colleagues across Airtel Nigeria came together to host a heartfelt send-off celebration in honour of Femi Oshinlaja, who recently concluded his tenure as Chief Commercial Officer. The event was held on Friday, October 17, in the green garden at Airtel Nigeria Headquarters and was attended by the CEO, members of ExCo and employees from across the country.
A significant highlight of the occasion was the attendance by Airtel Africa Foundation Chairman and Former Airtel Africa Group CEO, Dr Segun Ogunsanya; Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru; Commandant, NASS, Maj Gen Kennedy Osemwegie; and Senior Partner, KPMG, Mr Ayodele Soyinka.
Oshinlaja’s career at Airtel spans two impactful chapters. In his earlier years with the company, he served as Regional Operations Director, Lagos and Regional Operations Director, West; and later as Vice President, Direct Sales. He returned to the organisation as Chief Commercial Officer in 2022.
His leadership marked a period of strong commercial performance for the company. Based on NCC’s publicly published results between 2022 and 2025, Airtel Nigeria’s customer market share went up from 28% to 34% and its share of internet subscribers grew from 28% to 35%. These gains reflect improvements in operations efficiency, customer acquisition, retention, and value optimization under his leadership.
Before rejoining Airtel, Oshinlaja served as Chief Operations Officer at Sasai Fintech in Mauritius. Earlier in his career, he held senior commercial and sales roles at Nigerian Bottling Company (Coca-Cola Hellenic), Diageo, Nokia, British American Tobacco and Equity Bank. With over two decades in telecoms, FMCG, banking and technology, he is widely regarded as a well-rounded commercial strategist who combines operational discipline with an instinct for people and markets.
Tributes from colleagues at the event reflected both respect and affection.
Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said: “Femi’s work was commendable, and his leadership success is undeniable. Wishing him success in his next endeavours.”
Director of Marketing, Ismail Adeshina, remarked: “Femi is leaving at a time when the ovation is loudest. It was indeed a pleasure to work with him and if he calls anytime, it would be a pleasure to work with him again.”
Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, reflected on their time together in the Airtel Nigeria ExCo: “We navigated some turbulent waters together; but during that period, Femi remained a steady presence. His relentless energy and focus were invaluable to the company.”
Director of IT, Kemi Ariyo, added: “Femi was not only a colleague; he was also an adviser. He was one of those people to whom you could always turn for support.”
The evening featured short speeches, music, photo presentations and gifts from teams across the business. Many attendees described him as a leader who built systems but also built people, mentoring energetically, demanding excellence and remaining accessible round the clock.
In his response, Oshinlaja thanked colleagues for “friendship, trust and the privilege to serve” while expressing confidence in the team leading the business forward.
