How we will immortalise Akintola Williams – ICAN president

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, (ICAN), Dr. Innocent Okwuosa, yesterday, said that corruption is an albatross to national prosperity.

Okwuosa stated this during a press conference to commemorate the life and times of the doyen of the institute, Pa Akintola Williams, who died in September, aged 104.

While describing Williams as one of the illustrious Nigerians whose character was untainted with any form of financial misappropriation, he said the institute would immortalise his memory by continuing to advocate for a society where accountability and transparency are the norms rather than the exception.

“As Chartered Accountants, one way we would immortalise his memory is to continue to advocate for a society where accountability and transparency are the norm rather than the exception. The ICAN Accountability Index has been recognised as a timely intervention by ICAN to entrench transparency and accountability in public finance management. The Institute is determined to create more awareness about the index and its importance,” he said.

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Okwuosa, who added that Williams lived a life of sacrifice and service, using every opportunity to positively impact lives, stressed that no society grows without its citizens realising that nation building is a collective responsibility.

“It’s a reminder to everyone to live a life that is truly worth celebrating. It is to re-echo the importance of thinking beyond ourselves and to see the bigger picture of service to humanity. We are here to restate the immutable law that no society grows without its citizens realising that nation building is a collective responsibility. This simply encapsulates what Mr Akintola Williams practically demonstrated in his 104 years of existence,” he said.

He also called on the government and citizens to promote peace, noting that growth and development would remain a mirage in an atmosphere of pervasive insecurity and unrest. He added that the institute in partnership with other stakeholders is championing entrepreneurship so that its members, and the society at large, would not be job seekers but job creators.