Today, we celebrate Engr. Margaret Oguntala, FNSE, a chemical engineer, a CEO, a trailblazer, a mentor, and a grandmother.
There are people who make a difference; there are people who make history. Many people do one. Very few do both.
On April 15, over three decades ago, a woman was born in Nigeria who would spend a lifetime proving that making a difference and making history are inseparable.
Today, we celebrate Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE, a chemical engineer, a CEO, a trailblazer, a mentor, and a grandmother.
A woman described by the legendary legal luminary Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, as “a woman of substantial substance.” Those who know her well say that is, if anything, an understatement.
For 65 years, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, founded in 1958, had one kind of president. Then, on January 1, 2024, that changed. Engr. Oguntala became the 34th President of the NSE — and its first female president in its entire history.
But here is what truly defines the Erelu: she was not a surprise arrival. She earned her place over 29 years of service to engineering across Branches and Divisions. She served as Chairperson of the NSE Ikeja Branch, becoming the Branch’s first female Chair. She then went national, serving as Vice President for three consecutive terms before being elected Deputy President in a keenly contested election. This is aside from many other positions local and national she has served.
Her professional career story began at NYSC with North Brewery Limited in Kano in 1987, as a young chemical engineer learning the ropes before she ever ran it.
Then came Afro International Enterprises, where she sold industrial chemicals and visited clients while pregnant — not because she had to, but because she refused to let biology interrupt her ambition.
In 1992, she founded Bamsat Nigeria Limited, a company that began as a chemical sales outfit and grew under her watch into a full-service environmental consultancy serving clients including NNPC, First Bank of Nigeria, and Guinness Nigeria.
That company is still running today. The Erelu does not just break records; she builds institutions.
Her tenure has been defined by a single word: Rebirth. Her MOPSA Agenda has been integrated into the NSE strategic plan to guide many coming after her.
Under her watch, the NSE recorded a 12% growth in membership and expanded its reach home and abroad thereby bringing the Society closer to engineers where they live and work.
On policy, she has fought hard for what matters. She continued the advocacy to champion the GL 09 entry point, ensuring engineers enter the civil service at a grade that reflects their training.
As a fierce advocate for Executive Order 5, which mandates that Nigerian government projects prioritise local engineering firms, she has pushed for hazard allowances for engineers working in dangerous environments. And she has spoken plainly about the biggest wound in Nigerian engineering: that despite abundant local talent, foreign companies continue to dominate the country’s major infrastructure projects.
“Nigeria cannot be built by proxy. Local problems deserve local genius.”
She prioritised the empowerment of young engineers, making the NSE a place where the next generation, sees themselves as future leaders, not future exceptions.
Young engineers across Nigeria call her the “Mother of Modern Engineering”, not as a compliment, but as a precise description. A combination of the grit of an engineering veteran and the warmth of someone who genuinely wants others to succeed.
She has represented Nigeria at major international engineering platforms, including the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), carrying the voice of Nigerian engineers to the global stage.
She is a wife of nearly 33 years to Engr. Theophilus Ademola Oguntala, FNSE. A mother. A doting grandmother. She holds fellowships in the NSE, the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, the Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers, and the Institute of Management Consultants.
Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, Erelu Worldwide, today you add another year. You have given Nigeria a first it will never forget, and an example worth emulation by upcoming professionals, not just in engineering.
From all of us at www.myengineers.com.ng, and the fans and followers, and from every young engineer who has ever looked at your portrait and stood a little straighter -thank you.
For the door you opened.
For the table you expanded.
For the brightness, you bring into room and encouraging words.
For refusing to let “first” be your final word. And choosing to support and represent the profession wherever and whenever opportunity calls.
Happy Birthday, Erelu. The Rebirth continues.