Allen Onyema

Allen Onyema

Allen Ifechukwu Onyema // CON (born 1964) is a Nigerian lawyer and entrepreneur. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace Limited, which he established in 2013.

Early life

He was born in March 1964 in Benin City to Michael and Helen Onyema as the first of nine children. He hails from Mbosi in Ihiala Local Government Area Anambra State, Nigeria.

Education

Allen studied law at the University of Ibadan and graduated in 1987. He attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to Bar in 1989. He attended several Schools including Government College, Ughelli, Delta state. He left Government College in 1984 having obtained his Higher School Certificate and was directly offered admission to read law at the Nigeria’s Premier University, The University of Ibadan in the same year. It was in the University of Ibadan that his appetite for peace made him to lead a group of nine other students to travel to the ancient city of Zaria to quell a raging religious and ethnic riot that claimed lives. As a result of the publicity, he and his colleagues received on return to their campus, their enthusiasm grew, and this led to the formation of a group known then as Eminent Friends’ Group – a group formed with the objectives of promoting ethnic harmony amongst Nigeria’s diverse ethnic nationalities and fighting the incidence of violence of all forms. Upon graduation from the university in 1987, he established branches of the organization in all the states of the federation. While in the Nigerian law school in 1987, he combined his studies with social activism bothering on engendering peace in Nigeria. In 2013, he founded the Air Peace limited with its headquarters in Nigeria.

Indictment

In 2019, the US Department of Justice issued an indictment against Allen Onyema, on the grounds of money laundering and bank fraud. Onyema was accused of falsifying documents used for the purchase of airplanes for Air Peace and using those to fund purchases of luxury cars and high-end shopping. Onyema denies these allegations.

In October 2022, his alleged co-conspirator pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a fine and 3 years probation. Onyema and the Chief Financial Officer of Air Peace remain charged with 36 counts of criminality.

Humanitarian Activities

• He freely evacuated stranded Nigerians from various crisis-hit regions --
  • In the year 2023, 277 Nigerians who were stranded at the Egyptian border due to the crisis in Sudan were evacuated by him through his Airline.
  • Freely airlifting 503 stranded Nigerians during the xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2019.
  • Participating in repatriation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, freely evacuating over 300 stranded Nigerians from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
  • Freely bringing home stranded Nigerians from India and evacuating Nigerians at the onset of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

• As an ambassador of the One Nigeria project, he deployed resources to key initiatives for promoting peaceful coexistence and productively engaging the Nigerian youth.
• It was at the University of Ibadan that Onyema’s zeal for peace-building compelled him to lead a group of nine other students to Zaria to quell a raging religious and ethnic riot that claimed lives. As a result of the success achieved, their enthusiasm grew, leading to the formation of a body known as the Eminent Friends’ Group, set to promote ethnic harmony in Nigeria.
• He established the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN) as a platform to organise his peace efforts across Nigeria.
• He risked his life by embarking on countless peace missions to the troubled Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. He trained over 30, 000 fierce Niger Delta militants without any clashes.
• He has also been funding the Arewa Transformation and Empowerment Initiative (ATEI), which has been a platform for reorienting youths of northern extraction.
• He solely funded the first Nigeria Forever Project between 2004 and 2005. This programme was executed in the 36 states of the federation, to promote broad-based nationalism as against ethnic nationalism, recording a remarkable success.
• In September 2017, he invited Bernard Lafayette and his nonviolence education team from the US to train the Arewa, IPOB, and Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) agitators for five days in Lagos. After the five-day training, the agitators buried the hatchet. He

later sponsored almost seventy leaders of different groups who participated in the first part of the programme on the second phase of the training at Emory University, Atlanta, USA. He spent over N300 million on this.

• He won for Nigeria the hosting rights of the Global Conference on Nonviolence and Peace, held in Abuja from December 3–5, 2007.
• He had donated an entire police station building in Uli, Anambra State, to enhance the security of life and property.
• In Yobe State, he donated relief items worth millions of naira to internally displaced persons.
• Since 2010, Onyema has assumed full sponsorship of over 43 football teams in eastern Nigeria, as well as building football pitches. He has made enormous donations to the national teams.
• In 2021, he engineered a four-year Air Peace-NFF sponsorship deal for the Nigerian National Teams, with an initial investment of N300 million.
• In 2022, he honoured specific Nigerian sports heroes with free flights for life and has taken on the responsibility of building a Wall of Fame for them.
• In 2022, he announced a priority boarding policy for Nigeria’s military officers—serving and retired—for their huge sacrifices for the nation.
• With more than 3000 direct jobs and over 10,000 indirect jobs created in barely 6 years, Air Peace Airlines has in no small way, contributed to the economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria especially at a time when the Nigerian economy experienced its first recession in decades.

Awards and Recognitions

• Traditional title of Obata Obie Mbosi by his people, Mbosi in Ihiala LGA, Anambra State.
• "Hope for Humanity Award" by Africa News Magazine in 2006.
• "Martin Luther King Jr. Global Award of Excellence" in 2007 for institutionalising nonviolence education and culture in Nigeria and West Africa.
• "Tuskegee City's Honours Badge Award" in the United States by the Mayor of Tuskegee in 2009.
• "Pan Nigeria Nationalist Award" in 2012, by the Eminent Friends Group International (EFGI).
• Appointment to the Executive Board of the Global Nonviolence Conference Series, Inc., USA in April 2007, with notable world leaders Andrew Young and Suarez Ramos as members. With this, he became the second African ever to be appointed to the Global Board.
• In 2016, he was listed by the Nation Newspapers as one of the 10 Most Outstanding Chief Executives.
• He has also been named by the Nigeria Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours as one of the most impactful investors in Nigeria.
• In November 2018, he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State.
• "The Voice of Women LifeTime Achievement Award" in 2019.
• "The Philanthropist of the Year Award" from the 2019 Pink Awards.
• "Tourism Personality of the Year 2019" by Nigerian Tourism/Balerica Award.
• "The Star Award for Patriotism" by Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria in 2019.
• Zik Prize for Entrepreneurial Leadership by the Public Policy, Research and Analysis Centre, Nigeria in May 2019.
• "A landmark session in his honor" at the Green Chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly in 2019.
• "Man Of Peace and Lover of Humanity Award" at the Ikeja City Awards in 2019.
• "L&M Leader of the Month of September 2019".
• "Most Admired CEO Award" in 2020, by The Nigerian Business Leadership Awards (Business Day Newspaper).
• "Exceptional Philanthropist of the Year Award" (Sun Newspaper Awards) in 2020.
• "Alumnus of the Year Award" in 2021 by the University of Ibadan.
• "Businessman of the Year Award" by Independent Newspapers in 2021.
• "Extraordinary Achievement Award (Silverbird Man of the Year Awards") in 2021 by the silverbird group.
• "Man of the Year Award" by Alumni Association of Government College, Ughelli in 2022.
• "National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award" in 2022.
• "Princeton Leadership Award" in 2022.
• "Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (FCIBN)" in 2023.
• Doctor of Management Science Degree from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 2023.

Personal Life

Dr. Allen Onyema got married to his wife, Mrs Alice Ojochida Onyema (nee Egembi) from the Igala tribe of Kogi State in the year 1993, and together they are blessed with 4 children - Nnenna, Chinonso, Obinna and Ugochukwu.