International Management and Sustainable Profitability: First Bank of Nigeria Perspective

At the early stages the area now known as Nigeria was an agricultural economy which aroused the interest of early British it's in Nigeria's palm produce, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber and others that were shipped to Liverpool and returned to the country as finished goods. The British governments philosophy of dual mandate encouraged the Royal Niger Company with power to administer, make treaties, charge customs dues and carry on trade in all territories in the basin of the Niger River and it's affluent. Ahead of the withdrawal of the Charter by the British government in 1900, British business people like Jones sought for an alternative platform to promote trade between British and the area now known as Nigeria by the establishment of BBWA on March 31, 1894, with its head office in Liverpool. The bank now known as FBN has passed through the rigours of effective international management in the past 125 years and remains one of the most profitable banking enterprises on the African Continent. In the process of international management the bank produced great managers including Mr. John Major who worked at Jos Main Branch in Nigeria and later became the Prime Minister of Great Britain. 115 people participated in the study conducted through the exploratory research design. Data gathered were analyzed through the descriptive and regression statistical methods and the result showed positive correlation between international management and sustainable profitability. However, further research could be conducted to supplement the present effort including an examination of the relationship between shareholders, worth and profit before taxation in public companies in Nigeria. On the basis of the result of the study it was a recommendation that companies seeking to play in the international environment must ensure that they have competent managers to drive organizational goals.