THE ESSENCE OF WEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WEALTH ITSELF (PART 1)

CONVERSATION WITH MY BILLIONAIRE FRIEND
(Session 5)

Everything in nature has a purpose and that purpose is methodically fulfilled. Have you, for instance, observed the total interdependence of everything in nature? The earth grows the plants. The plants feed the animal. The animal feeds the man. The man dies and returns to the earth to fertilise it. Ask yourself, are you fulfilling your life’s purpose in the larger scheme of things? Every day and in every way, nature beckons you to share, to love and to live in simple harmony with it -Agbalagbi

Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit” – John 12:24

And he said, “ So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth for fruit of itself; first the blade, and then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come-Mark 4: 26-29

As indicated in the last article, I was left alone for another 45 minutes under a tree in my Billionaire Friend’s garden while he walked away to round off the meeting with his visiting friend. This week, the theme of our discussion is:

THE ESSENCE OF WEALTH BUILDING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WEALTH ITSELF.

My Billionaire Friend and I had run the week’s edition through our usual process: we agreed on the subject; we had checked all the points if they aligned; on my end, I had passed the article through our usual editing process and I reckoned that everything was good to go. Just as I was trying to reconfirm a few points from my Billionaire Friend, a conversation occurred that altered everything we had agreed to push.

We had both agreed to dedicate the week’s edition to honour a few local and foreign entrepreneurs whom we thought had risked so many things to create entities that are now serving humanity beyond themselves. I was persuaded that my Billionaire Friend deserves to be on that honours roll. And so I Whatsapped this note to him:

“Greetings sir. You may wish to enhance the portion dealing with your philanthropic endeavours bearing in mind that if we reveal too much, it might give you away”.

In less than 10 minutes he fired back: “We agreed to remain anonymous. To discuss my philanthropic endeavours would unmask me. Please spare me”.

This was a pleasant surprise to me even though I had envisaged something like that given what we mutually agreed to observe when we started this conversation series which is in its 5th session apart from the introductory session.

I agreed and thanked him for this gesture especially given the fact that he spends so much time generating his part of the series which by the way is the most important raw material. Even after our WhatsApp chat, he still spent considerable time reviewing his thoughts on the subject. He sent this to me with a tinge of humour though:

“AYO, this took me 8 solid hours. I cannot keep my other appointments for today. Anyway please re-edit. I am now free from “Bondage”.

I sent this to him: ”Deep appreciation. God and men will honour you.

Even though my Billionaire Friend has kept to our initial agreement of remaining anonymous throughout, I have decided on my own to dedicate this edition to him and other rare individuals who, either as entrepreneurs or investors have chosen to yield themselves as God’s ambassadors, helping to share His abundant resources through their endeavours to other individuals around the world.

They are individuals we can stylishly call the 7th Day God’s ministers, individuals who have answered God’s call. After the sixth-day creation process, God rested on the 7th day and turned the management of what he had created to mankind, people who are willing to show up. You may not see God physically or directly, but in virtually all fields of endeavours, you would encounter individuals who have heeded this great call and decided to be God’s ambassadors, creating great enterprises that serve humanity beyond their personal needs. These individuals have endured hardships, shame, reproaches, hardness, complex challenges and difficulties and stayed on duty nonetheless to serve the rest of us.

The title of today’s conversation remains the same, but we shall be sharing the first part, which was entirely my creation while we wait till the next edition to share the original article myself and my Billionaire Friend had agreed to release.

STOP PRESS

My Billionaire Friend and I are eager to know how the thoughts we have shared to date have impacted you. We want to learn how you are using them and we also want to learn first-hand what you would want us to include. So we will appreciate it if you could just stop reading now and send a note to us explaining how the series has blessed you and what you want us to improve on or include. Send your feedback directly to: ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com. We have surprise gifts for the first 20 people that would send us feedback.

I need to explain a concept my Billionaire Friend used a couple of weeks ago when we were starting off the series. He said very casually though: “Ayo, you know what; you and I are both ministers as far as this assignment is concerned”.

Ministers? I did not even respond. As a Christian, I had thought that when you say someone is a minister, you are referring to a pastor, or a General Overseer or even coming closer home to a secular interpretation, someone who is serving in a government. But after some thought, I decided to check out the meaning of the word, ‘minister’. What I found intrigued me but I found this very apt and fitting.
“A minister is like a servant, that is anyone who serves the interest of another. In this sense a minister and servant are interchangeable

So if a minister is someone who serves the interest of another person, we are all God’s ministers in our respective fields of endeavours as long as we use our endeavours to serve God and others.

This first part of the series is dedicated to a few of God’s ministers who have remained on duty as his ambassadors regardless of the difficulties they may have encountered on the way. Because of the constrain of space, we shall consider only 12: seven in this edition and others in the next edition.

As I sat in my Billionaire Friend’s garden that cool afternoon, my imaginative faculties were fully activated. I was just wondering what was the process that produced the tree I was observing. How did they all become trees? Did they just drop? How did they produce fruits that other people now come to pluck?
If some of the entrepreneurs we are honouring in this edition are God’s special ambassadors creating entities that are helping people around the world, how did they become so successful at doing so? Are they a special breed of individuals who were endowed with special DNA to be successful? How come only a few such people decided to stand in the gap for the invisible God, who has always been ever ready to smuggle himself to the world through any willing individual? Then my mind went to what Jesus said in the two quotations above and the one by Andrew Gromyko, who under the trade name, AGBALAGBI has been churning thought-provoking philosophical but life-applicable nuggets on different platforms.

Then I also reasoned how Singapore, a former British trading post, rose to global acclaim as the epitome of development owing to its transformation from a third world to a first world country in less than 40 years. I also thought about how in the cheer for the Asian success, it is easy to miss the fact that eggs were broken in the making of the omelette. There are reports about the restriction of human rights and citizens enduring harsh economic policies. Having among the world’s highest income per capita, many believe the sacrifices of Singaporeans paid off.

How does this relate to your country, your organisation and you?

No matter your school of thought, you would agree that Singapore’s rising follows a principle responsible for the rising of many nations, organisations and individuals. That is the principle of seedtime and harvest. There isn’t a principle more powerful than this. It is a fundamental law that defines the existence of this earth, more like the software that runs life.
It’s an agricultural miracle of multiplication, the sense behind the practice of investing. It works all the time. Many nations have built their economies on this principle, and many individuals have built wealth applying it, but not many truly appreciate its depth.

Read the biographies of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, John D Rockefeller, Oprah Winfrey, and back home, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Jim Ovia, Aigboje Aig Imokhuede and his twin brother, Herbert Wigwe, Tony Elumelu, Atedo Perterside, Fola Adeola or any other person who built wealth over time, you would see this principle in all of them. You would see it plenty in the Bible. You can also take time to ponder on what Jesus said in John 12: 24 again and you would gain more understanding of the significance of this principle. There is an assurance that this principle does not fail. It works for as long as the earth exists.

From this, we can isolate certain success factors that have made a difference, especially in the life of an investor.

THE MYSTERY OF DEDICATION/COMMITMENT

Bishop David Oyedepo, Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church ( aka Winners) Ota, Cananland, Nigeria, has been credited as fittingly defining dedication as a deadly commitment to one’s assignment.

How do you think seeds become trees? Well, if you asked a farmer he would probably have a good answer for you. However, logically we can say TIME plays a major role in this transformation. It’s the same in all strata of life. Time happens to all of us, regardless of age, class, or status, we all obey the tick-tock. What distinguishes us from one another is what we do with the time that we all have.

In one hour, you could chill with Netflix, sipping juice, enjoying “Inventing Anna” or Eniola Salami’s “King Of Boys” or read a couple of chapters of a book for thirty minutes and still chill with Netflix for a while too. It’s never about chilling or reading, it’s about what takes your time the most, what you are dedicated to. Yes, your dreams are valid, however, you invalidate them when you don’t dedicate yourself to impactful work. A strong determination is nothing without dedication and hard work. Do you want to lead a beautiful and successful life? Get to work. Dedicate yourself to the things that matter, the things that bring you a step closer to achieving your dreams.

It’s the same in all fields of life. There is a level of dedication required for anyone who desires to lead an amazing life. Yes, ordinary people can do extraordinary things as long as they can pay the price of dedication.

Geoffrey Wright once said, “Being successful in a particular field, especially sales, does not happen overnight. It requires hard work, dedication and commitment.” The tech space is currently a booming industry, and young Nigerians can see the opportunity it offers them. Unfortunately, only a few can dedicate their time to hours of learning and practice. Yes, good things come to those that wait, but the best things come to those who go out and get them.

DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT ARE DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE SAME COIN, A MANIFESTATION OF THE VIRTUE THAT IS CRITICAL TO ANY ENTREPRENEURIAL ENDEAVOURS.

In this edition, we shall be looking at different manifestations of this twin virtue of dedication and commitment and match them with individuals in our roll of honour who best model each. We shall be looking at how God uses his ambassadors, the entrepreneurs who have decided to stand in the gap for him to manage the resources he created in the first six days.

1. REAL ENTREPRENEURS WHO ARE TRULY GOD’S AMBASSADORS ON EARTH STAY FOCUSED ON THEIR ASSIGNMENTS REGARDLESS OF THEIR PAST AND THEIR CURRENT DIFFICULTIES AND CHALLENGES

OPRAH WINFREY

As reported by One Africa Initiatives, OPRAH is a fitting model for this attribute. Oprah Winfrey’s story evokes awe and serves as an inspiration to many. Born on January 29, 1954, on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi, she spent her early years working on her grandmother’s farm, because her teenage mother lacked the resources to provide for her.

Oprah had a very difficult childhood and was molested by male relatives from age 9 to 13 when she was sent to a juvenile delinquency home for trying to escape her abusers. From the age of 14, she lived with her father, who provided her with the structure to excel. Due to her academic excellence, she was awarded a scholarship to Tennessee State University to study speech communications and performing arts.

When Forbes published its list of America’s billionaires for the year 2003, it disclosed that Oprah Winfrey was the first African American woman to become a billionaire and as of 2021, she is regarded as the richest Black woman in the world.

Off the big screen, Oprah is also an active philanthropist. In 2007, she founded the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, to provide essential leadership tools and skills for exceptional girls from difficult socioeconomic backgrounds. To date, the school has churned out over 500 students, of which 90% have gone ahead to attend ivy league institutions like Oxford, Spelman and Stanford medical school.

Her life remains a testament to the power of hard work and determination, and focus and is celebrated as a brilliant presenter, actress and philanthropist. She has remained on duty despite her tough past and difficult career path.

2. GENUINE GOD’S AMBASSADORS ARE LARGELY INITIALLY MISUNDERSTOOD BUT THEY STAY NONETHELESS ON THE LONELY ROAD TO THE DISTANT VISION IN THEIR HEADS.

JOHN D ROCKEFELLER

John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first to create U.S. Business Trust. Later in life, he devoted his attention to charity. He made possible the founding of the University of Chicago and endowed major philanthropic programs and institutions.
Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He ran it until 1897, at which remained its largest shareholder. Rockefeller’s wealth soared as kerosene and gasoline grew in global importance, and became the richest person in his time, of the USA, controlling some 90% of oil in the United States, at the peak of his fortune.

One of John D. Rockefeller’s most essential heroic values, was, having the Will to Persevere. This meant that every challenge that he faced, was squarely taken on. Even early on in Rockefeller’s business career, while hitting many roadblocks, he kept soldiering on, around every one of them. He was largely misunderstood and at a point, he had a lot of bad press. He became very depressed at a point and was at various points face to face with opportunities to quit. But he stayed. Rockefeller was said to have built his humongous empire on a single inspired scripture: WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE THE STABILITY OF THY TIMES-Isa 33:6

3. GENUINE GOD’S AMBASSADORS SEE THEMSELVES AS GOD’S TREASURERS AND THUS SPEND A LARGE CHUNK OF THEIR WEALTH TO SERVE HUMANITY QUIETLY WITHOUT MUCH SHOW

YEMISI SHYLLON

Prince Yemisi Shyllon is a Nigerian investor, in company stocks, money market, and property investments, devoting a significant chunk of his wealth, to philanthropy.

He is widely acknowledged to own Africa’s largest and most balanced private art collection, with over 7,000 artworks, comprising sculptures, paintings, and other media, valued to be worth several billions of Naira -although he does not want to be drawn into discussing the issue of the value of his art collection
Prince Shyllon, retired some few years back from Nigerite Ltd, as executive director, but still serves in no executive capacities in a few numbers of corporate and statutory boards. He has created what could be described as a revolution within Nigeria’s visual art industry. His art foundation has financed grants for local and international scholars of African art history and provided art residency programs for a large number of artists. He has solely sponsored the establishment of Nigeria’s first privately-funded public museum, in a university in Nigeria, at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lekki, Lagos. He funded the construction of the museum and provided the art content. He has endowed Nigeria’s only professorial chair in Visual Art at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), among other things. Aside, Shyllon is said to have reproduced himself in many of the individuals who have encountered him at work at his board roles.

4. GOD’S TRUE AMBASSADORS FOCUS ON THEIR STRENGTHS AND RECRUIT PARTNERS WHO CAN FILL IN THE GAPS IN THEIR AREAS OF DEFICIENCIES.

AIGBOJE AIG IMOUKHUEDE & HERBERT WIGWE

They both know that neither of the duo could have succeeded in accomplishing the feats they have executed in the banking industry without active partnership deals deployed by the two great personalities. The two have aptly demonstrated the saying of Solomon that two are better than one; when one falls the others lift him. And this is a mystery that has been proved by many: when two individuals unite in spirit to push any endeavours that are larger than themselves, a third, but invisible and invincible personality (God) steps in and stands solidly behind them to ensure that they are not overcome by difficulties.

Many have said that success comes when an individual can connect a series of dots that have been pre-arranged by God.
One such connection came for Aig in the autumn of 1990, while attending an Executive Management Programme at the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA, sponsored by his former employer, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), when someone handed him a book: BUYOUT: The Insider’s Guide to Buying Your Own Company by Rick Rickertsen and Robert E. Gunther. And that appeared to be what he needed to trigger off his entrepreneurial talent and a deep sense of independence that had been building up in him before that encounter. Aig recollects that encounter in one of the notes he is putting together: “Not only was the title of the book appealing to me, the introductory notes from the author also caught my attention. The book started with a question that had been agitating my mind all along: ‘Do you want to work for other people, surviving on a salary and bonuses forever? Or do you want to seize your own destiny? If so, then this is the way to do it”. Aig adds: “It was at that moment that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, what I had to do”.

Moments after that encounter, and back at his desk at the GTB where he had just been promoted as the youngest executive director of a bank, AIG stepped out of the comfort zone, resigned his appointment from the bank and set off on an entrepreneurial mission, which has brought him impact, significance, fame and phenomenal wealth. “One other interesting thing I got from that book was a quote that dwells on taking a risk if you truly want to succeed. “Behold the Turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out”. That was what I knew I had to do. It would be all too easy to stay in the comfortable shell of a big and successful employer, but I would never get to where I truly wanted to be if I did not stick my neck out”.

And this has paid off handsomely for Aig and Herbert Wigwe, his soul mate in his early banking years who, also stepped on the same train with him. In over 17 years Aig, with the solid backing of his twin brother, has been able to stamp his imprints on the country’s financial services industry in a way that he cannot be ignored.

Their greatest success story so far and the one that has brought them much fame is their turnaround exploits at Access Bank. When Aig and his friend launched a hostile acquisition campaign against Access Bank, code-named ‘Operation Festival’, they inherited a bank that was mired in bad debts, poor corporate governance, poor management and bereft of a modern banking world view. They turned things around quickly and by persuading the board that they inherited to back them, and within a short time, they were able to successfully position the bank on an unprecedented growth trajectory, transforming it to a top-5 leadership position in Nigeria, with assets of USD 12 billion and 350 branches, employing over 20,000 staff in nine countries.

Interestingly not many people are aware that there was a time, Aig was flown abroad on a stretcher following exhaustion; many of his close friends never believed he would make it back. But God preserved him and this has proved another fact that God blesses his faithful and dedicated ambassadors with sound health so that they can fulfil their purposes in life. Without his partner on the ground, many doubt that the bank would have survived, thus proving the assertion that two are better than one.

THE UNSEEN HANDS
In a interview I had with Aig IN 2017, he said: there have been too many coincidences that makes him see the hands of God in every face of the journey so far: “The more I reflect, the more I conclude that I am just fulfilling God’s well-laid out plans. He just arranges for me to be at the right place at the right time.”

GIVING BACK
Aig, through Aig Imoukhuede Foundation is filling a peculiar need in the public sector arenas in Africa through the Africa Initiative For Governance. The AIG Scholarships were launched in 2017 to provide a unique opportunity for exceptional West Africans interested in a career in public service to pursue a Master of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Since 2017, twenty-seven (27) scholarships worth over £50,000 each have been awarded to future public sector leaders who have demonstrated a passion for the public sector.

AIG Scholars spend the year at one of the world’s top universities, gaining knowledge and skills from the outstanding academic faculty and expert practitioners and interacting with other future public sector leaders from around the world. After completing their degrees, scholars return to their countries and use their learnings to bolster policymaking, support reforms and contribute to their nation’s development.

5. MOST OF GOD’S MINISTERS SEE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE AS PRIVILEGES AND THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO REPRODUCE THEMSELVES IN OTHERS.

TONY ELUMELU

Tony Elumelu, Chairman of UBA and principal owner of Transcorp has said repeatedly that his greatest assignment through Tony Elumelu Foundation is to democratise luck and the process of being successful. This is not surprising given the path he took to success having been mentored by an older banker when he was starting.

Tony is the founding chairman of Tony Elemelu Foundation founded in 2010 which has empowered 15,847 young African Entrepreneurs, supported 1,200,000 Africans through Tony Elumelu Foundation Connects in 54 African countries
In 2015, the Foundation launched the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, a $100 million commitment by Tony Elumelu to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years. Building on the Programme’s success and its unique ability to identify, mentor and fund entrepreneurs across Africa, the Foundation is increasingly sharing its robust delivery platform and working in partnership with institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme, the African Development Bank, the International Committee of the Red Cross, GIZ, and United Bank for Africa Plc, to create meaningful and permanent impact across Africa.

Thus far, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has trained, mentored, and funded over 15,847 young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries through its Entrepreneurship Programmes, and provides capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over 1million Africans through its digital networking platform, TEFConnect.

There is however an aspect of Tony’s success path to the top that has not been captured properly in most of the publicly available information about him.

Tony was part of an investment company jointly owned by him and his two other friends, Albert Okumagba (late) and Ike Nwabuoku where Chief Kalu Ndika Kalu was the chairman. Interesting enough, Tony was the least visible of the trio, but very strategic in his visionary pursuit. In a 1996 interview with the Time Country Report on Nigeria, anchored by the Publisher of THISDAY, Nduka Obaigbena, and coordinated by me and my late colleague at THISDAY, Orezina Agbodo, Elumelu was among the banking Wizkids we interviewed then. Tony was an executive director at Merchant Banking Corporation where Ike Nwaboku was the MD when we conducted the interview. The late Albert Okumagba was still at the helm at BGL. Tony was using a very tiny office in one corner of the building housing MBCON. When we asked what he was aiming at becoming in the Nigerian banking sector, he said without mincing words, that he would one day become a statesman in the banking industry in Nigeria and Africa. This was published in that edition of Time and reproduced in a THISDAY edition in 1996. In no time, Tony strategically positioned himself into a banking turnaround expert, by picking Standard Trust in the process from where he launched the acquisition project into UBA. He is a business owner, accommodating Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Through his TEF, Tony has created a very vast nest on which about 15, 000 entrepreneurs in 54 African countries are now perching. It is a testimonial that when you sow yourself as an entrepreneurial seed, your produce harvest stretches into generations after you. That is the unfolding story of Anthony Elumelu

6. GOD IS READY TO POUR HIS ANOINTING IN FULL MEASURE INTO ANY OF HIS MINISTERS WHO ARE READY TO SANCTIFY THEMSELVES AND SOW THEMSELVES AS A SEED TO ENABLE THEM TO SERVE OTHERS TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES

PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Pastor Enoch Adeboye is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of Christ. His story of how he got to that position is well documented and we shall not repeat them here.

Adeboye is like Moses of the Bible in terms of humility. An international magazine once did a profile on leading global personalities in a particular year. The coordinators of that project had reportedly written to Adeboye to prepare for an elaborate ceremony outside the country where he would be honoured. While others winners jetted out with large entourage to collect the awards, Adeboye reportedly turned it down insisting that he would be more interested in how God views him in his secret book.

Frequently most of God’s great ministers are sometimes pigeonholed into their past casts which are usually not very glamorous. Pastor Adeboye has had his share. Adeboye shared on the pulpit one time how a woman who had a difficult and seemingly uncrackable problem was asked to see a powerful pastor in Ilorin who would be able to help him dissolve her problem. She hit Ilorin in no time and found her way to the office of the SUPER PASTOR. Guess who was the pastor? Pastor Adeboye happened to be the lady’s former boyfriend in the world and they had done a lot of things together according to Adeboye’s testimony. So the lady was surprised to see Adeboye but anyway asked to see the super pastor. When Adeboye hinted that he was the pastor she was looking for, the lady quipped: You? And you would pray to God on behalf of someone and God would answer”. She was picturing the amorous things they had done together in the world. But what the lady did not understand was that God had done an incredible sanctification job in Adeboye and has since turned him into a vessel of honour. In any case, the lady submitted to his instructions and she was reportedly healed.

Adeboye is solid spiritual entreprenuer who has paid the supreme price to be able to take the church to its current level of success. It is widely known that for the past several years running, Adeboye has observed an unbroken daily schedule of fasting and prayers around the sprawling camp of Redemption camp from the hours of 11 pm till very early the following morning. Two friends who had been covenant partners to each other and who were aware of this schedule shared their experience with a few close friends of how they were determined to track down Adeboye to the camp and secretly follow him during his prayer walk. They wanted to know the kind of prayers Adeboye would have on his list. They had possibly expected to hear him calling God of Elijah to bring down their enemies by fire. But they were surprised to find that Adeboye had only one prayer point throughout the time they were tracking him. And you know the prayer point: LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME”. The two pastors tore their prepared prayer points and switched to the same prayer points. Indeed one of them went back to his church to declare one month of mercy prayer following their encounters with Adeboye.

Many people pray that God should bless them the same way he has blessed Adeboye. Adeboye has heard this and has always counselled that the appropriate prayers should be O LORD PASS ME THROUGH WHAT ADEBOYE PASSED THROUGH TO BECOME THIS SUCCESSFUL.

Not many people were aware of the fact that Adeboye was once a tenant in the Mushin area of Lagos and due to the level of deprivation he had suffered he had prayed repeatedly to God to get him a two-bedroom apartment in a nice area outside Mushin. When God answered that he would not get him a flat but an estate that would accommodate millions of people, Adeboye was said to have laughed as Abraham and Sarah did when God told them they would give birth to a son after having reached ages that could not be amenable to reproduction. But God appears to have given Adeboye the grace to push up his faith to be able to create a spiritual network that is reckoned with all over the world.

We believe this God’s General, who celebrated his 80th birthday a few days ago, deserves a commendation for staying on duty and reproducing himself in many others around the world.

7. MOST ENTREPRENEURS ARE MISUNDERSTOOD AND INACCURATELY READ BY PEOPLE INCLUDING THOSE WHO WORK FOR THEM.

PRINCE NDUKA OBAIGBENA

Here is a big poser: who among his associates, friends, partners, old schoolboys, staff, whatever description can say he or she truly understands who Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of THISDAY AND ARISE MEDIA GROUP IS? The plain answer: None!

Indeed, trying to describe this prince of the Owa Kingdom in Delta State is like calling out blindfolded men to feel an elephant, and on that basis, asking them to step out to describe who an elephant is. You can only describe the part you touch. So is it with Prince Obaigbena.

Having worked closely with him for 10 broken years, I am in a position to say a few things I know.

Unknown to many, Obaigbena runs a unique mentoring academy that has produced many great names in the country including those who had served in the highest positions in government. But his mentoring school is not the formal type
You cannot work with Mr Obaigbena and not be bold. I have detailed my encounters with him here: Please click and have some fun:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/07/14/nduka-at-60-there-is-a-method-to-the-madness/

What I have discovered in those years is that Mr Obaigbena runs a unique hands-on training programme which I can describe as ‘mentoring by fire and observations.’

Let me volunteer some of the offerings of this unique training system. One, the training programme has neither manual nor curriculum: you generate one by yourself! Two, there is no barrier to entry, neither is there one for exit: you show up when you choose and you fade out of the system either when you are tired, or you have accomplished your desire. The good news, however, is that no matter how you leave the training programme, you are welcome any time again by the undesignated Lead Coach. Three, there is no graduation timetable: you choose one for yourself!

Eniola Bello, Managing Director, THISDAY, and one of the foundation staff of THISDAY, says ‘Nduka is a crazy fellow positively’.

In my second coming to THISDAY, I once asked Kayode Komolafe (we call him KK), THISDAY OMBUDSMAN, to share with me the rules for dealing with the Chairman whom I had erroneously thought I understood. KK’s reply was simple: there is no primer, you generate one by yourself and you watch the man regularly for instructions and woe betides you if you misread him. Not only will he blow the whistle once you cross the red lines ( visible only to him!!!); he can also wield the big stick which ranges from surcharges that could be more than your yearly salary to a suspension without a clue on when to resume!

Most of us at the top level at THISDAY have come to accept that working with our chairman is like participating in a movie production where the chairman is the executive producer; he creates the concepts and assembles individuals that fit different roles he has in mind; he is the movie director and he can change the rules even when the movie is on. The most intriguing of all: no one knows the possible outcome of the movie.

My twin brother, Chuks Onwudinjo, THISDAY Director of Print and Production, and I have jokingly decided that we would show up for any role and casts assigned to us in this great movie act.

I once asked him that as his chief of staff without any job description how would I know when I step out of bound and when I am doing what pleases him. His reply: “When you step out of line, I would blow the whistle and if you don’t hear any whistle it could mean you are on the right path”. One trademark whistle that most senior management staff at THISDAY are aware of is that when the chairman communicates with you with several asterisk marks and question marks (usually about 7) it could mean you are heading for trouble and you need to figure out what the problem is.

Many have openly acknowledged the great exploits of the two organisations being run by Obaigbena as creative and successful but many are not aware there was a time all the top management staff of THISDAY nearly perished in a plane mishap. More than twice THISDAY’S offices in Abuja had either been attacked or razed by fire but that never deterred Nduka Obaigbena. He has continued to soldier on. Obaigbena also models dedication most outstandingly. I was part of Arise Fashion Week for one year and it was the year the chairman was seriously sick. Many people who witnessed the outstanding show did not know that the chairman came to the event with a drip in his agbada as he discharged himself from the hospital to be able to make the event happen.

After the event that took place at Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos, myself and a few other coordinators had gone to see him in his expansive room which also served as executive secretariat. By the time we got there, we discovered the chairman had crashed on his bed and I casually told one of the people with me that we needed to allow him rest as he must have been exhausted. But suddenly the man woke up from his” sleep’ and snapped: WHO TOLD YOU I AM EXHAUSTED, WHO TOLD YOU I AM SLEEPING. I apologised and we did the briefing and left him alone in the room
I think the most fitting description of Nduka Obaigbena I have ever read is the one by my friend, Tim Akano, Managing Director of New Horizon System Solution and President of the One Africa Initiative.
According to Tim: “Nduka Obaigbena has the resilience of the Japanese, the creativity of the Americans, the wisdom of the British and the strength of the Chinese’. One man, a thousand impressions.”

An author once said that any man who is indifferent to sudden triumphs and unexpected tragedies, he who is not moved by those two impostors, to him belongs the earth and its fullness. That is the class to which Mr Nduka Obaigbena belongs.

During an interview I had with him in his house, preparatory to a documentary I was coordinating as a surprise package to mark the 25th anniversary of THISDAY, I deliberately asked him to explain why he seemed to enjoy creating chaos and confusion where there should be none: His answer: “My friend, there is a method to what you people call madness.” By any standard, he is among the great entrepreneurs in the country that should be celebrated.

JOIN US TO CELEBRATE GOD’S AMBASSADORS

We ask that you join us to celebrate the few ones we featured in this edition and the others coming up next week. They represent a lot of others who for reasons of space we may not be able to feature in this series.

I can’t wait to catch up with you next week.

Yours moneywisely,

Ayo Arowolo

Remember: My Billionaire Friend and I are expecting your feedback. Please hit your keyboard right away and send your feedback to :
ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com