We emphasised, however, “that the issue of integrity is critical…because…if there is a grave national drought in Nigeria; it is in the integrity department. And I am sure you and I know it. I know also that Dr Omolayole knows it; otherwise, he would not have raised it...So, whilst we debate the glass ceilings and the consumer statistics, I wish to state that we need to take a closer look at the subject of integrity in the work place, at ALL levels. This is because, I believe in the injunction of the Bible that says, ‘…if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged’ (1 Corinthians 11:31).”
The paradox of a burgeoning telecommunication sector in Nigeria with no Nigerian in the cockpit of the top corporate players was recently highlighted by IT& Telecoms Digest. We have said that the situation brought to the fore by the recent replacement of ‘the last Nigerian standing’, Zain’s Bayo Ligali, with a foreigner, is a powerful reminder of the situation among the multinationals, about which Dr Michael Omolayole raised issues early last year.
In drawing attention to the development, Omolayole, a one-time CEO of Lever Brothers Plc, a multinational now known as Unilever, had raised a number of questions similar to those being raised or implied by the IT journal as it affects the telecoms sector. We had encapsulated the questions into two main ones, namely: “Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians and if so, should we be worried?”
Given that even companies in the sector owned by Nigerians have not proven nationalistic in their choice of helmsmen, however, we thought to beginning by asking why? The ‘why’ question became even more important with the magazine’s expose of the fact that many of the companies that have closed shop, unable to benefit from the boom in the sector were Nigerian-run. This was why we found ourselves asking these questions: Could it therefore be that a fear of losing their investments or of failing to maximise their returns is the reason Nigerians are not being considered as CEOs? Is such fear founded on empirical evidence? If it is, is it the result of paucity of technical expertise, or competence, or experience or integrity, or a combination of some or all of these? Or are there other factors?
It is incontrovertible that no rational group of investors will put someone at the head of their management team without consideration of his/her ability to ensure healthy returns on their investment. It is therefore certain that in choosing CEO, protection of investment and maximization of profit, rather than any primordial consideration have pride of place. So, it stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if a preponderance of Nigerians who have executive-managed telecoms outfits have ran them aground, business barons would avoid them, plague-like?
Now, if it is implied that more Nigerian helmsmen have failed in this booming sector; what factors are responsible? I make bold to say that it cannot be technical expertise because, as the telecoms digest explained, most of the foreigners in charge do not have engineering knowledge being mainly of either management and accounting pedigree. Also, competence, as in capability and effectiveness can hardly be a problem. Competent Nigerians abound in virtually every aspect of life. Many have and continue to make their marks internationally. Ligali, for instance, was head-hunted by Celtel, which became Zain Nigeria, from Unilever where he had headed its operations in a number of countries. There may well seem to be a bit of challenge with industry experience, which cannot be of great moment, since corporate management expertise is supposed to be industry-blind. That leaves our ‘why’ checklist with only one item, integrity. And that is one issue about which, I truly wish I could be as dismissive as I have been with other factors.
In our commentary on Dr Omolayole’s 2008 newspaper article lamenting the displacement of Nigerians from multinational companies executive suites, we noted that the most critical of the posers he raised was the one he couched in these words: “Are all Nigerian top managers non-performing or adjudged by expatriates to be bitten by the bug of lack of integrity?” (Emphasis added).
We aligned then with Omolayole’s other concerns articulated in these questions: “What future projections can we make? Has it occurred to multinational owners of large manufacturing outfits, that 99 per cent of the consumers of their products are Nigerians? Is economic nationalism dead, killed by globalisation? Is there now an artificial glass ceiling in the Corporate Boardroom for nationals? That is, a level beyond, which nationals cannot rise. What answers could we possibly give to such questions from our children and grandchildren with regards to this phenomenon?” We also found no fault with his conclusion that: ‘The future of our great country still lies in its ability to harness the potential of its abundant human resources (Human Capital) at the very top levels, be it in Management or Public Service”.
We emphasised, however, “that the issue of integrity is critical…because…if there is a grave national drought in Nigeria; it is in the integrity department. And I am sure you and I know it. I know also that Dr Omolayole knows it; otherwise, he would not have raised it...So, whilst we debate the glass ceilings and the consumer statistics, I wish to state that we need to take a closer look at the subject of integrity in the work place, at ALL levels. This is because, I believe in the injunction of the Bible that says, ‘…if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged’ (1 Corinthians 11:31).”
We align, in the same way, with IT & Telecoms Digest’s concerns about the implications of shutting Nigerians out the cockpit of one of the most successful sectors of the economy and do wish that it be roundly addressed. But we also emphasise today, as we did then, that there is a need to check the “integrity quotient” of the Nigerian executive class - across the board. The corporate governance issues thrown up by the current controversial banking sector “reform”, as yet unproven as they are, do make it imperative that we take a look at this critical area of our national life. And this is not a job for governments; at least not exclusively. A vast majority of our political class is yet to demonstrate immunity to the “bug of lack of integrity.” This is therefore a job for the Church – where the bug, thanks to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, cannot acquire viral proportions. Then would Nigerians be the heroes of their own glorious story.
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