These days nothing is sacred. For whatever reason, people trigger bile and push and before you know it, it’s all over
I saw the story on so many blogs that I began to get confused
My confusion wasn’t in me beginning to doubt the integrity of the Elumelus but in what his image custodians were doing about this deliberate attack
By the time. I saw the post one more time, I put a call to Charles Aigbe who is my brother
Charles used to run comms for UBA and is now in Heirs Oil or whatever they call the firm
He replied by sending me a clip of the Elumelus dancing at the father-in-law’s funeral and ended the defence saying – oh boy NOTHING LIKE That. But the rumours persisted and by this time, I had started hearing about it in social circles and I was wondering why their handlers hadnt moved in
So I placed a call to Alero Ladipo. Alero is the present image Custodian at UBA – this is not her real designation but as a description of what she does at the group
Edgar, these stories are just so false, it’s sad – she recanted
But the stories continued and finally, the team have acted
We have just seen reports that three people have been arrested and an investigation has commenced
This will put a stop to this but then again, this has thrown up the spectre of Reputational management and image curation
Most of our prominent people operating in all sectors do not feel the need to curate, protect and enhance their reputations
They do not see the nexus of their public perception to the bottom line of their endeavours
An Oil Billionaire friend who had a scrap with a notorious Senator once got his image attacked on social media by the senator’s wife
All sort of names were ascribed to him, including murderer and the rest
He came to me and I said,” Let’s mute this by getting you a two-page interview in a national daily with you discussing the markets and other such National economic issues
This was the best way of countering such malicious attacks
The worst thing you do, is to go headlong into the cesspit of social Media to engage.
At that point it will be a roforofo and the more you engage, the more they come at you and before you realise it, you are toast
So the Billionaire goes to a national newspaper and discusses subsidies and we post the link all over social media and on the same platforms which now mute the deranged attacks and diverts attention away from him and to the issues
Some years later, he needs something internationally and when his name is virtually searched, the accusations come out and immediately, his interview and other such responsible activities also comes out which showed very clearly that his image was under attack
The Elumelus custodians behaved responsibly and professionally
The fighting they did was not to confront the attacks headlong – that you never do cos its like jumping into a train of soldier ants. You don’t panic, you remain calm and detached
They did not engage, they remained calm but made sure credible platforms and influencers knew their position
This made sure that the real big influencers with reach did not touch the news
Classic, cos once you see that kind of story in a peripheral blog, you do two things immediately – you run to the bigger blogs and influencers to see if they are carrying it and if they are not, you calm down but if they do, you run to traditional media
These are the several steps to confirming a story and in this case, it failed at the point of the major blogs talkless of traditional media
So that was the story being systematically suffocated by the Image Custodian of the Elumelus
Meanwhile, while all of these where happening investigations were going on and when the time was right, the culprits were arrested, and now that story was splashed with bigger blogs making commentary as to the arrest
The image custodians did a beautiful job in this case and I send my kudos to them
But tarry was it possible to anticipate something like this and push to prevent especially for high-profile candidates like the Elumelus
I doubt you can totally stop a Madman, who is bent on showing his madness in this area
But there are critical steps not only high-profile people but also with people in sensitive positions and even ordinary people can take to protect their image and reputation, which remain the true currency of exchange in this virtual world
Those steps and more will be discussed at our International Masterclass on Crisis Management and Reputation Management coming up this October in Abuja and in London
The Masterclass has been designed to tackle the issues of Reputational management and Crisis mgt with a view to showing participants internationally accepted ways of managing and enhancing reputations
Chief Emeka Anyaoku whose career has spanned decades of managing crises is the keynote .
Lord Gavin who managed the Brexit Crisis and the reputation of British Prime Minister Theresa May during the turbulent days of Brexit is also flying in to speak
We are mixing this with the homebased speakers who bring practical experience to the pool
Kola Adeshina of The Sahara Group , Dr Owen Omogiafo OON of Transcorp, Dr Victor Oladokun an International brand image custodian who managed ADB’s image for decades amongst others
Your Image and reputation are your currency of trade in today’s chaotic world order, don’t joke with it
Reach me for more information on this Masterclass
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: May 4, 2026
