As a young man, I had set up the Bowtie club.
It was supposed to be a club of gentlemen with corporate aspirations laced with powerful themes of principled transparency and ethical considerations
We had great men in the club, including Bayo Mustapha, the insurance big boy, Ernest Edgar, who grew to be Director at Port Harcourt disco and serial entrepreneur Owolabi Jaiyesinmi and others
Bayo and I were the engine room of the club, and we stood out with our beautiful bow ties
Our sessions were great, and we once hosted Prof. Osibajo, who was leaving his appointment with Lagos State, and he was considered a rising political star.
In trying to get the theoretical framework of the club right, we scheduled a meeting with Christopher Kolade, who was then lecturing at the Lagos Business School
Dr Kolade is a corporate titan, the type they no longer produce
He was up there with Dr Gamaliel Onosode, Michael Omayole and Chris Ogunbanjo
These were the first set of Nigerians who took over the realms of Corporate Nigeria as a result of the Indigenisation decree of the Obasanjo regime
They ran these huge international conglomerates with such ethical dexterity to the admiration of Nigerians, making the Obasanjo regime proud for taking such a bold step in the fight against Apartheid
Dr Kolade was the MD/CEO of Cadbury and also found himself on the Boards of many such huge firms, where he affirmed his reputation as a superstar management guru
So here we were, Bayo and I in our Bowties in front of the giant and listening to his words of wisdom
He spoke very eloquently that afternoon. He recognised that these were two starry-eyed young men whom he had to imbue with long-lasting wisdom
We lapped it all up as he spoke about principled leadership, integrity in decision-making, and morality in business
I can never forget, as he spoke, because his voice had a whistling quality to it. And after all, he thanked us for coming that far and admonished us to look beyond our bowties, because the battle would be hard.
A few years later, I was in front of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as we discussed his play Aremu
He mentioned, Have you spoken to Dr Kolade and I said no
He said u should be the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Presidential Library.
I said oya, and he secured an appointment
That day, I entered his massive compound, nestled within the beautiful suburb of Ogudu GRA.
He took some time in coming down, and by the time he did, he was ancient and fragile
He still had his full hair, but it was silvery at this time.
His skin shone well as he was guided towards a seat
I was offered tea and I graciously took it, reminding myself to be of good behaviour
Of course, he would not remember me from our first meeting – that was over 10 years ago, and so I didn’t bother to go down that route.
I just said, ‘Good morning, sir, I’m.’ Edgar from Chief Obasanjo, and he said, yes, they told me u were coming
One of the beautiful things about my life is access to these giants and the patience to sit down and listen
Godddddd Chief Kolade was more than wise. His elocution was exceptional, and his rationality was remarkable.
We spoke for over an hour about the man Obasanjo, his life and the Presidential Library
When his minder arrived, he stood up and shook my hand.
Looked into my eyes and asked, Haven’t we met before, and I said Not likely, cos that was Joseph Edgar, but now I’m the Duke of Shomolu
He laughed at the joke and said, “A Duke in Shomolu?” It’s quite interesting
As I took my leave, I reminded myself that people like Dr Christopher Kolade are no longer manufactured in heaven for Nigeria; they take them to saner climes where they flourish.
His passing is painful on both levels – it further reduces their number and secondly reduces our tiny hope of hopefully getting the torch passed down.
Even that as it may, we cannot deprive him of his well-earned eternal rest, cos we are not yet ready for his type of leadership, that’s on us, not on the man.
Another Iroko has fallen
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu