It was a gathering of who is who in Nigeria at Eko Hotel convention centre to honour Jim Ovia as he launched his book Africa rise and Shine. At the gathering were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, governors of Delta, Lagos, Borno, and Taraba states. Others were Senator Bola Tinubu, Adams Oshiomole, Segun Oshoba, Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Chief Akintola Williams who is over 99 years old who received standing ovation from all and sundry in the hall and Big Imhoukhuede among others. The hall was jam packed.
When invited to speak Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, sent the audience laughing while acknowledging Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), during the launch of ‘Africa Rise and Shine’. As he mounted the podium, Ambode acknowledged the dignitaries, saying he was not prepared to give a speech. “Actually, I didn’t prepare to come and say anything here… And who am I to speak after the Jagaban has spoken?’ Ambode asked. His sentence got the audience and himself laughing, before he went on to speak on Ovia.
He said “But obviously, the truth is, there is no person that has actually gone through the profession of accountancy that would not have had anything to do with Uncle Jim, and that is the truth.” Ambode and Tinubu have reportedly fallen apart, with the APC leader said to be working against the reelection of the governor.
Speaking on the book the author Jim Ovia said you must use your God-given sense and go with your gut. We all have the feeling at certain points in our lives. We will want to do certain things, you are not too sure because you don’t have any data to prove its going to be right. But your instinct tells you do it, just do it. If you research what is going on in the global world and replicate it in your local world. Internet is changing the world. The internet enables you to do online transactions, online sales, online education and everything. Amazon is now over $1 trillion. This Amazon doesn’t have a factory anywhere. They don’t have any oil well at all but has over $1 trillion in market capitalisation and richer than Nigeria and twice the GDP of Nigeria. It is because they embraced technology and the internet.
“Look at what Google has done. Google was just set up as a search engine, but now Google is one of the richest companies in the entire world. Of course, the market capitalisation of Google is larger than Nigeria’s GDP, and I mean larger than all the oil wells we have, all the resources we have and all the agriculture we have. Just one company! So, economies driven by technology will always blossom. So, for us to blossom the Nigerian economy, lets start to digitise the economy. If we digitise the economy, it will continue to grow. If we use technology to drive our manufacturing process, our agriculture and healthcare, we will know what that will do for us. The narrative of Africa has been something so pathetic. When you Google about Africa then, the first things that come out is that it is a continent of complex, a continent of corruption and of coups. And that was played out very dramatically when The Economist magazine had on their front page that Africa then was a continent of coup and a continent of corruption. But after two decades, that narrative started changing. Today, we now know that Africa is truly rising. Between then and now, what you have is GDP per capita of many African countries well above $1,000, whereas about 20 years ago, it was below $500. So, for me, Africa is rising. Twenty years ago, only few African countries have mobile phones, but today, all the African countries not only have mobile phones, they also have broadband technology and internet penetration is high. Africa is rising by embracing technology. Today, no single Africa country that
Speaking on the book and the author CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said “as many of you who know my background would expect, I am very delighted to be in your midst today. Indeed, it would have taken a lot to keep me away from such a gathering, not because of the array of admittedly distinguished guests here present, the wonderful ambience of this venue, or the edifying choice of refreshment. No, the depths of my delights emanate uniquely and directly from the person we are all here to celebrate, Mr. Jim Ovia true giant of our time, obviously not in size. But in all else.
“It is indeed a great honour and privilege to be given the opportunity to say a few words on the autobiography of this great man, someone who played a very instrumental and irreplaceable role in my life, having served under his leadership and tutelage at Zenith Bank for over 24 years. For those of us he mentored and coached at Zenith bank, Mr. Jim Ovia possessed many qualities which we all sought to emulate. Expectedly, it is noteworthy that, in Mr. Ovia’s usual magnanimity and generosity, he has shared some of these qualities in the book, and I am sure you can all understand why he must keep some of these secrets to himself alone.
“In the book, Africa Rise and Shine, Mr. Jim Ovia shares very important words of wisdom, drawn from his more than 38-year experience as an undeniable trail blazer in Nigeria’s banking sector, as well as his experience in the telecommunications and insurance sectors. The book conveys an inspirational message on universal principles that are applicable in every country, which can serve as a guide to millions of young Nigerians on how to succeed, especially not only because of the opportunities around you, but also despite the challenges in your environment.
“These principles are devotion to knowledge, commitment to excellence, and courage to dare where many feared. As you will find in the book, these factors were instrumental in enabling him to build a $16 billion conglomerate from barely N20 million at start-up of this empire. For those of us who know him and have worked under him, Mr. Jim Ovia is a stickler for knowledge and is deeply committed to excellence. These are important principles that should guide local and foreign investors in their approach to the Nigerian and African Market. Key success factors for investors would be a clear understanding of the potentials of the market, leveraging technology and innovation in providing superior products and services to a market of about 200 million people, in the case of Nigeria. If these principles are followed like Mr. Jim Ovia has done in Nigeria as well as in other parts of the World, you can expect to receive huge rewards for your efforts.
“In my role as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, these qualities have served as a guiding principle for me and was very useful during the economic downturn that Nigeria faced between 2016 – 2017. Under the glaringly distinguished but often unacknowledged leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, these qualities propelled me and the rest of the economic team to remain focused, to work assiduously, and to reach out to relevant stakeholders in developing solutions that eventually led to Nigeria’s recovery from the recession by the 3rd Quarter of 2017. Analogous to the forthright leadership and grit that the author, Mr. Jim Ovia, showed at various times, but particularly during difficult, challenging and trying times in the history of Zenith Bank, President Buhari has continued to demonstrate unparalleled integrity, uncommon wisdom, and undeniable courage in steering our ship of State from what seemed like an entry into doom days to Nigeria’s glorious outcome today: a Nigeria that is growing again; with inflation dropping from nearly 20 percent to just above 11 percent; with foreign reserves doubling from just about US$23 billion to nearly US$48 billion in 18 months.
“I have obviously been fortunate to learn from these two great men and want to categorically and unequivocally advise everyone to follow their exemplary lives and footsteps. This advice is particularly important for policymakers and supervisory regulators like myself because we must work extra hard to remain above board, knowing that the integrity of regulators is at core of their responsibility, analysis, pronouncements, and achievements. That is why this book is such a timely one for us here in Nigeria and for the world at large. At the core of the book is the fact that success in life is not mostly dependent on the many extraneous factors we pay attention like parental heritage, ethnicity, religion, physique, or the likes. Rather, what we become in life and what we make of life is critically dependent on dedication, honesty and diligence in the pursuit of excellence.
“As Mr. Ovia’s life story shows and his writing eloquently foretells in this book, notwithstanding the loss of his father at an early age and the challenges his family had to undergo, he remained committed to doing well in school. He was well aware of the huge sacrifice his older brother was making to keep him in school, and was focused on making sure that those sacrifices were not in vain. Mr. Ovia recognized at an early age that doing well in school was his sole responsibility and that a good quality education was the absolute leveler for all peoples and the great enabler for a better future. His quest for knowledge and in developing breakthrough solutions is also found in his appreciation of the value technology could provide in improving efficiency and providing scale to his various businesses. It is therefore not surprising that Zenith was the very first bank in Nigeria to utilize the VSAT system, which helped in improving service delivery to customers and eventually propelled Zenith Bank to the category of systemically important banks in Nigeria.
“This achievement also reveals one of Mr. Ovia’s most enduring characteristics to conquer your fears and pursue your dreams. I must confess that when I joined him as a pioneer staff of Zenith Bank on July 16,1990, I was not quite sure how we could compete in the midst of 130 other banks, let alone survive, in a field, which had dominant and durable players that had been providing banking services in Nigeria before some of us were born. But our visionary leader, Mr. Jim Ovia, was not deterred; he knew that regardless of how good people thought these banks were performing, we could create our niche and provide superior products and services. He believed that if we leveraged on technology in providing quick and efficient service to customers, that these steps would shape how successful the bank would become, rather than whether we operated in the midst of giants. His ambitions were well beyond his limited resources at the time he started Zenith Bank, but he remained consistent in his commitment to excellence, and I can say with all authority, that it eventually payed off. Another important quality which I believe readers and aspiring entrepreneurs can gain from this book and Mr. Ovia’s story is the fact that it is not wrong to set your sights high. From the first Day of tutelage under him, it became apparent to me that he was not thinking of just being a great and big Nigerian bank but a great and big global bank! And that regardless of the daunting challenges of the Nigerian business environment at the time, he consistently strove to benchmark his operations with successful businesses in other parts of the world.
“In fact, it was not enough for him to be the best amongst his peers in Nigeria, he strove to be counted amongst the best in Africa and indeed the world. We benefited from these insights, courage, focus, and foresight as he set very high standards for us, sometimes difficult to achieve, but he always put it at the back of our minds that we have every tool we needed , not only to achieve but also surpass these targets. I believe that , in order for us to truly harness the vast opportunities available for entrepreneurs in Africa, the role of the public sector cannot be ignored, Governments can foster an enabling environment under which entrepreneurs can grow and expand their operations . We are all aware of how, research , supported by the United States Government, enabled the development of the internet, the Global Positioning System(GPS) and the search engine. Without the support of government, we may never have seen the emergence of entrepreneurs who created global brands such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Amazon.
“It is in this context that I commend His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for some of the steps the government has taken to support the growth of entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through his worthy efforts, the government developed the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which is aimed at catalyzing growth in critical sectors of the economy. The ERGP is anchored on the premise that the private sector is the engine of growthand development. With a focus on the SMEs, Agriculture , Power and Infrastructure, the government has implemented series of steps that is helping to support the growth of entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Another key constraint the government is addressing is improving access to finance for the SMEs. In November 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the CBN Anchor borrowers program, which is aimed at providing single digit loans to small holder farmers without collateral. The implementation of this program has supported improved growth in the Agricultural sector and has helped in building new agro-entrepreneurs in Nigeria. A related takeaway from setting his sights high is that perhaps, Mr. Ovia’s greatest contribution to the banking sector and to Nigeria in general, will be his efforts at improving the perception of the capabilities of Nigerian Banks. Today, the intermediation tools that financial institutions are utilizing in developed markets can be obtained in Nigeria, because people like him sought to benchmark themselves with financial institutions in other parts of the globe.
“Mr. Ovia also understood that in order for businesses to grow, creating and building the capacity of the workforce was critical. He set his sights on recruiting the best that he could find, and in making sure that they were creative in their thinking, as he believed innovation is an important quality that was needed in order to accomplish great things. He also set very high standards and expectations for all his staff. In fact, any time Mr. Ovia was interviewing somebody for a job, or gave someone an assignment, he would ask: I hope you can do these? In a bid to impress him, some persons would immediately answer: Yes Sir! In fact, I will surpass your expectations! But Mr. Ovia would immediately, gently and firmly retort: You don’t need to surpass my expectations. Just meet them! This is because Mr. Ovia’s expectations were already way too high for many people to meet!
“Another important takeaway which the book reveals is his strong belief giving back to your community in particular and to the larger society. For example, on account of Mr. Ovia’s generosity, the street that houses Zenith Bank’s headquarters can easily be labelled “The Most Beautiful Street in Nigeria” during the Yuletide Season! In addition to very many other things he has done for his community, I believe that his crowning achievement could be the establishment of James Hope College, Agbor which without a doubt in my mind, is one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria today. With his philosophy of affordable excellence, Mr. Ovia singlehandedly built and equipped this all-boarding school with the goal of not only ensuring that the highest quality of education is available and affordable for those who can pay but that those who cannot pay will also not be deprived of the same quality of education. It is a remarkable education model that is already yielding bountiful results as students from this College have consistently scored 100 percent in Science, Mathematics and English for the Cambridge Checkpoint Examinations.
“Indeed, On the basis of his legendary philanthropy to his community in particular and others in general, Mr. Ovia has set a very high bar for many of us to follow! As leaders in the public and private sector, this is one quality we should strive to emulate. If we all contribute in our little way to support our respective communities, either through supporting improvements in education, healthcare or in capacity building, we will be sowing seeds of greatness that could help in taking Nigeria to enviable heights. In conclusion, let me note that this book is much more than just an autobiography. Africa Rise and Shine is a must-read for everyone. It has something in store from young students to policymakers; and from budding entrepreneurs to sophisticated investors. I trust everyone will find Africa Rise and Shine to be a useful guide in whatever they are pursuing in life, as Mr. Ovia’s life story and his book’s central message is compelling and pertinent for a vast majority of people”.
