How to Globalise South-West Local Economy
and he came back and mobilised the best of names in the industry from Geraldo Pino to CharlyBoy to Gbenga Adelaja, etc., to put together the first Lekki Sun splash. My partner and I, Olumide Esho, were the face of the concert – the real technical aspect of it was done by Polygram records. That was the first miracle and when I saw the crowd that turned up on the day of the concert, I was amazed. It was overwhelming. We wondered: where did they come from? Half a million people on the first day! Then, it was clear to me that this was the Lord’s doing and it was significant, I couldn’t go back to read Law. I couldn’t stop this. It was meant to be a one-off but became an annual event. It was the success and massive attendance that kept it going. Lagos State was also very supportive.
How did you get the huge crowd?
I would say it was an act of deferred gratification. It was free entry. I knew that if I charged even N5 at that time, that mammoth crowd would not have been significant but by making it free, the whole of Lagos came out and it became established as the main concert in Lagos. At that time, the music industry saw me as Bob Geldof and a lot of hopes and aspirations hung on me. I won the promoter of the year award from PMAN for seven consecutive years.
Why was such a big tourism project abandoned?
I didn’t abandon the dream. Five years into it, I told the Lagos State government in power then to adopt Lekki Sun splash as an annual tourism event, just like the Notting Hill carnival in London; more or less a partnership. I didn’t plan for this, my aspiration in life is more and this is bigger than me. So after the next two years, I moved on. Having not gone for Law, I was already admitted to Unilag for my MBA and I had other things I was doing on the side. I am the group CEO of Celtron Group of companies. Another issue was competition. Virtually everybody that worked with me were now doing the same thing but in other areas of Lagos. Mine was still formidable but it was clear that without the government entrenching it as an annual event, investing all the securities we needed, fencing the beach, providing all the parameters we needed, globalising it, it would not be successful.
I didn’t have the resources and was making a loss. Don’t forget, sponsorship continued but cost of operation kept increasing. I wanted a partnership, I would still be there but government would work with us on issues like providing permanent structures, grants and support. Today, there is regret because Lekki Sun splash would have become a major tourism drive for Lagos.
The Lagos State Government is keen on developing and promoting tourism. Have you approached the government?
The government is very close to me and I have access to the governor and they know my pedigree. I sincerely believe that if they truly want me to assist, they will approach me. Like I said, if the governor asks me to assist in galvanising a tourism agenda, I will oblige but he will have to ask me.
You’ve made a lot of impact in the private sector, why didn’t you think of working for people or the government?
I did not choose that path. I think it was a divine path that I will be an entrepreneur and don’t forget I already had a foundation of entrepreneurship from my mother since the age of 11, so maybe that was a compensation for my diligence in supporting a widow. But with the benefit of hindsight, looking back after 30 years, I thank God for it. I couldn’t have chosen a better path. I know there are hazards of entrepreneurship that is not palatable but God has been able to groom me. In the fifth season of Lekki Sun splash, I also discovered and introduced the first electronic billboard company, Benjamin Black, into Nigeria with some friends at the age of 30. So within five years of 25 to 30, God had allowed me to impact on two critical industries, entertainment and advertising. Those two interventions were innovative and monumental and changed the structure of those two industries.
To that extent, I feel a sense of responsibility not to abandon those industries. Nigeria rewards diligence and when you are given such opportunities, hold on to them. Don’t forget that advantages and disadvantages come with pioneering.
It is impossible to have accepted a job, except a job like this, president of Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce which is a non-fee paying job and I consider it an honour, this is the kind of job I can take.
How many youths have you mentored as an entrepreneur?
My passion in going forward is entrepreneurial mentoring and development. In the last 30 years, I have mentored 60 ex-employees that are doing well in their different fields. A lot of artistes used Lekki Sun Splash as a platform. Like KWAM I, Alex Zitto, Olisa Adibua and others that have become forces to be reckoned with in the industry. Within entertainment and advertising, I have protégées who have become very important in their various industries. On my 40th birthday, 15 years ago, I developed a lecture called ‘Life in the 21st century’. A book about that will be presented this year. I have given that lecture pro bono for the past 15 years; I give to churches and institutions. Its basic focus is on realities in this century, showing youths that times have changed, 20th century was for core competence but this century is for multiple competency. You need to activate your natural talents and make them money-making, so you move from a life of mono-competency to multiple competency. Also, I have encouraged Nigerian youths to write their obituary which helps to set an agenda of the road map to success because that is how you would be described if you are dead. I have done a lot of speaking engagements to the youth.
How is it that we are so blessed and unblessed at the same time? How is it that each time we aspire to move forward, a set of leadership in politics connives to move us backwards? It is not the total fault of the politicians, leaders or the economy; it is the fact that in the 21st century, the size of Nigeria needs to be marketed regionally. Look at China and America, you don’t market these countries as one, they might market themselves politically as one country but when it comes to economy, every region of these countries have peculiar attributes and potential and each one is permitted to project itself globally, independently. When a country like Nigeria practises federalism and in the spirit of our desire to move ahead and fill our infrastructural gap, find employment for our people, industrialise our society and provide basic infrastructure, it’s a shame we are still struggling to get our railway system working. Lagos for example, can only be compared to Singapore or Dubai.
But it’s competing with the likes of Kebbi or Osun States. Lagos is more like a country in itself and the economy is huge. So, we found out that Lagos joining the Oodua Group has made the South-West the fourth largest economy in Africa. There is a need for every region in this country to project itself economically to the global stage. Nigeria is founded on a principle of federalism that allows the centre to get its legitimacy from the constituent parts. If every region is independent, it can push its own agenda but we have reversed it; military regime has brought centralisation that has killed our ability to develop, when the regions were marketing themselves globally as independents, the country benefitted better. In line with that, there is a groundswell of agreement amongst private sector operators within the South-West because of its peculiarity, 60 per cent of business is done in the region and it is home to every ethnic group in this country.
If Nigeria is challenged currently by all the issues that will take a couple of decades to mitigate, then maybe we should look at the South-West as an example of what Nigeria can be. It is the only place in the whole country that has given economic aspiration to every Nigerian and they have succeeded. Our aspiration is to globalise the region’s economy; this momentum is being driven by the private sector as an example of a success story within a failed state called Nigeria and to project it for international investments. One of the efforts is to launch a one-billion dollar fund in London for development of infrastructure in the south-west.
What is the governance structure that will administer the fund?
This is a private sector-led fund. It is a private equity fund; it comes in to develop roads, industrial base, and transportation but overall comes with management and competence, an economic revival strategy for the region through mopping of private capital from Nigerians in Diaspora as well as international investors who are wary of investing in governments because of issues of corruption. It has 8-10 years span after which government can buy them out. I owe this country; after 30 years of entrepreneurship, I am pursuing economic activism. Hopefully, with the success of this mission, other regions can take a cue.
If we continue to ignore competence and knowledge and run around primordial issues, we will continue to regress. There are people of my ilk who will not lobby. We are not wired for that because at an early stage God gave us activities to do. When we are invited, we contribute. Is Nigeria ready?