By Cynthia Alo Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the Ibru family to remain united and preserve the values that shaped one of Nigeria’s foremost indigenous business dynasties, stressing that unity, discipline and communal spirit were the enduring lessons from the life of the late Michael Ibru. Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday as Chairman of the occasion at the unveiling and launch of “The Ibru Story”, authored by veteran journalist Mike Awoyinfa, in Lagos. The former president recalled his close relationship with the late businessman, highlighting two key lessons he learnt from him, including the importance of effective leadership through delegation.
Recounting an experience involving his late first wife, who worked with Michael Ibru, Obasanjo said she often complained that some employees were not performing their duties and were taking advantage of the businessman’s patience. He said he later discussed the matter with Ibru, whose response provided him with a lasting leadership lesson. “If I will go after this, and go after this, and go after that, I will be spent out.
At the end of the year, if he brings 90 instead of 100, I will take 90 and say, ‘Next year, you will do better.’ That is the way I manage—except the fish,” Obasanjo quoted Ibru as saying. The former president said the lesson taught him that leaders who attempt to personally handle every challenge risk exhausting themselves. He also recalled how Michael Ibru encouraged him to explore business opportunities in Angola’s fisheries sector after Nigeria provided financial assistance to the country.
Obasanjo said former Angolan President Agostinho Neto had explained that Soviet involvement in Angola’s fisheries sector had limited opportunities for other investors. If they are the ones exploiting the fish and they are also the ones advising, then where is the chance for anybody else to come in?” he quoted Neto as saying. Reflecting on the experience, Obasanjo said countries seeking assistance must be careful about the nature of support they receive.
“When you are asking for help, you must watch out for the type of help you seek and the type of help you get. Angola got help from the Soviet Union, but it was the help that choked Angola,” he said. Speaking on the book, Obasanjo said its major message was the importance of unity in sustaini…
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