Gamaliel Onosode: Trials and triumphs of a boardroom guru

[SunNews]

The appointment was for 12 o'clock, at his modest home-cum-office in the Surulere area of Lagos. On the dot of 12, his office door swung open, and he emerged with his signature smile. He was clad simply in a white vest (with the inscription, Good News Baptist Church), atop a pair of black trousers. He wore a pair of chocolate-coloured leather slippers to match. As he strutted across the room to formally welcome the team, we all stood in awesome admiration for this boardroom guru.

You cannot but marvel at the positive energy and aura that the man radiates.

This was why we felt the natural point to start the interview with this rare technocrat is his life experiences, especially those that reveal the real man behind the man. And Gamaliel Onosode, a man of unquestionable integrity, a man imbued with the fear of God and an unyielding commitment to principle and probity, didn't disappoint. Within two hours, he gave us a capsule story of his life, especially those experiences that made him the phenomenon that he is.

For instance, he gave us a vivid account of how his eldest sister died suddenly three months after childbirth in Sapele, only for his immediate elder brother to bite the dust in the same town, two years later, also under some mysterious circumstances. The sister died at 32 and the brother at 23. So close was the young Gamaliel to his late elder brother that the deceased persistently appeared to him in his dreams every day of seven years! The deceased only stopped "seeing" his younger brother the day he got married to his delectable wife. The deaths, Onosode told ICON, were so devastating that he not only renounced his sobriquet of "Sapele", he also boycotted the town for many years, until, he says, God ministered some sort of divine reconciliation to his troubled soul. Prior to that, he saw Sapele as a harbinger of death.

To many Nigerians, Onosode, who turned 80, on Wednesday,  is the undisputed master of the boardroom. But unknown to them, he almost met his death in a boardroom. He was suspected to have been poisoned and he not only suffered many dizzying spells, he also, actually, passed out several times. His condition was so terrible an air ambulance had to be sent from Britain to fly him to Germany for a life-saving surgery. The emergency operation was just one of the 10 serious ones he had. He showed us some of the scars to convince us that he wasn't kidding. Many, indeed, were the travails of this exceptionally good man but the Lord saw him through them all.

Please, enjoy the interview:

You are a very successful man and also a well-respected clergyman. Can you tell us about your childhood pranks or were you a "gentleman" from the beginning?

The book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 or so says, "There's no just man. No one without sin." In other words, there's no man who does not sin. Another passage says: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For there's no one righteous, no, not one." So, the scripture is very clear on that. And that is why Jesus came because not one of us is so righteous that he has not committed sin. And the Bible says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." So, if I was 99 percent good and you were only 25 percent good, we shall both go to hell because the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Unless there's someone who hasn't sinned and who is willing to pay the penalty of your sin and my sin. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did. The Greek word for sin is Armatano, which means: "I missed the mark." So, when you sin, you miss the mark.

Specifically, how did you miss the mark sir?

I was trying to tell you a story. David was described as a man after God's heart. You couldn't have a greater or better qualification than that- a man after God's own heart. But you know how he (David) missed the mark. Nathan went to him and condemned him. He (Nathan) looked at him and told him the story and David was furious and said whoever did this surely deserved to die! And Nathan said to him: "Thou art the man." But after seeing how penitent David had become, Nathan further said: "Okay, you shall not die. Your sins have been forgiven you but this child shall not live. The sword shall not depart from your house." So, sin has been forgiven but the scar like this one on my leg remains (pulls up his trousers to expose the scar). I got the injury when I fell down in the Baptist Church, Sapele in 1938. The sore healed but you can still see the scar. It is still there.

The scar is ugly, isn't it? So, sometimes even forgiven sin can leave a scar. Scar is never beautiful, it does not matter how much grace has covered it. So, even though I'm being seen or presented today as a very nice person, I'm still a human being, I must have had my faults. I must have made some mistakes. But Jesus himself said by their fruits ye shall know them. If someone told you a lie yesterday, you would be wrong to conclude that the man is a liar. But if that particular man told you a lie last year, told you a lie early this year, told you a lie in March, told you a lie last week, told you a lie yesterday, then you can reasonably conclude that the man is a liar. You might even say that he is a compulsive liar. You can say that once he opens his mouth, do not believe anything he says, for the simple reason that his lifestyle and character are defined by lying. But the fact that you have lied does not make you liar.

So, how did the Onosode phenomenon begin?

I was born at 4 o'clock on Monday, May 22, 1933, to the family of a very dedicated Baptist pastor – Reverend P. E. Onosode and a mother, who was not literate in English. She was only literate in Yoruba because she could read her Bible in Yoruba only. She was able to do that because she accompanied my father to work at Baptist College and Seminary at Ogbomosho in the 1920s. They (the wives of pastors) were taught in Yoruba. So, she could read her Bible in Yoruba until she died. The family returned to Sapele in 1932 and in the following year I was born. All the adults of that generation knew me as "Sapele" and they called me  "Sapele". But I didn't admit Sapele into my name. So, you would never see G.O.S. Onosode anywhere in my documents. Just as my elder brother was known by that generation as "Ogbomosho" because he was born there and named by it.

Why did you resent being called Sapele?

No! No! I didn't resent it. I simply didn't see why I should admit it as my name just because I was born in Sapele. I didn't resent it.

Did the name connote any negativity?

No! No! No! But later in life I did develop an aversion for Sapele, even though that was where I was born. And the reason I did was because of my recollection. Any time the name Sapele was mentioned, what I remembered was what Sapele did to my eldest sister. It wasn't a happy experience. Any time Sapele was mentioned, I also remember what Sapele did to my immediate elder brother. Again, it wasn't a happy experience. My eldest sister died at the age of 32. She was trained at Idi-Aba Girls' School in Abeokuta and was very advanced. My immediate elder brother died at 23. So, you can see. My eldest sister died at 32 and my elder brother at 23. Both of them lived in Sapele.

Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but were these two deaths of natural causes?

Yes. They were of natural causes.

How did they happen?

Well, my sister died shortly after childbirth. That child is alive and married with many children and grandchildren. In fact, the only mother that child knew was my mother. That's her grandmother, because her biological mother died when she was barely three months old. She took ill after childbirth and later died.

But three months after delivery is such a long time to have associated the death to childbirth complications. Or don't you think, so sir?

Exactly, but you know I cannot point my finger at anyone and say you killed my sister. No! I can't. That won't serve any useful purpose, anyway.

How did the death of your brother happen?

The last time I saw my brother was late September 1952 when I was going to the University College, Ibadan, now called University of Ibadan. You know at that time there was no bridge across the Ethiope River, so I was in Pontun and he stood at the other side of the river and was waving to me. That was the last time I saw him alive. In December 1952, my immediate younger sister wrote saying my brother was not feeling well. So, one evening, I think on January 2 or 3, 1953, we were in the dining room when a letter was handed to me. I read it and the letter announced that my brother had died. I tucked the letter into my pocket, finished with my meal and went to my room. In my room, I broke down and cried. He was not just a brother. We were so close to each other that we were like twins, even though we had two years between us. So, it was a great blow to me emotionally. And to show the intensity of the sense of loss, every night of seven years, I saw him in my dream until I got married on October 29, 1960. For seven solid years, that is, from January 1953 till October 1960, he appeared to me in my dream every night.

Which meant you were soul mates; and he probably decided to let you be when he discovered that you now had a new soul mate (your wife)?

Yes. Maybe. So, you can understand. My brother was buried in Sapele where he died. My sister was brought to Eku Baptist Hospital after she took ill. The hospital was just starting then. Not what it is now. She died and was buried in Eku.

How did your brother die?

Some conditions of illness. It could have been yellow fever. I was told that the eyes became yellow and jaundice started and he died.

That night you read the letter announcing the death of such a close brother, where did you get the inner strength to continue with your meal because the reaction of the natural man would be to breakdown instantly?

Well, that's my character. I'm a strong person. I'm a rational, logical person. And that's why I quickly describe myself upfront when I meet people the first time, that I'm a very difficult person but I'm also a very nice person. People do object, saying, "You are not a difficult person. You are only a principled person."

So, how many children did your parents have?

Eight of us. Four boys and four girls.

How did the deaths hit your parents?

My father took it philosophically. He carried on as if nothing happened. But my mother really refused to be comforted. For you to understand her feeling, my eldest sister died in 1950 and my brother died in 1953. The second death occurred when she had not recovered from the first. You can imagine the agony of a mother. And the two persons were really stars, very brilliant in their own right.

As Africans, was there no tendency to ascribe those deaths to some witchcraft or diabolical powers?

No. My parents were really Christians; thoroughbred Christians. I told you my father was a pastor. So, I never heard one day any suggestion that someone somewhere killed my sister or my brother. Not at all!

Does it mean they took it as an act of God?

Oh yes, they took them as an act of God. They just accepted it. But when my mother was carrying the pregnancy of my younger sister, between 1937 and 1938, there was some rabid politics in Sapele. You may also think that was part of the reason whenever the name Sapele was mentioned it rang a negative bell in me. There was this group of people, supposedly members of the church, who did not want my mother to deliver safely. I'm telling you a dramatic story of how this set of people would go to the river bank and be chanting a diabolical song that the sea current should take my mother away. I can even sing the song. But against all odds my mother delivered safely. Mysteriously, the child was very black, charcoal black, when he was born. But to the glory of God, the blackness cleared within a couple of days. In other words, there was evidence that some evil forces were actually put in motion to work against my mother but man pass man. As a local saying goes: One man plus God is equal to thousands. So that was the experience. That was way back in April 1938. So, I had the story at the back of my mind until 1950 when my sister died and barely two years later, my brother died also. So, I became allergic to Sapele psychologically. In fact, the depth of (that allergic) feeling was such that whenever I was coming home to my village – Igu Waterside, which used to be known as Kokori Waterside, instead of just crossing the Ethiope River straight to Igu, I would go from Benin through Agbor to Abraka and then come down to Igu. I did all that just to avoid Sapele.

Do you do the same up till today?

No! No!

How did you overcome it?

I think I overcame it by the time I was about 35 years or so. My first job took me to the UK (United Kingdom) and I returned in 1959. Even so, I was still going through Agbor. I think it was just a mere passage of time. I just said to myself: How long would you continue to avoid Sapele?

Did the deaths mark any turning point in your life? Did they shape your life in any way? Helping you to become what you later became in life?

I don't think so.

As close as you were to your late brother?

No! I don't think so, because all the children were of the same mother. It's a close-knit family to a great extent. The eldest girl died, the eldest boy died, leaving three boys and three girls. I have just told you something that I have never told anyone before, because I have never shared this aspect of my life in Sapele. But let me quickly say that the bridge, newly constructed then by Chief Osadebey, helped my healing process. It helped remove my allergy for Sapele. It played a major part in making me give up the idea of having to go all the way from Benin through Agbor to Abraka and down to my place.

Sir, a while ago, you talked about Armatano (how I missed it). What were the childhood pranks you played?

In my childhood, I can't remember any pranks. I think I was a good boy.

You were not chasing girls? Not stubborn? Never engaged in any vice?

Well, I was a bit stubborn. As a child, I had to fight. But my mother, at one time, described me as a coward. The event was when one boy was always attacking me unjustly and I was always crying to my mum. My mother got angry one day and drove me to go and fight it out. In effect, she was accusing me of cowardice. Recently, when I was reflecting on it with my wife, I concluded that if my action (running away from the boy) was cowardice, I better remain a coward. The situation I was actually discussing with wife when I reflected on my childhood experience was when to throw in the towel in a job. When I cease to enjoy a job I throw in the towel or I allow myself to be fired; it depends on who is smarter. Each time I throw in the towel, I thank God for giving me the strength and courage to do so. And whenever I was fired, I also was grateful to God for my being counted worthy to be sacked because I always know it was not of my misdeeds or malfeasance but because people were not comfortable with me.

How many times were you sacked in your active working life?

The only occasion where I was sacked, dramatically so, was when I was sacked as the chairman of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).

How did it happen?

Well, the minister (in charge of petroleum), Professor Jubril Aminu, told the president (President Ibrahim Babangida) that he wanted to re-organise NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation). I wouldn't know what transpired between the two of them but I had information, which enabled me to speculate, based on which I publicly challenged Professor Jubril Aminu to please tell the world why he sacked me. This was done in a newspaper and the following week, he appeared in the same column I used, saying that I was fired because the government had the right to do so. I was his friend, and we remain friends. So, you can see that he didn't really throw any light.

What were the things you did that unruffled the people?

My own speculation was that the system was not comfortable with the fact that we purchased three LNG carriers (vessels) and nobody benefited a kobo from the transaction. So, the problem was: How can we accommodate this kind of man? And when opportunity came I was laid off.

Was it that some people had expected that something would accrue to them but the way the transaction was carried out, no one got anything?

Exactly!

Are you saying that in all your working life, you never used your official position to obtain gratifications?

No! Not at all. I've never done it and will not do it. My Bible says my God shall supply all my needs according to His infinite riches in glory by Christ Jesus; and God has remained faithful to His saying in my life. He has been so faithful I have never lacked anything in my life. So, why should I do it?

How could anyone have traversed as many boards as you did without compromising one way or the other? Or are you a saint?

I built my life on God. If you build your life on God you cannot be unstable. So, God is my sustaining power.

Before you became a Christian, did you not do those things that most businessmen do?

But we just talked about the kind of background I came from. I was brought up in a very orthodox Christian family. So, you would not have found me as a rascally boy. Same with my other siblings. We had the benefit of God-fearing parents who brought us up in the ways of the Lord. If you must know, I became a Christian at the age of 10. I was baptized on the 13th of March, 1943. The commitment, therefore, had been there for a long time. And any aberrations would be the kind of aberration that you saw, not every day in the life of Peter (who had to deny Jesus at a point in time but repented). Years later, the same Peter was castigated by Paul who accused him of being hypocritical, saying when Peter was with the Jews he behaved in a particular way and when he was with him (Paul), he behaved in another way. So, Peter did not become Paul because he was a dedicated apostle. So, am I.

You don't graduate to a point where you become sinless but you graduate to a point where you would behave exactly the way a reasonable man would behave when a sand or foreign body enters his eye. Certainly, he would carefully remove it or wash it off. So, sin to a man or woman is exactly what mud stain is to a cat. Cat would find a way to clean off the mud stain. It would not rest until it clears it, unlike pig that would find a pool of water, turn it into mud and keep swimming in it. So, sin is a foreign body. I am not a saint but having said that, there are certain things I will not do. Let anybody try to offer me billions of dollars to do certain things I'm not supposed to do, that person will not succeed. Jesus said by their fruits you shall know them. Christianity is not a theoretical thing. The reason you cannot be saved until you profess the faith is that you are then suggesting that you may be judged by your profession. Besides, you have established to that extent your reputation, and God uses reputation, which is one of the means he uses to keep us in the straight and narrow way. That's one of the important things in the life of a Christian. On the top of Press Academy was written in Greek: Goothi sauton, meaning: Man know thy self. The reason people do wrong is that they forget who they are at that moment. If I forget who I am, you can imagine so many wrong things I could do in a single day!

In all the boards that you have served, which one did you fight the greatest battle?

Well, you heard about Commerce Bank. But you may not have heard about Dunlop. There was an issue in Dunlop Board where I was isolated, where I was the only one who voted against a proposal. But I did not resign because the shareholders were going to have the last say, it was an issue, which immediately could not be disposed of at board level. So, you cannot be holier than the Pope. I did not own the company. If I owned the company that means I was going to have the last say.

What was the proposal all about?

I don't want to go into that again: I have put everything behind me. But there was a proposal and I didn't like the proposal but the proposal could not be disposed of at board level. So, it has to go by law to the shareholders. If shareholders are quite happy with the proposal, why should Mr. Gamaliel Onosode lose any sleep over it? It's their property. It's their business.

What about Commerce Bank?

Oh! Everybody knew about that. I was the chairman. They felt I was asking too many questions concerning the business and they decided that I was too old to further lead the bank. That was in 1993.  Whereas there was nothing in law or in the understanding we reached at the time I was invited to lead them to the establishment of the bank about age; nothing whatsoever about age. So, I told them, "If I'm no longer good enough to remain in the chair, I don't see how I can be that useful to the company in the boardroom. Therefore, I will not only vacate the chair but I will also vacate the room." And I left. As I left, I forgot that that company existed. The rest is history.

How did you survive negative boardroom forces – diabolical attacks, etc that people often talk about? Have you ever been struck?

Well, someone did say to me many years ago: "You mean you didn't know that they tried to kill you?" You would recall that in 1979, an (air) ambulance came from London to pick me up from the teaching hospital and flew me to West Germany, precisely to the University of Hamburg Hospital. I passed out several times at the hospital. The illness was so serious I thought I was about to die. But, again, to the glory of God, I didn't die. What really happened? I suddenly took ill. I was bleeding internally. This was in June of 1979. Remember I had retired in March (of the same year) but I had no reason to suspect anyone. I retired on my own free will as chairman and chief executive of what is now known as Sterling Bank in precisely at the end of March of that year. So, I have been jobless since 1979. Years after, someone came to tell me saying: "You mean you did not know they tried to kill you?" To tell you my attitude, I didn't even ask who they (the forces) were. I couldn't be bothered, because if you try to kill me, you are only wasting your time. You can only kill the body, you cannot kill the soul.

What did the doctors diagnose?

Gastric ulcer. Doctors would not tell you what caused it. My colleague died of the same condition at the age of 63.

•We re-run this story as a tribute to Onosode at 80.

Via: Sun News Online