Amidst some heated controversies ,Tony Elumelu’s big success in the corporate world and in his sprawling business empire is exemplary. The question however remains: are those controversies tenable ?
ELUMELU AS A DISRUPTIVE AND TRANSFORMATIVE AGENT
Tony Elumelu, the Nigerian economist, founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation and Chairmen of both Heirs Holdings and Transcorp is a disruptor and an unorthodox businessman. But Elumelu is also a well-known in some quarters as a ruthless businessman who takes no prisoner. His impressive career as a corporate raider and astute banker speak to his personality and unbridled ambition, a banking journey that began over three decades ago in Lagos.
Unsurprisingly, this important banker, for his unusual activities, has remained a subject of speculation and controversies. But the question remains:how tenable are these controversies?
To some people , Tony Elumelu is a T shaped person with a depth in one area as well as breadth in lots ; he is a megamind that set for himself hubristic goals such as “putting a ding in the universe” .His capability for associating ,questioning, observing, networking and experimenting is what makes him unique .Of course , those are the habits of mind that characterize disruptive innovators.
His admirers believe he excels at connecting seemingly unconnected things, aided by his broadening experience ; he is known for constantly asking why things aren’t done differently , a taste that linked to a talent for observation ; he is a great networker and also an inveterate experimenter.
With the above traits , Elumelu could be compared to Marc Benioff that got the idea for Salesforce.com by looking at enterprise software through the prism of online businesses such as Amazon and eBay. ; David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue and Azul, wondered why people treated airline tickets like cash, freaking out when they lose them, whereas customers could instead be given an electronic code ; Corey Wride that came up with the idea for Movie Mouth, a company that uses popular films to teach foreign languages; Michael Lazaridis, the founder of Research in Motion, that had the idea for the BlackBerry at a trade show, when someone told him how Coca-Cola machines used wireless technology to signal that they needed refilling and those who fiddle with both their products and their business models ; and like IKEA that never planned to base its business on self-assembly but discovered that the best way to get some furniture back into a lorry, after a photo-shoot, was to take its legs off, and a new business model was born.
From STB to UBA ,all his corporate entities are believed by his admirers to have the high “innovation premiums” and display the above five habits of mind an innovator . This may not be farfetched . Like a disruptive innovator,he works hard to recruit creative people and equally hard to stimulate observation and questioning.
His admirers believed Tony’s kinds are rare in the Nigerian banking industry just as the innovator’s DNA is rare. Of course , it may be difficult to dispute the above views . With a disruptive innovator DNA running through his veins , Tony gave life back to the dead Crystal Bank and turned it to Standard Trust Bank ,a bank with an unconventional business model that swallowed the old UBA , a banking behemoth ; he turned it to a brand with a tag of African global bank and a pillar of Nigerian economy.
He has remained a factor and a major player in the Nigerian banking sector since his days at Crystal Bank, a banking institution that shaped him and also announced him to the world. It was here at Crystal Bank that Elumelu’s charm and magic as a banker and as an organizer in a highly unpredictable business climate began.
At Crystal Bank, it will not be an overstatement to say that Elumelu actually squeezed water out of stone. But he did not stop at just squeezing water out of stone as he also did the inconceivable as a vibrant young man who was eager to succeed and make a name for himself. With his actions, he literally placed the banking world and Nigeria’s business community on notice.
To many people in the banking sector, Elumelu’s biggest achievement at the time was that he did not only resuscitate Crystal Bank, he also gave life to a dying bank that was on life support. Under Elumelu, UBA is believed to have gotten a new lease of life through branding, purposeful leadership and repositioning. Today, the bank is not only playing in the big league, it is also a pillar of the Nigerian economy .
Now , he reigns high in hospitality, insurance ,oil and gas apart from the banking .
Tony Elumelu is an exceptionally lucky man who has succeeded in almost everything he aimed for. He has also earned all his medals, and rightly so. That is why he is not called a financial whizz-kid for nothing by everyone, including those who may not like his tactics and style. This African billionaire and uncommon entrepreneur has made tremendous impact in the corporate world, banking, manufacturing, creating entrepreneurs, reviving and consolidating the gains of companies and above all, philanthropy.
Elumelu, the unusual economist and philanthropist has spent the last two decades empowering Africans, establishing thriving businesses and engendering hope around the world with his sterling performance as an Economist who uses data and statistical tools to interpret and forecast trends. This Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp Group, Pan-African Financial Services, United Bank for Africa, among other companies, was some days ago, inaugurated into President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s Economic Team, a council with an interesting mix of government officials, top private sector players, entrepreneurs and technocrats.
This banker’s impact is also felt, even in the arts sector where he is making dreams come true with his interventions. Recently, Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund called for applications from emerging artistes, journalists, content producers, podcasters and other people in the creative chain to take advantage of its grants to improve and expand their trade. According to the release, grants worth between $500 and $2000 will be awarded to each selected participant. For a businessman, looking in the direction of the arts is highly commendable and this must be stressed.
And, in spite of his many achievements, Elumelu still manages to acknowledge his infallibility and the fact that he is not a know-all individual whopossessall the necessary talents needed to be an all-round successful man that he is today. According to him, his many successes came from his decision to always surround himself with talented individuals. “My weakness in some talents is the reason I surround myself with people who have talents I do not have,” he was quoted recently. Yes, he may have succeeded in addressing his weaknesses as a smart businessman
HIS CONTROVERSIES
But there is also the not too good side of Elumelu, a narrative that now has a life of its own with more enemies and the passage of time.
To the drivers of this unpleasant tale, the former Managing Director of UBA and now its board chairman is not only a man with unbridled ambition who wants to overtake Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest man but also allegedly an opportunist and a schemer.
In the recent time ,Chief Olabode George irked and dumfounded by the stupendous wealth of the former Managing Director of Access Holdings Wigwe who died a plane crash in America bared his fangs on Elumelu and the likes in the banking sector with similar dumfounding wealth. Chief Olabode in a well trended video thundered : :who a hell is Elumelu? What did he do ? Where is his factory ? . He was a flopped bank man . Somehow he got a license at the same time with Fola Adeola . All of them are stupendously wealthy now . Wigwe who became the Managing Director of Access Holdings after that young man had left has now established a university; he had the temerity to be advertising that Univer on CNN. Wigwe University, personally established by him, where his his factory ?
What is the practice? , added . “They realished dollars to them on monthly basis; they used the dollars .if is at 1 to 100 they will give it to the Mallams say 1 to 200 , you see that profit?That is what they used for nstead of given it to the commercial people for commercial activities. That is what they have done to this nation. They must all be invited for discussions becausethe the rootteness starts from that and it has been going on for years ; it has now explloded now on our faces .
The above allegation is not coming from Chief Olabode alone . Most of his critics would not believe the tag of a disruptive innovator inscribed on him by his admirers as a critical factor behind his success and stupendous wealth .They perhaps find it difficult to align his past academic records with his present success ;their argument is that if Tony was not one of those considered or rated academically intelligent, how did he achieve his towering figure in the corporate world where deep intellectual base is imperative . And their reference point remains his class of degree at an equally relatively low rated Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma in those days .
In fact , there is always a heated controversy over his class of his degree anytime his success becomes a subject of discussion .And his detractors are usually quick to point to this whenever they want to justify their belief that he is neither a genius or fantastic by any means . There are even some mischievous reporters who know that another way to exacerbate the situation and keep the Corporate Affairs Department of his bank perpetually on the receiving end is to mention his class of degree. It was gathered that his handlers are equally always quick to dismiss Ekpoma anytime there is a request for his academic laurels by journalists covering business and the economy. His media aides would rather send photos and information on the prestigious foreign institutions and business schools he attended abroad, a situation that usually compounds the suspicion that they have something to hide .
Many people, including his classmates and others in the corporate world insist that he made a Third Class Degree , though Elumelu and his handlers have refused to either agree or refute this position even as important as it is. For the above reason , this important banker, like his certificates and unusual activities, has remained a subject of speculation and controversies.
But not everyone is mischievous .Some either out of curiosity want to know whether with the high degree of intelligence displayed by Elumelu and success achieved by him it is feasible for him to have graduated with a Third Class Degree. The same curiosity took our reporter to Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma which is his alma mater recently to ascertain the veracity of the claim of his critics . To our amazement ,many people in that school and the department of Economics as well as in the corporate world insisted that he made a Third Class Degree . In fact , some alleged he did not graduate at the normal time with his classmates . However , none of critics has shown us a copy of that degree for confirmation
But there is another angle that is reinforcing the suspicion . The fact that Elumelu is alleged to have distanced himself to that university , despite his deep pocket and philanthropic tendency is not making those who believed otherwise to dispute the story ; he is alleged to have neglected the schools that molded him and some stakeholders of those school s are not particularly happy with this . Today, the Economics Department at Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma has no sign that a great banker and an important corporate player graduated from the institution.
As a matter of fact, there are some of his critics who may have decided to take an extreme view on this matter for reasons that may be personal. To this group of people, the man is simply sad and unhappy even in the midst of affluence, deep pocket, philanthropy, influence and a great life that should be the envy of many people. Some people observed this might not be unconnected with his alleged ugly experience at Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma . To those with this observation , it appears he has no emotional attachment to that school. Elumelu attended his primary, post primary and tertiary institutions in both Delta and Edo states. But the top banker is always allegedly become disheveled anytime anyone mentions Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma which is his alma mater.
But why are his critics so interested in his personal and private affairs ? After all the world is littered with influential and highly successful individuals that are drop out from their schools . By our own speculation , the key reason is that some of these people either believed Elumelu is just lucky or not too clean ; it could also be out of pure jealousy .. EVen ,if he had a third class , to us Tony has proved to the younger generations of graduates that first class degree is not all they need to succeed while third class is not an end of the road to success in life .
The controversy on Elumelu is not limited to the issue of his class of degree . From the same argument raised against his first degree , his critics are usually quick to move to his success at Crystal Bank . To some of them , his success in Crystal Bank is by mere luck, particularly with the controversy surrounding the sale and health of that bank when Elumelu and his team took over . In other words , the same Crystal Bank that he translated to STB which eventually announced him to the corporate world still stirred heated controversy against him . For instance, some people in the banking world alleged that there were not too ethical transactions in the acquisition of Crystal Bank. According to sources close to Crystal Bank, Elumelu and his team took over a cheaply valued bank ; though it remains an allegation till today , some analysts believed it was deliberate done to favour him .
As a matter of fact, there are instances and reports that showed that this opportunistic and hard-fighting group of young men led by Elumelu that took over the rested Crystal Bank bought deposits as low as between 30 kobo to N1. In 1998 , a year after the bank was taken over and was converted to Standard Trust Bank , STB , it surprisingly recorded a five-fold growth to further confirm this allegation .
Then , what is the magic? Some analysts, indeed, became restless . Reacting to the impressive performance of STB then , Victor Ogiemwonyin, CEO, Partnership Investments Co Ltd noted : “the five-fold growth can partly be explained, first because the old Crystal Bank which Standard Trust Bank took over was cheaply valued. In some cases they bought deposits at 30kobo to N1 –mainly because of the fear that Crystal Bank was going under .
He further explained that “Crystal Bank was an example of how short term liquidity problems was mis-interpreted for solvency problems by both the NDIC and CBN. If the CBN had taken on its role as the bank of last resort as the new CBN now realizes , we probably would not have had as many banks respond to the induced distress the way they did”. He alleged that “NDIC was definitely on a different mission, which had nothing to do with saving banks or depositors money”. However , despite this suspicion , Elumelu could not be pinned down to any crime or be held responsible for the alleged negligence of the regulatory authorities .Nevertheless , this is the reason why some critics of Elumelu believed he is just very lucky and not in anyway fantastic.
But the above observation by his critics is corroborated by the less inspiring state Elumelu left UBA when he and others were forced to step down by CBN . He left in 2010 and the bank’s profit after tax fell below N1biion at 598m against N2.4 b 2009 ,N40.8b 2008 and N21 b in 2007 .
The most controversial tissue was the bank’s 2011 results as it recorded a loss of N8.7b . a year after left the bank as GMD .Then what makes Elumelu a genius , when a bank’s fortunes under his watch cascaded ? . Although some attributed UBA’s uninspiring performance to the global financial crisis of 2007–08, despite this ugly circumstance, some corporate leaders were not so badly hit as UBA in the last few years of Elumelu as GMD of UBA. .
The huge loss that hit UBA in 2011 and the subsequent venture of Elumelu in virtually all other sectors of the economy after he was removed raised suspicion over his stupendous wealth and the less impressive performance of UBA since he left the position of GMD .
More so, this is mostly attributed to bad loans. Were these bad loans artificially created as some leadership of some banks in the past were suspected to be doing in those days of repeated banking sector collapse ? This remains a speculation and a suspicion that needed facts and figures . But there is none yet .
Till today UBA has been overtaken by its rivals in profits and other performance indicators and its shareholders remain at the receiving end while its top management staff members are living in affluence at their expense . Ironically , Elumelu turns himself a philanthropist . Is this not a contradiction?
None of those who invested their hard earned earnings in its 2007 initial Public Offer and right issues under his leadership of the bank would forget in a hurry the huge misfortune that befell them . United Bank for Africa, Nigeria’s biggest bank then , created excitements in the capital market with the launch of its N54 billion hybrid offer. It remains a disastrous decision till today for those who bought its share at N34 per share . Since then the price of UBA’s stock per share failed to hit close to that peak for years until 2023 when this jinx was broken . The stock bought at that price was selling below N8.00 per share for years . The ugly scenario above be the reason why Bode George was annoyed with the likes of Elumelu in a well trended video .
The heated controversy that came from Elumelu’s friend and business associate , Femi Otedola is another not too impressive signal about him that stirred heated controversy against him . This controversy borders on backstabbing and irregularities in Transcorp where he holds sway as Chairman. Unfortunately, these controversies pitched him against Femi Otedola, his friend over their individual stakes at Transcorp. For those in Otedola’s camp, Elumelu betrayed his friend when he misled him with regard to Otedola’s business decisions and takeovers , leading to a power struggle at Transcorp on account of Otedola’s acquisition of 5.52 per cent stake in the company’s shares.
This naturally, positioned Otedola on the path of take over as the second-largest investor. But Elumelu allegedly quickly moved in to neutralize Otedola in order to make the injection of his N250 billion inconsequential in the final analysis.
Aside other accusations, there is a strong belief by sympathizers of Otedola that Elumelu, the master of business games, took his shares in UBA and African Finance Corporation to service the interest on his loans when he went bankrupt about 15 years ago. Elumelu also came under Otedola’s hammer for an outstanding disagreement some years ago. According to Otedola, Elumelu actually bought secret shares from Trancorp to acquire Ughelli Power Plant even after he had informed Elumelu of his interest and a pending investment in the plant. However , one thing is that the argument is neither here nor there .
From the home front, Tony Elumelu: bank owner, entrepreneur, billionaire business mogul, philanthropist, corporate raider, and owner of a big foundation, comes under severe criticism for allegedly turning his back on his roots For him, they alleged ,charity does not necessarily begin at home. His alleged inability to connect and assist people in his community and the schools he attended in Nigeria, leave a huge gaping hole. Elumelu, for reasons best known to him, is widely believed by some to have abandoned his ‘people’: his classmates, community and the schools that nurtured him. This is the accusation in many quarters, and this allegation is resonating with people of his town in Onicha-Uku, his mother’s people in Onicha-Ugbo, persons of his area in Delta North and even his classmates at Aniemeka Primary School and St. Pius Xth Grammar School, both in Onicha-Ugbo, a town in Aniocha North Local Government Area in Delta State. His classmates at Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, in Edo State, where he read Economics, are also not left out in this rumbling.
As a man with eyes on the future, this philanthropist should be concerned, but no one is absolutely sure of his reasons.
So, why is Elumelu not reaching out to his ‘people’ and persons who know a lot about him and his early life in Onicha-Ugbo where it all began many years ago? Although Elumelu is from Onicha-Uku, a neighbouring town to Onicha-Ugbo but he spent his entire childhood years in Onicha-Ugbo where Suzanne, his nonagenarian mother hails from. If, truly, charity begins at home, then Elumelu, the owner of United Bank of Africa, UBA, one of Nigeria’s biggest banks that prides itself as Africa’s Global Bank, has failed.
This magazine’s visit to Onicha-Uku and an encounter with a man who spoke under cover of anonymity, provided an insight into the life of one of Africa’s richest men. “I hear about The Tony Elumelu Foundation. And I also see the man always talking on CNN and other television stations about growth and his dream for young people in the African continent. Personally, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with trying to empower African the youth without thinking home with regard to also helping his own people in distress. Just look at our environment, does this community look like the home town of a leading philanthropist and one of Africa’s wealthiest men? This is a joke taken too far, and I mean every bit of what I am saying. As we say here, a great dancer dresses and takes his or her first important dance steps from home, not from the village square.”
Unlike Tony, Ndudi, his younger who was a former Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, has attracted many good things to Onicha-Uku, their hometown. As Chairman, House Committee on Health, Ndudi singlehandedly brought College of Nursing Science, a school that is affiliated to Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, to Onicha-Uku. Ndudi also built a massive Catholic Church in their community. And the politician is generally believed to have empowered his people directly and indirectly, including his former constituents in the entire Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency made up of Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Oshimili South and Oshimili North Local Government Areas in Delta State.
Another respondent, OkwudiliOkolie, who claimed to have known Elumelu, right from his primary school years,told the Decisionmakers that the banker and business mogul is acting true to form, just like many so-called philanthropists in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
At Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, where Elumelu graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economist, there is also widespread dissatisfaction. During a visit last year to the institution’s department of Economics by this magazine, a student in the Faculty of Social Sciences,criticized Elumelu and other alumni who are not proud of the university. He also carpeted them for doing absolutely nothing to help the school in the areas of infrastructure and research with their wealth and connections, both in government and outside. “I often ask myself: of what good are these selfish and self-serving characters who hate to look back. What would it cost somebody like a Elumelu to build one or two modern theatre lectures in this department? How about providing scholarships for many indigent students who are everywhere as you can see? We know all of them for their eyeservice, and for bringing to power, wicked and unpopular politicians who are only interested in their pockets. But are we not surviving? No one can play God.”
The issue of Elumelu’s perceived absolute lack of interest and what many people regard as open disregard for Ambrose Alli University and other schools he attended, was a major talking point recently. It was during a fund-raising ceremony which was an initiative to raise fund for a particular school that is in a deplorable state, and battling the worst case of infrastructural decay. For those who know, the Economics Department where he graduated is so ordinary, and there is really nothing to show that the outstanding banker and Economics passed through that department atEkpoma.And, this is very troubling. Even though charity does not begin and end at home, one would have expected him to leave an imprint at Ambrose Alli University where his training as an Economist began many years ago. It is also disquieting to note that this respected banker, for reasons best known to him, has refused to impact his school even with the distress in many tertiary institutions today in Nigeria.
But this development contrasts sharply with Harvard University in far-away United States where as an alumnus, he is respected and revered for his contribution to an elite university that is up and running, and actually needs little or no external help to survive.
The same story is also evident at Aniemeke Primary School, Onicha-Ugbo, a school he attended. As a matter of fact, there are no signs that a great man like him once passed through that primary school.
Nonetheless, there are those who still contend that Elumelu’s palm kernel, in the words of Chinua Achebe, the famous author of Things Fall Apart, was cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. After all, he was not an outstanding student, both at St. Pius Xth Grammar School, Onicha-Ugbo and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. But it will be unfair and uncharitable to say that Elumelu’s pail kernel was cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. In all fairness, he actually cracked his kernel by sheer dint of hard work, and most people know his remarkable story from grass to grace.
Apart from EbeleOgbue,who oversees East and Southern African operations of UBA, and believed to be a sibling of Awele, Tony Elumelu’s wife, Onicha-Olona,Awele’s town, does not have much to show for giving their daughter in marriage to a well-known billionaire. And Elumelu’s critics are always quick to latch on this which may actually be an oversight.
However, some of those who accuse him of disrespecting and ignoring his friends, classmates and the institutions he attended are obviously not aware of his contributions to at least one of these schools. And, this good side cannot be wished away, no matter how hard his detractors try. By our investigations,we discovered at St. PiusXth Grammar School, Onicha-Ugbo, UBA Foundation built a hundred-bed hostel with modern facilities. This is in addition to a library and a theatre for stage performances and important events in the school. He is also credited for contributing to other infrastructural facilities in the school.
Elumelu is also well acknowledged for assisting some of his classmates, many of whom, occupy important positions in his numerous companies today. For instance, Kennedy Uzoka, was his school mate (Elumelu was actually his senior at St. Pius.) Uzoka worked with Elumelu at different places, including the defunct Standard Trust Bank, STB where he served as a manager before the birth of the new UBA.Uzoka, eventually rose to the position a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CEO at UBA. he is also believed to have brought many of his school mates in secondary school andeven his classmates to many of his companies, and this is verifiable.
No doubt, Elumelu has done very well for himself, his relatives, associates and some of his lucky classmates. However, it is obvious that there are many people who will never be satisfied, even when they give them everything they want. Perhaps, that is what is playing out. But no one can say exactly what is at the root of this disquiet.
Meanwhile , after our investigations into the above concerning the negligence of his people a draft of story sent directly to his office for after Ramon Nazir failed attempt to address our request for the comments has started paying off . Though Elumelu did not get to us to explain his position on the above allegations,he quickly to his place to close the track .
Consequently, the people of Onicha-Uku, an agrarian community in Aniocha North Local Government Area in Delta State, last Christmas season were surprised Elumelu . The billionaire businessman, distributed 1,800 hundred bags of rice to the community at a time like this. But it did not end there. Awele, a medical doctor and Tony’s wife also showered cash gifts on the people Onicha-Uku as a follow-up to her husband’s kind gesture. The goodwill, many believe, was unprecedented in the town’s history from this wealthy family.
Everyone, both in the community and outside, knows that the Elumelus are in good standing. For instance, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF is in the forefront for the campaign for economic change and financial independence, both here in Nigeria and beyond. And this foundation is not only empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, it also addressing poverty eradication, creating jobs across 54 countries in African, engendering confidence and promoting inclusive economic activities. So far, a total of over $100 million has been spent by TEF on its flagship initiative. TEF is also spending heavily on media advertisement for global audiences.
But this generosity on the world stage did not go well with some of Elumelu’s kinsmen who had argued at the time that charity must begin from home. They believed that the UBA chairman would have transformed their community if he had paid attention to the town’s many human and infrastructural challenges. Although nobody came out openly to challenge the billionaire banker’s generosity for obvious reasons, the grumbling among the community members reached its peak towards the last quarter of 2024. In no time, the situation inspired an investigative cover story on this platform that took our correspondent to Onicha-Uku and Onicha-Olona where Tony and Awele his wife, hail from respectively.
After the story had been written, and in a bid for balance and professionalism, this magazine sought the opinion of Ramon Olarenwaju Nazir, head, media relations of UBA. Nazir, on receiving the story, declined any response. However, out of respect for Elumelu and what he represents, the magazine sent a draft of the cover story to him for his reaction since his media relations head gave no hoot. Unfortunately, the billionaire also did not respond, and by so doing, he lived up to Femi Otedola’s allegation of indifference against him.
To correct the error of always leaving his people in the lurch when it matters most, Elumelu quickly ran home to distribute some bags of rice to his community people. One thing is irrefutable, and that is the fact that Elumelu’s generosity last December was inspired by the critical story of Dicisionmakers. If the duty of a journalist is to seek truth, report events and present a fair and comprehensive account of events, then this magazine has some credit to society for exposing and writing about the ordeal of the people of Onicha-Uku. But like other billionaires from that part of the country who are intervening in the lives of their classmates, friends and the schools they attended, Elumelu fell short of some of these realities. Therefore, he must go a step further in his philanthropy. After all, charity as they say, begins from home
