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Comment: Enron syndrome and the Nigerian economy (1)

online Speaking Out: Enron syndrome and the Nigerian economy (1)

Morenike Taire

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

It would be the rare party goer who is familiar with the Owambe scene who would not be familiar with the song that Sunny Ade, the Juju king who recently turned 60, waxed in the immortality of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale abiola. Indeed many have swayed to the heady strains of it, from the sonorous mouth of the singer. "Abiola wa' pe o, Kashimawo wa pe laiye…"(Abiola , you will tarry, Kashimawo you will stay long on earth…), the Juju king had insisted as though the length of life of his erstwhile benefactor were even at all within his power. It might have been said to be ironical that the subject of his excessive praise in that LP had died years afterwards at a mere years of age and at the very doorstep of glory; but that would be too hackneyed.

While MKO rotted in jail in 1998, the man who was the head of the government that annulled the election he won before their results were even announced, was to make his first visit to the city of Lagos after "stepping aside"

It was a tension filled time. Co guests at the night party of the wedding of his former deputy's son awaited his arrival with a mixture of fear and excitement. Fear because, for obvious reasons, it was expected that pandemonium would break loose.

As a matter of course, he arrived late and as he made the big entrance every breath was held. The tension was diffused only as the musician for the night abandoned the erstwhile favorite for the night in the person of the Ooni of Ife, in favour of the general who immediately joined the party and took center stage. The musician was none other than the same Sunny Ade, the self styled King of Juju himself.

That long story is only a classic example of our own peculiar brand of praise singing. It is to be wondered if persons holding political office also feel ridiculous when they pick up 'deserved' chieftaincy title after chieftaincy title; award after award for excellence and such like and then beat their chests bout it to boot! It is to be wondered, furthermore, if they ever ask their awardees why their suddenly glaring excellence was never noticed until they received government appointments.

What has come to be accepted in government and politics however still looks really bad when it appears in business, particularly in this age in which government is increasingly shifting responsibility away from itself and shoving it at the private sector.

The term "blue chip" only appeared in Nigerian common parlance in the last decade and a half or so when it became obvious that our economy was unable to support indigenous industrial business efforts successfully; and that the existing ones would enjoy increasing monopolies. It was a matter of the rich getting richer and the poor simply packing it up. As time went on and after not so long, the term "blue chip" would become not only a term but also an attitude. These privileged companies had huge asset bases and revenues. They had formidable international backing, and even as their parent companies realigned and merged and reformed and repositioned, their offspring retained their solid places in the Nigerian market and seemed to grow stronger.

Cadbury's Bunmi Oni was the typical 'anointed candidate' for that blue chip company's leadership at the exit of erstwhile chief executive turned ambassador Christopher Kolade. With a background similar to his godfather's of sorts, Kolade had obvious and tremendous belief in the abilities of the younger man.

That belief was by no means unfounded, and this much was apparent in the first few years of Mr Oni's leadership of Cadbury. Turnovers improved in geometric proportions, and the Cadbury mantra of "quality first" seemed to have been maintained by its new captain. Whatever went wrong with Cadbury's ability to continue on their profit-making trend might well have less to do with the ability of the chief executive than with the ailing economy and its ability to sustain indigenous production businesses, which had worsened so much that it would take a hyper dynamic blue chip to keep up.

Cadbury had tried in that respect, but unfortunately failed because the company failed to realise what we have as a nation tried to escape from for so long. One of the companies that first ditched NEPA for its own power generation, Cadbury not only went back decades (new business conventions favour as much outsourcing as possible); it had placed upon itself an unsustainably huge responsibility.

With this and other similar moves, things were always bound to collapse at some point and it did obviously. Not even more recent alternative energy sources would make a real difference.

Of course it is not being suggested here that Cadbury went from being an enviably viable company to one barely able to keep afloat because they generated their own electricity. It is not one particular thing. It is, rather, a whole outlook.

But, really, had there been alternatives?

Regions : Africa

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