It took me by surprise, and talking to so many friends and colleagues, that was the universal response. On historic Tuesday, March 31st , in one simple phone call, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan completely ‘Transformed’ his status in the eyes of not just Nigerians but in those of observers all round the world.
In his first public performances thereafter, his demeanour was suddenly unperturbed, his shoulders relaxed and no longer tensed and he even looked years younger. While he is still our president (and it is gratifying to notice the statesman-like comments about this coming from President-elect Buhari), I am sure his workload is diminishing. Certainly, the long list of supplicants and special pleaders have deleted Otuoke in their address books and inserted Daura. Social media have already started commenting on how lonely he looks, attending church on his own instead of with all those ministers who are now away on overseas ‘medical trips’ or holidays (never to return?). If he didn’t already know, politics can be fickle, especially in Nigeria where the political byword is ‘No permanent friends. No permanent enemies’. Change will be a very personal condition for GEJ.
While I would never attempt to compare myself directly to our president at any level, I was prompted to revisit some of my own experiences. Managing director of Guinness Nigeria Plc has long been a high-profile position in this society, more so for Nigerians than expatriates. As the only one of the latter who was in Nigeria before and remained here afterwards, my experience was an interesting one. At the time my appointment was announced, I was running a business in Aba and suddenly my little office there in Umangasi was inundated with new friends I had never met. When I came back to Lagos, the number of people who had ‘known me since’ had climbed precipitously. I learnt very early that the few real friends I had been lucky to have ‘pre-Guinness’ would be the only ones I could trust when I was in the hot seat. I relied on them and knew their advice would be in my best interests and not for their own commercial welfare. They are still there today and we know ourselves. All, except my padi, the late ‘KOP’, Olu Priddy, whose laughter I still miss every single day!
During my period at Guinness I had a very experienced and wise PA, Toyin. She had worked for MDs and expat deputy MDs for many years. When I told her that DIAGEO (Guinness Nigeria’s majority shareholder) and I were parting, she wrote me a hugely insightful letter. One of the things she said was that if I was going to stay in Nigeria, I would be judged as a person, not how I behaved when I was ‘on seat’ but on my demeanour after I left. I never forgot that advice. Shortly after that I had a visitor to my new apartment off modest Keffi St in South West Ikoyi. Daddy Showkey turned up one Sunday with his lovely family. I still have photos of his beautiful children dressed in pristine white knee socks and very well behaved. He too came round to give some simple advice which was not to throw away my reputation by being too desperate to find new things to do with people I might not know well. He counselled me not to now associate with those who could tarnish my name. Neither Toyin nor Daddy Showkey needed to make that effort but they did and I will remain immensely grateful. It prompted me to think carefully as I gave up the ‘big man’ position and became just another expatriate.
One moment you are being driven in the company’s limo, you have a large budget for entertainment but no one let’s you pay because you have the final word on their appointment or promotion, on a contract they are seeking or a programme they want you to sponsor. Doors are opened for you, politicians and bank CEOs take your calls. Weekends are filled with invitations to prominent weddings or free tickets to events. However, soon after the handover announcement, things begin to change. At the ‘send-forth’ party, nice speeches are made but already you see the natural gravitation is towards the new guy. “The king is dead, Long live the king!” It is wise to remember the adulation is for the man in the position, not the man himself.
At about the same time, one or two other high profile CEOs left their lofty positions. I observed how they still sought the limelight, ran unsuccessfully for political office and lobbied for government positions. I am sure it was a painful shock when previously open doors remained closed or calls remained unanswered. I saw how people talked about them and referred to them. How respect diminished in direct proportion to their desperation to remain in the spotlight. I was lucky. I still had my original true friends and BusinessDay gave me an opportunity to reinvent myself by giving me this column.
The times I met GEJ as VP or president, he always seemed a humbler and more modest man than the people he was surrounded by. People that know have said he felt let down by his ‘supporters’ and was too often manipulated by them. As Shakespeare said, ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.’ Nevertheless, after the initial euphoria that another is about to carry that burden will come the realisation that he is no longer today’s man. Even so, Obama and other heads of state were quick to reach out and commend his statesman-like decision. He should now have no need to be too desperate to align himself with those that wish to cling on to their perceived credibility by commenting negatively or denigrating the new administration. By relaxing and taking his time in the knowledge that in that single phone call he endeared himself to Africa and the world, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan can enjoy his legacy.
Keith Richards
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