A chance meeting with Babatunde Jose changed my life—Nwosu

Sir Sunny Nnamdi Nwosu is the acting chairman, R.T. Briscoe Plc, director at both Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) and MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, as well as the founder and pioneer national coordinator, independent shareholders association. SEGUN KASALI travelled down the memory lane with him.

 

How was coming from an underprivileged home like?

It has been very rough and when I talk about being poor, it was really a poor family. You needed to do a lot of odd jobs to cater for not just your personal existence, but your entire family – father, mother and your siblings. We were about 12 by my mother, but two passed on, leaving 10. So, it was very tough.

 

How tough was the experience for you?

It was tough to an extent that I sold Bahama grass that is used to build football pitches. I also carried headpan used at construction sites. But all the same, during that period, you hardly cared about those things because God is always on your side, in the sense that every kobo you earn would be useful. I was doing a messenger job before God started showing me the way of survival.

 

How was this so?

I was at Boulos Nigeria just coupling Suzuki machines as well as packing and selling as an unskilled worker. Within that period, I was able to save some money, about N17 or something like that to buy into Daily Times shares. I read in the papers about the person of Alhaji Babatunde Jose, who I eventually adopted as my father, not that I lost my father, but for what he had impacted in me. So, I bought the shares. I was just about 17 or 18 years old when I bought the shares. I also read from the papers that they were going to have an Annual General Meeting (AGM). So I managed to attend and speak at the AGM. And he looked at me, saying this looks like my youngest shareholder. Actually I was, because when you talk about shareholding, you would see retirees during that period. So, I summoned courage to meet with him after the AGM and don’t forget that the status of Alhaji Ajose was just like the president of Nigeria. Whenever he spoke then, Nigeria had spoken. So, he invited me to his house in Ikoyi and I went there, waiting patiently to see him. He was excited to see me and thereafter invited me to Daily Times office, and that was what I believed God used to transform me.

 

What did you discuss with him?

He invited me to his office and asked me some questions and I told him my intention was to read to become a journalist. But then, I had to start somewhere. He then asked me, ‘will you like to work in Daily Times?’ and I answered ‘yes’. I could not fit into journalism because there was a school that trained journalists in Daily Times. So, he now sent me to the late David Attah, who was the personnel manager at the time. He looked round and said there was no space. Would I accept to be an office boy?

 

And what was your response?

Yes, because when you move with intelligent people, everything you think about would be how to be intelligent. So, that was how I started working in Daily Times and I was exposed to accounting and all that while being an office boy. So, they opened up a new department where I was transferred to and that department handled accounting and monetary issues of the organisation. In summary, that was how I became interested in accounting and the bigger interest was in share-buying because at the time, any money I earned, more than half would go into share-buying and he authorised approval of loans to me provided I wanted to use them to buy shares.

 

You jettisoned your university education?

During that period, most people were going through tuitions and all that because it was during the post-war. So, some were learning on the job and that was how I moved into learning on the job. At the time I left Daily Times, I was actually the chief cashier. I learnt from people like the late Afolajuwonlo (Finance Director, Daily Times), Mr Bisi Fabusoye, who also eventually became the finance director, Daily Times and people like Steve Owojobi. These were very known senior accountants that I worked with. So, I made improvement through trainings and all those, not that I went through the four walls of any university. Eventually, God made it possible for me to be teaching those who went through the four walls of the university.

                                   

Really, how was that possible?

Yes, but I continued to improve myself with trainings. Even now, I have been given a seat in Harvard Business School for a training. I am 68 years old going to 69 on February 11 and if it is the wish of God, I will celebrate my 70 years because I defer everything about me to God.

 

So, the breakthrough came when you became the chief cashier?

I told you when you are working with intelligent people, you also want to be intelligent. Alhaji Jose was a model to many of us because of his way of life and quest to ensure that people under him become meaningful human beings. It is a glorified title to say office boy. What we used to call it then was a messenger. That is the fact. As a messenger, there were many things that would be entrusted to you, the life of your boss, and even the progression of your boss because you can send out a negative signal about your boss that he would be battling to save himself from. And if you are a good messenger, bosses would bring you around them. So, that on its own is a turnaround for an intelligent person. For instance, when I was to leave Daily Times, Dr Dele Cole had come into Daily Times as Managing Director. He called me and named me professor. I was in charge of payments for the installation of Daily Times hub. I was in charge of payments to all the professionals that assembled from all over the world to build Daily Times. Now, what do you expect to learn from someone like Mr Pius Anyan, who used to be a workaholic? We had the late Adagogo Jaja, he was the Assistant Managing Director of Daily Times. We had Mr Nanny, who was the Deputy Managing Director. These were the set of people who commanded huge respect in journalism and political life of the country. So, my life changed because I was following the kind of life Dr Cole and others lived.

 

How Sir?

I learnt that because I did not have the opportunity and nobody was underwriting my bills. As the Managing Director of Daily Times, his bills were underwritten by the company. Anywhere he went, they sent it down. So, if you worked with those people and decided to stay on your own and tried to live that kind of life, you would end up regretting. So, that happened to me and I looked at myself and asked myself ‘what life am I adopting? Why don’t I go back to my conservative life which Alhaji Jose would teach us?’ So, I went back to that and rebuilt myself. I recall I went into serious debts as a result of that lifestyle. All the shares I had acquired with help and support of Alhaji Jose were sold by the bank. And I gave myself a challenge that I am reverting this life which does not pay me – not to have an underwriter and I started to buy shares with every kobo I had and rebuilt myself again. In rebuilding myself, opportunities came as an activist and they were judiciously utilised. That brought me thus far.

 

Is this why you look tough?

(Laughs) I don’t look tough, I am only principled. Today, I am the national president of the Boys Brigade. I served the state 12 years before I was elected as national president. So, I don’t know the kind of toughness you are talking about. Of course, I am known to be someone who does not take nonsense in the capital market. My major focus in the market is corporate governance. I don’t compromise the truth about capital market. If you are not doing well, you are not doing well and I would tell it to your face. And I don’t think that is a sin because it helps the other person to understand that he needs to do more to earn the appreciation of his seed providers.

 

Did your tough mien affect your relationship with ladies?

(Laughs) Well, I actually met my wife when I was still an office boy and we have been married for over 40 years now. Luckily for me, my wife does not take nonsense too.

 

Had she never looked down on you as an office boy?

When you both have a humble beginning, there will be mutual respect and that respect has been there.

 

But tough people are not always romantic. Are you different Sir?

One important thing you should know as a young man is that however tough you are, when you are married, you have to mellow down the toughness in order to build a home. If you do not come down from your horse of toughness, you won’t have a happy home. That is very obvious, but not that you would take any nonsense.

 

Considering your very humble beginning, how have you been paying back?

I spend a lot of money especially on education. I don’t compromise on education. Apart from my biological children, I would go extra mile in helping people when it comes to education because I have come to the realization that it is only educated population that can bring us out of the terrible situation we are in. I can starve to support the quest for education. I usually don’t say it to people. Also, I have been able to build one or two houses for very underprivileged families in Abia State. So, I have done a lot by the special grace of God. I have built a hall that cost me N30 million for my people in our community school because there was a time I went hiking and I told them I want to see this community produce lawyers, accountants and all that, and I would give my support. So, WAEC gave them a task that they would not allow examination to take place in our own school except there is a hall. So, I gave myself the task and I built and donated a hall to the school. By God’s grace, I will continue to support the underprivileged.

 

Do you still have time for socials considering your tight schedule?

It is a big problem for me. I come in here as I have come very early. By 4.00 p.m. or 5.00 p.m., I start attending to shareholders that may have questions about their investments and others. Sometimes, I leave here at 10.00 p.m. I have had many problems with regards to that; to even socialise in clubs where I am registered is an issue as they hardly see me. Notwithstanding, I still pay my subscriptions. So, socialising is a tough thing for me, but not that I don’t attend some parties when opportunity presents itself. If I am being invited at a time I have less schedule, I will attend.

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