The Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Heirs Holdings Limited, Tony Elumelu has called for an end to oil theft threatening the country’s economic advancement.
Elumelu said this can be achieved through strategic leadership as it is a catalyst to economic development for any nation.
While delivering a lecture titled, ‘Strategic leadership: My business experience’, at Course 30 of the National Defence College, Abuja, on Tuesday, he said in both the private and public sector, strategic leadership makes the big difference in outcomes, fulfilling goals, mission, vision and purpose.
“Theft in the Niger Delta is a national challenge. You produce sometimes 100 barrels a day and the thieves will take up to 50,000. And to me, it requires a national seminar. It is, in my view, point one of the most nerve-racking threats to our country because it is so much money in the hands of people who don’t pay tax, people you don’t regulate.
“The country is not safe. They do that to us, they do that to other operators also. Nigeria, in the three quarters of last year, lost over $4 billion to thieves-; people who don’t pay tax and they use it to buy illegal ammunition and pose a threat to our corporate existence.
“This again demands strategic leadership. We need to deal with things like this. The lesson there is the resilience of leadership. We don’t chicken out. Tough times don’t last, only tough people do. We can’t continue like this; our country must wake up,” he said.
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While noting the attributes necessary to actualise strategic leadership, Elumelu said setting priorities and goals with achievable timelines should be top on the list.
“Strategic leaders know effective communication/clarity of purpose. People don’t buy into a vision they don’t understand so you must define the purpose and break it down in order to mobilise all stakeholders, in such a way that everyone in the chain understands, buys into this purpose and knows what role he or she is to play to contribute to the purpose and make it a reality.
“The more people who buy-in, understand the destination and how to get there, the more you are able to accomplish the purpose.
Strategic leaders learn and know how to mobilise resources. To execute your purpose, of utmost importance is resource provision: assembling human, financial, machinery, technology resources, etc. In my experience this is critical,” he said.
The businessman said his understanding of the importance of the people-factor in leadership led to huge strides recorded in the businesses he operates and the reason for the build-back initiative through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has provided seed capital for over 15,000 young entrepreneurs in 54 African countries.
Going further, Elumelu urged leaders to replicate their success in others and leave a legacy of good deeds.
“Strategic leadership is about replicating yourself as a leader. It is about training and developing others. Training and development make a lot of difference in the company environment; People make some honest mistakes because they have not been trained properly.
“It is about mentoring your people. Leaders must take time out to mentor their people; it is crucial to help them and set them on the right path. It is important to share your knowledge and experiences with the aim of preventing your people from making the same mistakes you have.
“Strategic leadership is about infusing your DNA into the organisation. You must ensure that habits and cultures cascade from the top of the organisation all the way down. This is formed by being firm, ensuring discipline is maintained across the organisation. Leaders must exhibit the values they expect to see from the people they oversee,” he added.
