Ibrahim Odumboni is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). He shares his life story in this interview with SEGUN KASALI.
You look tough going by your physical mien. Any reason for this?
Tough? I won’t count myself as tough. Perhaps it is my personality. But, I am not tough. I am mild, but I can switch. It depends.
When was the last time you switched?
I switch every day. But, I think the main thing is I always raise a bar for myself and because I raise the bar consistently, it does not mean I am putting pressure on myself. It is just me. I like to be hands-on. I don’t want to be idle. With all the LAWMA job, I still have professional jobs I am doing. So, I am still studying.
You must have been raising the bar from childhood then…
It has always been like that. I was born into a large family. We are about 15; I am number eight and number five of the boys. You could see that for you to actually be noticed, you need to do something extra. It is not that you are noticed because you are youngest or the oldest. For me, it was because my dad did a lot to stretch himself.
How do you mean?
For me, he took himself through business, education, life and that is what radiates in me. Anyone that knows my dad very well would know that I am pretty much a hybrid of him. My dad was one of the first P&T engineers who came from England to start the radio and telephone in Nigeria. So, he came back to do that like I came back to do what I am doing now. He worked tirelessly to ensure that most things are put in place and those are the things people are now enjoying. So, we are trying to do our best. Personally, I am an extrovert. If I am not happy with something, I would let you know straight up. I can read things quickly and I can process a lot of things in microseconds, and I appreciate God for the talent. I had not done waste before. Fewer than two years ago, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu saw me as a talent to lead Lagos forward in terms of waste management and I am here, doing it. From being an investment banker to what I am doing now, a lot of things have changed. No matter what you give me to do, I would still try my best to do it.
What about your mother?
My mum? Oh! My mum is my backbone. She keeps the body and soul together. Without her, I don’t think I would be where I am now. You know with someone like myself who is proactive, I make mistakes a lot of times. So, I leave the mistakes for my mum to sort out.
What do you mean by that?
To be honest, I am still not an adult to my mum. Sometimes, I can be a little bit less emotional. This is not because I am not emotional but I am quite reflective and come out of things quickly. So, I see myself as a problem solver. Whenever there is a problem, I think of the solution. I don’t dwell too much on a problem because what has happened has happened and so let us move on. So, another side of me that reflects more empathy, is the one from my mum. I believe that throughout my childhood I have always been making her proud and that does not mean I have not had a time when she had to scold me. But, I don’t think my mum has ever beaten me before because I would rather not do something to be sorry for. That is my person. If you are my parent or you are around me, I won’t do what you don’t like. I remember I told myself I wanted to be a banker and a top one for that matter. And I said to myself that I would go to England and study. And I left at that age. I could even say I left against my dad’s instruction but my mum supported me.
Why was your dad against it?
He did not want me to be a banker. Most of the times I would always change my course in school. I like numbers and that is to say I am good at Mathematics. So, it was because he knew I was good at this and that he wanted me to be an engineer. But, for me, I was an all-round person. And you know there is a difference between what you designed for yourself and what the person designed for you. I know my capabilities. My siblings were engineers already and I do not want to be an engineer because I love to be different.
How did you come about your love for banking?
While we were growing up, my dad had big houses with a lot of tenants everywhere and I noticed when we go around, this one is a banker and that one is a banker. There was one uncle Muri who used to work in First Bank then. There is one other person too who used to work in another bank. So, they would tell us about banking and those discussions stimulated my interest in banking. I was always asking them “what course did you study?” and they would tell me a random course. So, I said to myself that I would do a course which is easier for me. And when I got to England, I still sustained my interest in banking even though other jobs were in front of me. I started as a cashier and rose up to director level before I came back to Nigeria. I started with HSBC and left there as a regional manager to other banks.
All seems rosy for you then?
That is exactly what I mean by raising the bar. My friends around me were saying they would not take me for a banking job in England. They also said you would never be the head and all that. But, I became a regional director at 31. So, you have to go through a lot. When I changed from retail banking to private banking, it was like a lifestyle, moving from Ajegunle to Ikoyi. I can remember a lot of my colleagues said I cannot move from a retail banking to a private banking. But, guess what? I moved and I thank God.
What was the magic?
So, the magic was my tenacity and my drive. I do not like being told I can’t do something. If I set myself a goal, I would do it. I do not have limitations and that is why my own definition of youth is different. A youth is someone with infinite energy and zest for life. If you have the infinite energy, you won’t say you have it all and stop striving for the best. You really have to be a youth to have unlimited boundaries. So, I asked for the job and I got it. You don’t get what you want now by demanding for it now. You demand for what you want now couple of weeks or days back. Like now, I already know what I want to do in the next two or three years. So, it is kept inside of me. As the year starts approaching, people would start knowing what I want to do. So, I always strive to improve myself in order to get to where I want to be.
So, no regret of any kind?
I have no regret. I have three Bachelor degrees, two Masters and a lot of professional qualifications. I asked myself why I did not go for my Ph.D instead. And these certificates were products of the fact that I am a restless person. So, many times I sign up for all these development programmes and one other thing is that when you are in a senior management role in some of these companies abroad, they would take you through their own education, regardless of what you have already.
Would you still go for the Ph.D?
(Laughs). Now, I am in waste management. I want to know more. But, I am not a one-sided person. I like to retain my investment banking knowledge which is a holistic view of life. And thank God for a good wife and blessed children.
Did you meet your spouse in the UK?
Yeah. It is quite interesting actually. We met almost immediately I got to England and we got married within two to three months of meeting. The marriage is 16 years old now. We met at a Freshers’ event. So, she was in her second year studying Law while I was studying for Master’s degree. So, I went to the Freshers’ event with my friend and then we met for the first time. Then, she invited me to her birthday but I missed it.
Why?
I slept off and the next day I had to go see her to apologise for not coming but I still asked for the food. I met other people that could not make the birthday there and they were telling me how good and nice she was. I said okay and then I asked her out.
How was the endearment?
Ah! She listens to me. She is like my mum (laughs). She takes all the troubles off me. So, every man has what a woman loves in his life. For me now, I can deal with everybody’s problems but who deals with mine? That is her. But, I always stretch myself just like I often say that I want my children to be bigger than me. That is the biggest motivating factor for me. So, I always ask myself if I want my son to be greater than me and if that was the prayer my dad was praying, I should break that soon. But, I do not want my sons to find it easy to break my record (laughs). Let me raise it very high so that they know that they would have to work very hard to get there.
Which of them do you think would take after you?
I know the challenge is on. They would break it. But, I need to make sure that it is way higher (laughs).
Why did you come back to Nigeria despite your achievement abroad?
I never had it in mind to come back to Nigeria at all. I started knowing about Nigeria when I met Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So, I would say my coming back to Nigeria was all down to him being a visionary person believing that I can use all my energy, skills, knowledge and everything I have, back here in Nigeria rather than giving it to someone else.
What led to the conversation?
It was a long conversation and it was not a one day discussion. He was basically sharing his life with me. If you look at it, he has gone abroad and lived there. He worked in so many big companies over there and all of a sudden, he stopped and came back to Lagos, Nigeria. It was my prime in banking and I was doing fantastically-well and everybody was very proud of me. Then, someone who is living the life I was living before shares his own thought and lived his dream, then, told me to come to Nigeria. So, I always feel that most of the people I know now, have been met before through his own eyes. So, it is that intrigue of hearing this and that. Asiwaju is more like a dad to me. He gives me a good listening ear and he teaches me every time. He is this kind of person who believes you can do it. And I never regretted having such conversation with him. I remember that nobody born of woman could convince me to come to Nigeria at that time because I was doing very well but he did and I would forever be grateful to him.
What are your memories?
My first, was when my first son was born. I would never forget that. I do not even realize that is what babies look like (laughs). As soon as they gave it to me, I was like, take it back (laughs). It looked very small and fragile. I was my wife’s bathing partner and I bond with children very well.
I have also had near-death experiences in life. I had had a semi plane crash before, where the plane skidded off the runway to the forest and I thought the world was going to end there. This was 2018
Is there anything you would have loved to change about the past?
I would have come back to Nigeria earlier. I had the opportunity to come back to Nigeria in 2009. A friend of mine tried to convince me when I was in a higher management at HSBC. He told me that ‘you are doing very well here’. Perhaps you come back here so we can start business. But, I said no. But, in hindsight, I could have gone there and it could have been a different story entirely. I would be very honest with you that the experience I shared and the moral support from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is what made me who I am today. I grew up under a year around him. I grew up like twenty-five years in one year. Come to think of it! I never lived in Lagos before. When I came back, I could still blend in easily.
What is your life philosophy?
Life is not short but infinite. It depends on how you live it. So, you have to live infinite, to enjoy as if there is no end
What is that thing people don’t know about you?
Ahh! You have to ask my wife. She is the only one that knows me very well.
Any embarrassing moment?
There was a time I travelled in Europe. I was going to a conference. So, I went in a train and it was supposed to be a 2 stop journey but I was on my phone. I thought it was going to stop for the first time and I found myself 8 kilometers away from where I was supposed to stop. and the place was not an English speaking country.
So, how did you find your way?
I had to use Google translator and had to talk to people like a dead and dumb, to find my way. That was Sweden. And it was a place where there was no single black person around me. And then I asked myself “Wetin you dey do here?”
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