“If you remember years back, Cadbury, when you passed through Agidingbi, you would smell the aroma of cocoa processing. It doesn’t happen anymore, which means they are now importing all these chocolates and selling them rather than doing serious production here. That’s what we’ve become—a market. But we should be taken more seriously than that; we shouldn’t be a dumping ground. Without a good industrial base, we can’t even function properly within the African Continental Free Trade Area that we’ve signed up to.”
Sola Obadimu took over as the administrative head of the NACCIMA Secretariat on September 1, 2022.
Before this appointment, he was the Director-General of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC).
With a rich background in the management of membership-based institutions, he had served, at various times, as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers; Director-General of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce; Founding Executive Secretary at the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce; and Acting Director-General of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria (IoD).
Sola Obadimu is a seasoned institutional administrator and is respected within the public/private sector circles in Nigeria.
In 2008, Sola served as a part-time Investment Promotion & Business Development Consultant for the UNDP/Columbia University’s Millennium City Initiatives (MCI) project geared towards attracting foreign direct investment to Africa.
Obadimu holds a B.Sc in Chemical Engineering, an MBA as well as an M.Sc. Economics, all from the University of Lagos.
Sola Obadimu is a regular public opinion contributor in several Nigerian publications and has made several management/trade development presentations at seminars and other fora.
Obadimu has been a beneficiary of several Top Executive Management and Leadership courses globally and he is an Executive Education alumnus of Harvard Business School (HBS), McDonough Business School of Georgetown University, Washington, (USA);. He has also attended courses at Cambridge University Judge Business School and the Manchester University Business School (MBS) in the United Kingdom
Sola Obadimu is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria (IoD); Fellow, of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM); Fellow, of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Member of various other professional bodies.
Obadimu speaks in this interview on his role in effectively managing NACCIMA as its director general.
What did you dream of becoming as a child?
As a child, I actually wanted to be an engineer because I was very good at Maths In primary school—even in my senior secondary school certificate examination, I had an A1 in Maths. I wanted to study either Mechanical or Civil Engineering because I like precision, mathematics, and precise answers. Funnily enough, however, I ended up studying Chemical Engineering, which wasn’t my dream as a child. Chemistry is not as precise; it’s not a precise science, but my brother managed to persuade me to study it. That was during the Nigerian industrial period, as he felt there were opportunities in the oil and gas industry, manufacturing, and so on. I didn’t know anything about Chemical Engineering, but I was offered admission to the University of Lagos, so I studied it. Perhaps as a side profession, I would have loved to be a priest—what the Yoruba call Abore—in the Christian faith, they are called priests or clergymen. But here we are, I’m not a priest; I ended up as a chemical engineer who eventually ventured into the management of membership organisations.
What prompted your switch from engineering to the world of business and economics?
I let whatever I do determine my further education. I started out as an engineer, working in factory manufacturing for a while. Then I got into FIIRO (Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi), where I was when GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation), formerly known as GTZ, was running a programme at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, and they needed small-scale consultants. I was a small-scale industrial consultant at FIIRO, so I applied for the job and was accepted under the GIZ project at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. That was my entry into commerce and industry. But before that, I had been studying for an MBA at the University of Lagos; so, when I got into the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I decided to solidify my knowledge in economics and took a master’s degree in economics, also from the University of Lagos. Actually, when I was doing my MBA there, one of my economics lecturers encouraged me, saying I was quite proficient in economics-related subjects and should consider majoring in economics. So, I did economics, and he even wanted me to pursue a PhD in economics. But after my MSc in Economics, I felt I had enough knowledge to function adequately in the terrain I found myself in. Since my days as a consultant at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I’ve always been in membership-based organisations—either chambers of commerce or professional organisations such as the Nigerian Institute of Management, the Nigerian Society of Engineers— I’ve been within that space, and now, I finished as the Director General at NACCIMA.
How has your academic background in chemical engineering, economics, and an MBA contributed to your ability to lead in diverse roles within chambers of commerce?
It has been useful because, as I said, I’ve worked in manufacturing, and you know the biggest part of our job here is advocacy—speaking on behalf of industry to government. It is a big part of this job, so I have sufficient knowledge about the challenges of industry, our limitations, and our capacities and incapacities when it comes to industry. It’s easier for me to relate to industrialists, understand their fears, challenges, and environmental issues. I identify very easily with them, given my engineering background, and with my knowledge of economics, it’s easier to advocate on behalf of industry to government. Thus, it has been very useful.
Would you say that your international experience is what enables you to navigate the business environment?
One good thing about this job is what you just mentioned—the international exposure. I’ve been to several continents and countries doing this job, and I can easily relate to the realities on the ground in other countries and compare them. From what I’ve seen, our people are enterprising; we’ve got everything—the drive, the self-motivation, and so on—but the only limiting factor I’ve seen is environmental and governmental. In places where governments think ahead and consider future generations, it’s easier for industries to prosper and grow. But here we are, not thinking about the next generation; we are consuming our future today, and that’s why we are not taking infrastructure seriously. We have now got ourselves into a situation where insecurity is the order of the day, and these are the things that are increasing the cost of doing business. We are not being sincere with ourselves. The international exposure has been useful.
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You contribute a lot to several Nigerian publications. How do you balance your personal perspective with the organisation’s (NACCIMA) interests when expressing opinions?
As you know, NACCIMA is a semi-political organisation; it is a pan-Nigerian organisation. Sometimes there are conflicts in balancing personal perspectives with organisational interests, but there is always a middle ground because of the overriding interest in seeing commerce and industry grow—that is the most paramount consideration. The only other thing you need is just to be tactful and exercise some discretion. In some cases, we are a little blunt in our language, or let me say, we are moderate in expressions so as not to offend any sensibilities. Incidentally, people in power and government know the truth, but sometimes we don’t like to hear the truth being told to us. But again, if we want to grow as a country, we’ve got to face it. There is a scriptural passage that says, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,’ and honestly speaking, it is only the truth that can set us free at this point in time, with the current challenges we are facing within the economic space.
What motivated your switch from Director General at the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce to NACCIMA?
NACCIMA is a bigger arena—a bigger playground. By the name—the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture—it’s the aggregation and conglomeration of the chambers of commerce in Nigeria. The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce is just one chamber. What it means to me is that having worked in several chambers, this captures the chamber movement in Nigeria. It is the aggregation, and it allows me to bring my knowledge from all these chambers and my interventions over the years. It makes my voice more audible, so when I’m talking to the press, for instance, they know I know my onions. They’ve known me since my time at these other organisations, and I just felt like this is a capping note to all the experiences I’ve had, and it’s nice to finish on this note.
During your tenure as Director General of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, what key insights did you gain that you find applicable in your current role?
It is the same role that I played in all the other bilateral chambers (Nigerian-South African, Nigerian-American, Nigerian-British). The insight is that outsiders are interested in our market, in this population of over 200 million that we’ve got, and because our industries are mainly finishing industries. What this means is that we have only a few fundamental industries for manufacturing setups; what we mainly have are packaging industries. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry now, the main ingredients of pharmaceuticals are being imported, and we just put these things together. When you take paracetamol, the paracetamol content of that drug, I think, is about 35 per cent; I can’t remember exactly. Then you add corn starch, binders, etc., to bind it together to make the pill that is swallowed. It’s a pity we didn’t develop our petrochemical industry. Most basic drug chemicals are derived from crude oil if they’re processed along petrochemical lines. We’ve always been refining. We used to have these national development plans in the 1980s, with lofty ideas to develop our petrochemical industry, which never really materialised. If it had, the first phase of that petrochemical development would have been to produce plastic raw materials, and in subsequent phases, we would have started manufacturing basic pharmaceutical raw materials that are derived from crude oil.
Back to the question, when they sell things to you and you buy them, and you have a large population, the next thought is to establish a concern—we call it a finishing setup—so that it makes it easier for them to bring things in, manufacture, and sell. But if your local environment is not conducive for manufacturing, they will just continue to export these goods to you, and you will continue to buy. If you remember years back, Cadbury, when you passed through Agidingbi, you would smell the aroma of cocoa processing. It doesn’t happen anymore, which means they are now importing all these chocolates and selling them rather than doing serious production here. That’s what we’ve become—a market. But we should be taken more seriously than that; we shouldn’t be a dumping ground. Without a good industrial base, we can’t even function properly within the African Continental Free Trade Area that we’ve signed up to. If we cannot compete favourably in the face of high energy costs, high infrastructure costs, high utility costs, and insecurity fears, what will happen is that we will have more inflows than outflows, and that will be a dent in the forex reserves. We need to industrialise to employ our people; if we don’t industrialise, we’ll be exporting jobs. If you’re sending out basic raw materials and basic mining products, you’re creating jobs for those countries that will eventually process these things because they will process and send them back to us. Instead of our youths and people getting engaged here, getting employment here, we’re exporting jobs because people will work in those factories that will process all these things.
How do you approach strategic decision-making to ensure NACCIMA’s success, especially in these challenging times? Can you provide an example from your role as the director general of NACCIMA?
In those days, there was something they used to call “management by objectives”. That is, before you do anything, you have an objective in mind—a clear idea of where you’re going. I believe, in mathematics or engineering, there’s something we refer to as first principles. When you want to solve a problem, you define your first principles, which are akin to your ground rules. Once you have those two things in place—your ground rules and your objectives—making decisions becomes much easier. You know where you’re heading, and strategies can then be developed, taking into consideration the personalities of the people you’re working with, their temperaments, the individuals you need to persuade, and what you need to say to get everyone on board.
When your end result is clearly defined, it’s not so difficult. If you present your case in a logical manner, clearly spelling out the inherent benefits and the steps that need to be taken—while also outlining the risks involved (what they call SWOT analysis in strategy)—and bring out the overall benefits in clear terms, possibly even figuratively, it becomes easier to convince people. When they can see the benefits available to them, you’re not just telling stories. Not simply saying, ‘we will improve’—what does that mean? What exactly are we improving? You need to spell out the factors, the indices that will improve, and by how much. These are persuasive methods that make it easier for people to buy into whatever ideas you may have.
Given your roles in various chambers, how do you effectively manage relationships with stakeholders, both locally and internationally?
Human beings are susceptible to issues of self-interest. As I mentioned earlier, if you present situations in a way that appeals to their self-interest, they are more likely to listen to you. When they see that there are benefits available to them, they will pay attention and be more receptive to what you’re saying. I’m averse to unethical practices and don’t want to be part of them, so I’m not going to sell you any fraudulent ideas. The notion that coming to Nigeria offers the biggest gains is, in my view, something we should not overemphasise, as it cheapens us. Are we suggesting that our people are easily exploited? Why are we promoting the idea that you can achieve the greatest margins in Nigeria? Are we implying that Nigerians are gullible? I think we need to say less of that. Instead, we should promote the idea that our people appreciate quality and what can add value to their lives; if you offer that, we’ll embrace it.
I’m not particularly enthusiastic about people bringing in products from abroad. Whatever you plan to do, try to establish a business here that can employ our people, so they can gain jobs, and the business can pay taxes to the government. That would add more value than just coming here to profit off us or selling us products when we have our own local goods that we’re hesitant to develop. The importation of basic raw materials should stop—we should add value to everything before exporting it. Exporting raw materials without adding any value is like living in the last century; it shows that we are not operating in this millennium at all but are still stuck in the Stone Age.
Economic prosperity is what will earn us respect on the international stage. People have said it repeatedly—we were on par with our counterparts in Southeast Asia around 1960, like Indonesia and Singapore. Economically, we were better than some of them, but now, internationally, they are more respected wherever they go. We haven’t progressed, and that’s why we don’t have the same level of respect. We need to add value to our lives so that we can gain international respect. We must earn it through economic empowerment. When people see our GDP, our per capita income, and the fact that our citizens can find fulfilment at home without fleeing, then we’ll earn respect—not just through rhetoric.
How did managing a professional society of engineers prepare you for the leadership responsibilities you hold at NACCIMA?”
The roles are not so different, really. There are some common areas between them. At the Nigerian Society of Engineers, we were advocating for the increased use of local content, both in human and material resources, to grow our economy. It’s the same message: let’s grow our economy so that engineers can find work here. Let’s go digital and keep pace with the world; let’s not be left behind. Here, we are talking about trade, commerce, and industry; there, we were discussing technology, but there is a fusion, a meeting point.
Unfortunately, politics is at the foundation of everything. If you don’t get politics right, you can’t get economics right. If you don’t get economics right, you can’t get technology right. That’s why our brightest minds are now entering politics. It’s so unfortunate; someone with the intellect to be a rocket scientist is running to be a councillor of a ward. Our brightest minds are content with being a personal assistant to someone, carrying portfolios, and booking tickets for people to travel, because industry isn’t growing. There is no technological improvement, as industries are divesting and moving elsewhere, so we are not adding value in that area. Everyone is going into politics to get a share of a cake that is diminishing by the day. It is quite unfortunate.
How do you stay adaptable to change? Can you share an experience where you used an innovative approach to address a pressing issue?
I am not rigid in any way; you can convince me with arguments. If the merits of the case are strong and your arguments are superior, I’ll concede. However, if I’m not convinced, it becomes a difficult issue, and that’s why I put things in writing. I do this for posterity, so that people can read it later. If, in the end, we take a different path, whatever I’ve written down can be revisited, and people can judge whether I was right or wrong. There is a lot of power in the written word, and it is stronger than the power of the spoken word. Spoken words may be debated, but when something is in black and white, it is clear where you stand. This is what I’ve employed in most cases.
Is there a student chapter or a way young people can join NACCIMA at entry level?
We have a youth entrepreneurship group. We also have a women group, and we have a vibrant youth entrepreneurship group.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as the director general of NACCIMA?
Well, it is Pan-Nigerian, so you have to deal with people from all over the country. You must be sensitive to ethnic, cultural, and religious differences. For example, when scheduling a meeting, you must consider that some people may want to pray. That’s the reality of NACCIMA as a Pan-Nigerian organisation—the same sensitivities you find in a government establishment must be demonstrated here. You need to be more tolerant of others and exercise a great deal of tact and wisdom in conveying your ideas.
In the near future, what is your vision for NACCIMA and how do you plan to achieve it?
My vision for NACCIMA is to be the voice of Nigerian business; in fact, that’s the slogan for NACCIMA. There was a time in this country when the annual budget, before being drawn up, would include input from the private sector. UAC, as the largest commercial conglomerate at the time, used to contribute to the private sector’s presentation. However, over time, due to diminishing industrial activity and other factors, what was meant to be a public-private sector partnership on equal footing has now become a partnership with a senior and junior colleague. In recent years, the government has grown so powerful in Nigeria while industry has been diminishing, and I would have preferred a situation where mutual respect remained equal.
To give some specific examples, a government agency might just write to us to have a meeting tomorrow, whether physical or virtual, and that, to me, is not showing enough respect. It is private businesses that are employing people and paying taxes; the government is no longer the primary employer, and of course, the government doesn’t pay tax to itself. The other sector that is growing, unfortunately, is the religious sector, and in this sector, they don’t employ many people; they use voluntary staff, so they don’t pay tax. If the Nigerian government does not show enough concern for issues that affect private sector growth, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Our youths will continue to leave the country if there are no jobs for them, and government revenues will continue to diminish because, as the number of industries decreases, the taxes they collect will decrease as well. If the government is tempted to raise tax rates again, it would be akin to giving patients bitter pills as medicine.
So, these are the issues. We need to grow our industries internally so we can employ our people, process our raw materials rather than export jobs, stabilise our energy demands so that we can preserve what we have, fix our roads so people can move goods around, and make our environment secure. For instance, a person who has a factory in Ilorin should not be stressed when their driver is bringing goods to Lagos, fearing that the truck might be hijacked and the ransom demanded could be more than the annual turnover. Is that how we want to do business here? Let’s take a good look at ourselves in the mirror and tell ourselves some hard truths.
How do you see your educational background continuing to influence the direction and impact of your leadership?
I believe I’m sufficiently equipped educationally to attain any position in this country. With my knowledge of Engineering, Economics, and Business Administration, I can competently take on any role. I’m qualified to chair any board in any organisation, and I’m also qualified to be the CEO of any establishment, whether private or public. I possess the qualities needed to add value to any organisation I may be part of, now or in the future. I’m very confident in that.
How do you measure the success of the NACCIMA?
It is a work in progress. Recently, we have been able to make some media impact because, as I mentioned, our economy is still in its primordial stage. We need to get the politics right; at present, our recurrent spending is obscene and continues to worsen. We are spending a lot on our politicians—our members of assembly, our government executives, our ministers—who are moving around with 10 vehicles each, costing 150 million naira or more. We don’t need these excesses; we are not the US. We shouldn’t be moving our politicians around as if they were the President of the United States. Our governors are not equivalent to the governors in the US. What is the GDP and economic output of an average state in Nigeria compared to a state in the US? So why should a governor here compare themselves to a governor in the US in terms of reward level?
I think we need to be more sober. We can’t create a culture where people who are supposed to serve us are becoming overlords of some sort, while the citizens are reduced to subjects. We need to recognise that we are a poor country, and that’s the reality. We need to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to spend less on our politicians. Recently, there has been talk in the media of a senator accusing others of taking 500 million naira when he received much less, and they’re arguing back and forth. They said the minimum amount received was 200 million naira. Do we need all this at our current stage of government, when we are trying to stimulate development? If you want to carry people along, you have to tighten your own belt as well. You must demonstrate austerity before you can convince others to practise austerity measures. That’s what leadership is all about. It’s not a matter of ‘do as I say, not as I do’; you have to set the right examples and have leadership that is moderate in taste and consumes local goods and services. The consumption habits of our politicians are foreign; there are even jokes that some of our people now drink imported bottled water. How can we grow local industries if that is true?
We need to curtail our tastes and consume locally so that our local industries can grow. Other countries have done it. India, for example, deliberately fostered the growth of their home industries. We shouldn’t be as import-dependent as we are now, and we should think more about the generations to come. Our youths are fleeing because there are jobs for them elsewhere, where people are providing for future generations, while we are consuming our future today.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
Actually, the favourite part of the job is what we’re doing right now. We need to talk about the issues in this country until we get it right. We can’t afford to keep quiet, and we can’t pretend that all is well. Not anymore; people are living in poverty. Out of every 10 calls you receive, half are asking for one favour or another. People are becoming impoverished; they can’t meet their basic needs. All our major industries have been declaring losses in recent times. PZ is considering leaving, having declared a loss of probably over 100 billion naira. The same goes for Nigerian Breweries and Nestlé, and despite that, they’re being taxed billions of naira. This isn’t sustainable because if these manufacturing houses close down, where will we be? So, we must continue to talk about it, and this is my favourite part of the job. We can’t afford to keep quiet.
