September 10, (THEWILL) – About two weeks ago, boardroom guru, Dr Oba Otudeko joined the octogenarian club. Quite unlike a man of his stature, he refused to roll out the red carpet and celebrate. Although he likes to keep things personal and private, many of his admirers felt that clocking 80 was a good enough reason to celebrate, having overcome many obstacles in life and still stood strong and healthy. But not only did he not roll out the carpets, many of his colleagues in the business community and fellow socialites did not publicly congratulate him for reaching the milestone. Save for Ibukun Awosika, a former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, many prominent Nigerians avoided sending congratulatory messages to him publicly.
Otudeko’s decision not to celebrate his landmark age most likely stems from several reasons. Besides the prevailing circumstances, politically and economically, protecting his interests in the Honeywell Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in foods and agriculture, telecommunication and infrastructure, real estate and financial services, particularly his legal tussle with Ecobank over a prolonged loan repayment default in billions of naira, is paramount to him.
Also, a federal high court in Lagos had awarded damages of N72.2 billion to his Honeywell Flourmills Plc. The judgement is a recompense for the huge loss that his company suffered with the ex-parte order Eco Bank secured against its operation while seeking to recover the disputed loan. Otudeko is hell bent on getting that money and planning a lavish 80th birthday party would have been distracting for him. In addition, he is allegedly uncomfortable with taking his eyes off the ball, in this case, FBN Holdings as the largest shareholder by units, a position he planned and schemed his way to attaining. The fear of the rug getting pulled out from under his feet while still trying to consolidate his position is real. And so for the one time president of the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, it is not a time to celebrate but to sacrifice personal pleasures to ensure everything about his business interests turns out well with proper attention to details.
