I was at the event back in 2002, when, at the MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos, Leke Alder, the CEO of then wave-making Alder Consulting, took to the pulpit to explain the rationale behind the mustard seed logo change of the then Standard Trust Bank Limited. Alder’s presentation was laced with a good dose of poetry, as his rendition (which drew great applause anyway) was rendered in rhymed verse.
It was on this night that the world was told of the new mission statement of the bank, which read that it was aspiring to be “a role model for African businesses by creating superior value for all our stakeholders, abiding by the utmost professional and ethical standards, and by building an enduring institution.”
Twenty-three years later, this mission statement sounds fresh, like it was crafted yesterday; the force and energy in it have continued to inspire its chief visioner, Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu, to push boundaries. For a man who doesn’t believe that there are boundaries to achievement, it goes without saying that Elumelu crafted a transformative vision statement that, though planted in Nigeria, has been bearing fruit across the continent.
From powering the lifeblood of a young bank founded in 1997 with a revolutionary spirit, Elumelu was able to strategically metamorphose this humble beginning into the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, to which this vision of a role model for African businesses was transfused by what looks like expert medico-financial procedure.
When therefore you hear that Tony Elumelu was granted a national award by the President of Gabon, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, you need not grope for the raison d’être’ – it was an event whose future was foretold decades ago by a man who believed in, not just himself, but in the greater possibilities of an entire continent.
The award, which is the Commander in the National Order of Gabonese Merit, is one of the highest in the country and was conferred personally by the Gabonese president, who praised the Chairman of Heirs Holdings for his enduring contribution to Africa’s economic development, particularly his impact on youth entrepreneurship and infrastructure growth in Gabon and across the continent.
“Tony Elumelu is not only a visionary entrepreneur but also a committed friend of our nation, Gabon. Through his foundation and the UBA Group, he has consistently shown that investing in Africa is not just good business – it is the key to our shared future. Today, we honour a man whose actions continue to empower young Africans and inspire nations,” the Gabonese president said of Elumelu.
Deep thinkers are the only ones with the capacity to decipher the significance of this honour, which has transported Tony Elumelu from a philanthropic Afrocentric entrepreneur to a Gabonese upper-class citizen.
Gabon has its issues with the distribution of income, but the country has one of the highest GDPs per capita on the continent. Next only to Seychelles ($21,333 GDP per capita), and Mauritius ($12,332 GDP per capita), Gabon is one of Africa’s richest economies, and with a new president that is talking infrastructure development and total economy overhaul that will result in more even income distribution, Tony Elumelu stands in pole position to extend this leverage to the businesses associated with him.
Situated on the west coast of Central Africa, Gabon is an upper-middle-income country with abundant petroleum resources. It shares borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. This geographic position puts this country in good standing to express its regional influence quite widely. It has the wealth to exert the sort of influence it wants and, with income distribution and riveting infrastructure development, will naturally attract investors, as well as occupational, social and economic migrants from the region and beyond.
With nine branches already operating in the country, Tony Elumelu’s United Bank for Africa (UBA), which was opened back in 2009, has, with this national award, just conferred the goodwill – the elixir to spread its wings and fly. Infrastructure finance and a role in the country’s oil & gas as well as power sector investments and financing are just small windows of opportunities that could possibly open for Elumelu’s businesses.
The power sector in Gabon might yield quicker fruits. Currently, Gabon’s power situation is facing significant challenges. While almost two-thirds of the population has access to electricity, the country faces issues with rural electrification and frequent power outages, particularly in the country’s capital, Libreville. These outages are due to various factors, including the reliance on hydroelectricity and the need to upgrade infrastructure. Additionally, the national electricity and water company, SEEG, faces criticism for repeated malfunctions and financial scandals.
With experience in the use of gas-powered turbines in electricity generation, the blossoming relationship with Gabon will also yield an opportunity for Transcorp Power, the company also owned by Elumelu that went public last year.
Transcorp Power has grown quickly from a struggling publicly owned power company into a high-performing generating company with a capacity hovering around 972 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts. With an abundance of gas from its rich crude oil resources, investments in gas-fired turbines will help the country fill the gaps left by the ageing hydroelectric power plants while also reaching many of the unserved and underserved rural populations.
As pointed out at the beginning, Elumelu envisioned and codified his influence across Africa quite early in his career as a banker. Although the human in him could never have been able to tell when exactly it was going to manifest, the fact that he dared to write it down more than 20 years ago speaks of his strong convictions and his ability to consistently evolve the strategies that drive him along the boulevards paved in his dreams.
Ikem Okuhu is a journalist, a Public Relations professional, brand strategist and teacher. With a career that traversed Print Media, Oil & Gas, Banking and entrepreneurship. He is the founder/publisher of BRANDish, Nigeria’s first nationally circulating Brands and Marketing magazine.
