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BOOK REVIEW: Leadership Turnaround By Ifie Sekibo

Published

4 years ago

September 3, 2021

Editor

Reviewed by: Olukorede S. Yishau

The man Ifie Sekibo is an astute Nigerian banker and entrepreneur adept at returning moribund companies to the path of sustained profitability. He is the pioneer and current CEO and Managing Director of Heritage Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank. A post he held since 2012.

He wrote his book (Leadership Turnaround” out of his quest to tell his story from climbing the ladder of success to attain leadership positions. He did not hold back on the failings and challenges he encountered on his way up. From his successful revival of Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN), a massive success by any metric, to the creation of Heritage Bank.

Leadership Turnaround is a condensed commentary from a leader who has recorded remarkable successes, failed in some instances along the way, picked himself up and made it a duty to get better. It is the story of a leader, reputed for turning around failed enterprises, as well as having a knack for spotting and nurturing SME’s.

The book downplays what has become the regular leadership clichés, and opted for the language of experience, presented in a dialogic and conversational tone. Perhaps, knowing that the many leadership books hanging on bookshelves are heavily laden with theories, the author adopted a practical approach, which sets it apart from the others.

Written on the premise that “The essence of true leadership is that you impact your local community for a wider benefit,” the author reveals how he turned a dead banking institution into a successful endeavour benefiting thousands and ushering him onto the global stage.

In building brands, for instance, the author admonished Nigerians to build businesses that will outlive their generation. Citing the case of the Arthur Guinness family, the author shared the remarkable story of how the enterprise was handed down generations, through vision, faith, values and commitment.

In Leadership Turnaround, the author made a brilliant analogy of the processes in the fractional distillation column of a refinery, and the process that distils an individual from his raw talent into a fine leader. The book likens the Training School set up for Heritage Bank as the refinery. Leadership needs to go through such catalytic cracking to refine the attributes and qualities from the crude form. In setting up the refinery, the author did not settle for an artisanal refinery for quick fixes, with attendant environmental impact.
Rather, he invested in efficient “fractional distillation columns” for human resource, to refine the leaders he needed to run the organization, prosper and hand it to the next generation.

Sustainability! He set up a solid training school that reached beyond just banking, to teach etiquette, relationship, social assets, law, and many more. He wanted well-rounded leaders.

Leadership Turnaround stirs up an interesting conversation of globalization and the hybrid form, glocalization.

The author admonished young people to substitute the mindset of globalization with that of glocalization, so they can customize their global outlook to solving local problems.

This is an interesting perspective which I consider very apt for Nigerian youths who want to hit the international headlines, without first making headlines in their local ecosystem. The pathway to global success should be facilitated by the local problems you solve. According to the author, this is what set the likes of Jack Ma apart.

An interesting experience shared by the author in this book, is the revival of the dead bank, Societe Generale Bank.

Reviving a failed bank in any country of the world is never easy. In Nigeria, this is even more difficult. In fact, it could be as difficult as raising the dead. You will need the faithful sisters Mary and Martha, as well as the son of God, all present and joined together in faith, to call “Brother Laz” back to life. And yes, that did happen; not literally, but in some sense. The author and his team (the Mary’s and the Martha’s) apart from the vision, commitment, positive thinking and resources, also relied on faith. Yes, you need faith to dream of getting over 200 bank customers to withdraw their cases in a single day and settle out of court. This account was intriguing, and loaded; albeit, told with such simplicity that demystified what ought to be a complicated success story.

The author reached for examples, case studies and scenarios from different perspectives. He made a lot of Biblical references, not surprising, as a section of Leadership Turnaround was on the role of faith in leadership. In one analogy he cited the power of single-mindedness and unity of purpose, as exemplified in the Biblical tower of Babel, which struck a chord with me. I have often used this analogy while teaching the role of Protocol in Computer Communications and Networks, and it epitomizes the power of a common understanding and mindset. Once a team is united and have a single mindset, it is difficult to defeat them. God identified this in the case of the tower of Babel. The author highlighted this as an important ingredient for success in the corporate space.

The book has several “Take Action” stopovers after each chapter; where readers are refreshed with simplified but impactful action points. The lessons that follow each are drawn from the real world of successful business enterprise. So much was covered in such short space. Some of these include lessons on the complexities of the world of mergers and acquisition; lessons on dealing with soft issues; lessons in Emotional Intelligence; lessons on having the right mindset; lessons on visioning and the kinetics of visioning; lessons in entrepreneurship; the importance of hitting the road, and gaining traction.

In Leadership Turnaround, the author did not hold back on the failings and challenges he encountered on his way up. From his successful revival of SGBN (a massive success by any metric) to the creation of Heritage Bank, and to the quickfire acquisition of Enterprise Bank – which turned to be a poor decision on timing. The author shared these lessons to illuminate the path of the reader, so the mistakes are not repeated. Mistakes are not to be buried and filed out of memory; they can be converted to steps on the ladder on the way to the top. They form part of the script of success.

The author once shared with us the role of chance in the Nigerian business terrain. While I agree with him, I would add that you need to be deliberate to take your chances; as deliberate and measured as he was, and still is.

This is the story told by the author with such candour and remarkable simplicity. I recommend this book to all who seek practical insights into leadership.

Each chapter concludes with Take Action questions and recommendations designed to stir your views and beliefs—setting in motion ideas and theories that need to be explored and acted upon to advance your successful future. Leadership Turnaround may focus on Nigeria—but every person, including youth and mature adults in every nation, can benefit from the wealth of knowledge and wisdom contained within every page of this book.

About the reviewer:

Olukorede S. Yishau is a journalist of about 22years and have won the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA) four times and have been finalist several other times in the Media Merit Awards. He is also Nigeria Prize for Literature nominee, a decorated newspaper columnist, and author of In The Name Of Our Father and Vaults of Secrets

News

Senate Confirms Ex-CDS Musa As Defence Minister After Five-hour Screening

Published

9 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence following a rigorous five-hour screening by lawmakers.

During the confirmation hearing, Musa faced tough questions on recent security lapses, including the withdrawal of troops from Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, shortly before the abduction of schoolgirls on November 17.

The incident sparked national outrage.

Musa assured the Senate that he would immediately set up a full-scale investigation into the troop withdrawal once he assumes office.

He also vowed to probe the recent killing of a brigade commander in Borno State, Brigadier General Musa Uba, and other attacks targeting military officers.

He said, “It is very unfortunate and really painful. I want to assure Nigerians that we will not stand by and have terrorists have the capacity to do such.

“We are going to go after them fully, working together with all the security agencies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (of government). We are going to investigate fully.

“The Armed Forces have a way, and then from the defence, we are going to make sure that we continue with the oversight over their activities.”

The nominee highlighted gaps within the armed forces and called for enhanced funding, strengthened community engagement, and coordinated inter-agency operations.

He also emphasised the need to protect schools through the Safe Schools Initiative and a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and banditry.

The screening session saw moments of tension in the chamber.

Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) suggested Musa be allowed to “take a bow and go,” prompting protests from lawmakers, including Senator Garba Maidoki (PDP, Kebbi South).

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, intervened, urging a thorough screening and noting that Nigerians and the international community were closely watching the process.

Musa, nominated on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu following the resignation of Defence Minister, Badaru Mohammed, on health grounds, pledged to prioritise the protection of lives and national territory.

“I pledge to do my best to ensure that Nigeria is secure and safe.

“We need the support of everyone, every Nigerian, working together as a team, because it’s going to be a team effort.

“The enemies we are dealing with are evil forces that don’t mean well for this country and have no respect for human lives… If we don’t work together, we will allow them to perpetrate the evil acts they have been doing,” he said.

His confirmation comes amid heightened concerns over nationwide kidnappings, insurgency and mass abductions.

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NUC Gets €3m Loan To Start ICT Projects In Varsities

Published

10 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

This initiative, known as the Blueprint-ICT-Dev Project, aims to upgrade digital infrastructure, strengthen ICT capabilities, and promote digital literacy in these institutions.

The National Universities Commission says it has received €3m as the first tranche of the $40 million loan secured from the French Development Agency to support Information, Communication and Technology projects in 10 selected universities across the country.

Executive Secretary of the commission, Abdullahi Ribadu, announced this during the inaugural meeting of the 13th NUC Board on Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Ribadu noted that since he assumed office about a year ago, the commission has pushed forward initiatives centred on research, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and skills development across Nigerian universities.

“We have secured $40 million loan from the French Development Agency for the ICT Blueprint Project in 10 selected universities. We have strengthened – only yesterday, the director confirmed to me that the first tranche of €3m has been deposited in our CBN account to kick-start the process.

“We have strengthened internal financial management, expanded access to university education through the licensing of new private universities, and approved new programmes and units.

“We have also supported the take-off of publicly funded universities, expanded open and distance learning centres, and continued system-wide quality assurance exercises. Currently, the 2025 Accreditation Exercise is ongoing.

“These priorities continue to form the foundation of the Commission’s direction, and I am seeking your support in advancing them,” he said.

Ribadu assured the board of the commission’s full cooperation, saying the management stands ready to draw from the members’ expertise.

“We will rely on your wisdom to guide us as we carry out our duties. I am confident that your collective experience will strengthen the commission’s capacity to guide the Nigerian university system at a time when higher education continues to evolve.

“We also look forward to using your networks to help advance projects and partnerships that will benefit the Commission and the entire university system,” he added.

On his part, Chairman of the 13th NUC Board, Emeritus Professor Oluremi Aina, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his sustained support for the university sector.

He said the board is assuming its mandate at a time of transition for higher education, with global standards rising and expectations increasing.

Aina outlined five central pillars that will guide the Board’s work, covering performance evaluation, improved university rankings, digital literacy, research and institutional reforms.

He said, “As we settle into this assignment, but permit me to present what I call five pillars that I believe will help guide our stewardship. One, evaluation of NUC performance.

“We must examine in detail the Act that buffered and laid the foundation for the NUC. We also need to be conversant with the various amendments to the act, its vision and mission, guiding principles and ethics.

“Then we must study the commission’s operational challenges and landmark achievements. Going forward, we should compare ourselves against global standards, not sentiments, not history, and where we fall short, how we fall short, and why we must adjust boldly. Two, aligning with the renewed hope agenda of the present administration, the president has made education a pillar of national rebirth with the establishment of the fund and other initiatives.

“The signal sent to the world is that Nigeria is ready to reset and rebuild. Through our assignment, we must lead other key stakeholders in the higher education sector. In pragmatically resolving the naughty and nagging agitation of the academic staff union and other university unions.

“Advancements must also be made to enhance digital literacy and especially the use of artificial intelligence, AI, as tools to strategically reposition the universities nationally and internationally. Overall, it will also be a priority for the 13th board to work with the management for radical improvements in both the global and webometric ranking of our universities.”

He added, “Three, identifying and dismantling obstacles to university quality. Governance deficiencies, fund constraints, research stagnation, et cetera, must no longer be accepted as normal. Our duty is to reform and make progress, not to manage decline.

“Four, reviewing existing funding and exploring new channels for sustainable funding. Nigerian universities cannot thrive on ingenuity alone. The board must intensify the research for alternative funding sources. Strengthen utilisation and explore emerging and local opportunities.

“And five, investing in the welfare and capacity of NUC staff and regulatory infrastructure. The system cannot overperform its operators. Credible accreditation and monitoring require strengthened conditions of service and protected regulatory independence.”

Aina added that the board would fully leverage technology in its operations.

“We will seek to leverage technology to ease our burden through the adoption of digital platforms for the advancement of our collective objectives. And I have a charge for the board.

“This board, in whom I am well-pleased, carries with it the weight of expectations and aspirations of the Nigerian people,” he said.

Earlier this year, the French Development Agency provided a €38 million credit facility to the National Universities Commission to support the digital transformation of 10 federal universities in Nigeria.

This initiative, known as the Blueprint-ICT-Dev Project, aims to upgrade digital infrastructure, strengthen ICT capabilities, and promote digital literacy in these institutions.

News

Satguru Maharaj Pledges To Facilitates Kanu Release If…

Published

10 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The founder of One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj Ji, has vowed to get the incarcerated leader of the proscribed Igbo group, Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, released if the Biafra radio and sit-at-home order are stopped.

Maharaj Ji stated this while speaking in an interview granted to his temple’s in-house radio on Wednesday.

According to him, the IPOB leader was culpable of the terrorism charges levelled against him, and anyone guilty is liable to a death sentence.

He said, “We are, however, grateful that the matter has been put on hold in the sense that, by the accusations, it is always going to be death, looking at the level of crimes attached to him, with the way and manner the constitution is written. Anybody who is accused of doing such a thing (terrorism) is sentenced to death. It is only out of grace that Kanu was able to escape.

“So now it has to be by political settlement before he (Kanu) can be released, and it will be addressed in so many ways. For anyone advocating for his pardon, they have to take positive steps. In other words, they must not do so with empty hands; they should stop the Biafra radio wherever it is. Secondly, the sit-at-home order should be stopped, and the judgment should be accepted while the Igbo elders go behind the scenes to analyse and explain to the President.

“Today, the Igbos have been brought to the central realms of politics by Tinubu. And the Northern caliphate is not happy about it. They are not excited about the commission they were given…They should stop the propaganda that the East is about to be Islamised. When those are done, I know how to watch it out, Kanu will come out. I will help facilitate his release.“

The cleric joined the likes of Abia State governor, Alex Otti, activist Omoyele Sowore, and other South-East leaders to intensify efforts to secure the release of detained Kanu through a political arrangement, assuring residents of the region that “all hope is not lost.”

On Tuesday, Otti met Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, after visiting Kanu in the Sokoto prison facility, where the IPOB leader is serving his sentence.

Otti’s meeting with the President is believed to be part of ongoing engagements aimed at securing the release of the detained Kanu.

Recall that Kanu bagged a life sentence instead of the death penalty after the presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, handed down the sentence on counts one, two, four, five, and six.

The judge also handed Kanu a 20-year jail term on count three, with no option of fine, and a five-year jail term on count seven, with no option of fine.

Justice Omotosho delivered the judgment after convicting Kanu on all seven counts of terrorism offences.