I have been in a very terrible fight with a big bully. A retired Commodore in the Nigerian Navy leading to my eviction by an Exco, too Lilly lived to stand up to this ex-military man.
I knew Wale would call, Wale is a commando. A commando is someone who attended the prestigious Command Secondary School in Lagos.
Wale is not just an ordinary commando but a very influential part of the Alumni having served on the BOT for a while, guiding the association of over 11,000 members.
Edgar, what happened again o? “Why did you have to go public with the spat”, he asked. I had written a spitting attack on my adversary and as usual, he had called in to speak on peace
I had heard some little info about his pending appointment but didn’t want to mention it hoping that he would mention it. But he didn’t, instead worrying himself about a man who refused to allow the Navy pass through him after over 30 years.
Then my brother the exceptionally brilliant ex-banker Femi Omotosho called. “Edgar, dem want to announce your man Wale but I no go tell you, wait until Tuesday then we go talk.”
I already had the hint and was by this time wondering what the subterfuge was. Anyway, I decided to play their game and waited for their announcement.
Then it came. Nairametrics announced that Wale Oyedeji was now the substantive MD/CEO of Nova Merchant Bank. I already knew and this was just an official confirmation.
I put a call to Wale and congratulated him and then called back Femi for more gossip about Wale before I went to sleep.
Wale is a consummate banker and an extra brilliant one who has had a career in the industry only a few can dream of.
His career has taken him as a Youth Corper in GTB where he used to come to visit my neighbour, the lovely Cathy who also grew to become the DMD of GTB to the dizzying heights of an Executive Director in one of Nigeria’s most enigmatic banking institutions.
Along the way, he was seconded to its UK subsidiary – GTB UK where he performed exceptionally well before he was brought back into the main fold from where he left under very funny circumstances.
I had always thought that Wale was being groomed to emerge as MD of GTB at some point, but unfortunately, he was unceremoniously shown the door in a move that shocked market watchers.
The Bank had grown its retail business phenomenally well and it needed its very experienced hands on deck but instead, it seemed to be going on an incestuous culling of these same hands leading to the exit of Wale.
Market watchers were dumbfounded as its leadership in a Putin-like putsch consolidated its hold on power while also entrenching a Holdco structure that saw real power devolve to the group and away from the bank itself which now was just a castrated subsidiary headed by a mild operative with no colour or character.
Well, GTB’s loss was Stanbic IBTC ‘s gain as Wale was immediately appointed a non-executive independent director. A position he handled with the same panache that has seen him build one of the most enigmatic careers in the market.
Meanwhile, little-known Nova with its very powerful Chairman was going through changes. It has remained a bit player dropping results that were not very far from tepid..
Its erstwhile MD, Nat Ude who was poached from FCMB was not a salesman in the colour of the legendary Fola Adeola or a super strategist like Aigboje or Herbert, and as such the results reflected the dour disposition of its leadership.
To make matters worse, its Chairman, my brother Philip didn’t give the Management a free hand to breathe. I hear he was handed thereby stifling management and not allowing them to even – see the road. A road that was already muddled by the limitation of a merchant banking licence in a market that had gone decidedly retail.
If you know Phillip you would understand his robust approach to running ‘his bank’. After living most of his later career under the shadow of the more colourful and impact-driven Tony in UBA, this was his time in the sun and a boring perch on the Board as a non-executive Chairman was not his idea of running his bank in his retirement.
To survive, however, the need to go commercial was muted. By this time, it was haemorrhaging top performers who found it very difficult to operate under such stifling conditions but commercial it must go if it was to stand a chance in the new marketplace.
The job hunt I hear was aggressive.
Nova although a little bank was still an elegant one. Its branding and reputation were tight, it was well run despite board interference and maintained a very sterling reputation in the marketplace.
Its top job became a very strong attraction for the ED level of bigger banks and this made the Nova people pull their hairs in settling for the very best, especially with their new trajectory which would need a super-focused leadership.
Finally, they settled for Wale as early as October last year but because of one or two issues, he could not resume and by this appointment and CBN confirmation, then it looks like those issues were finally sorted.
Wale has his job cut out for him.
He has to find a way to push Phillip back and secure his confidence so he can be allowed to run the bank.
Then he would now be faced with macroeconomic headwinds that have seen his colleague banks announce record-breaking results that are presumed buoyed by forex positioning as against real-life banking.
The environment today is different from what it was when GTB had pioneered a unique service delivery in banking which led to a near revolution in the relationship between banks and the bank.
Today, that is all muddied up as technology has forged a level playing ground, throwing up aggressive minions-Fintech, who seem to be taking the fight to the big banks.
Regulation at its weakest and only just being revamped post-Emefiele remains another major challenge Wale would be facing.
But in all, Wale comes to this table with enough credentials and pedigree honed in a career that has seen him do nothing but banking since he graduated from the great University of Ibadan to see him stand tall and do us all proud.
I wish him well even as I stand very firmly behind him in stoic confidence that if anybody can push Nova to the Premiership at this time, it would be my brother Wale Oyedeji.
