The Zenith Bank Story Jim Ovia Omitted in his Book (Column)

THE PRESIDENCY BY PRINCE EMEKA PRINCE

Recently, Zenith Bank Plc, arguably Nigeria’s leading bank named a new MD/CEO. The predictable pick for the top job, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, is an old Zenith bank hand and a veteran professional. Over five years ago, he had emerged as a strong contender for the position with this newspaper going out on a limb in prematurely announcing him. In the event, Peter Amangbo was tapped, while Onyeagwu got the equally strategic position of Deputy Managing Director.

The imminent transition of power at Zenith bank marks yet another watershed in the exciting history of this great organisation. Since it opened its broad doors for business about three decades ago, Onyeagwu would be the fourth MD/CEO. Ordinarily, there is nothing really special about the cyclical change of leadership in corporate organisations, including banks. But given the nature of the banking industry in Nigeria and the crisis boardroom politics have wreaked in the fortunes of many institutions, it is usually no mean feat when institutions, especially strategic ones are able to arrange leadership transitions without rancour. Indeed, for Zenith bank,leadership changes matter a lot, and for good reason.

Perhaps unknown to its top leadership, public perception of the institution until 2010, was that it is a one-man show. Many industry observers and infact the banking public saw it largely as a Jim Ovia show, and not without reason. From the time he set it up in April 1990, Jim Ovia emerged as the personification of the bank. A usually self-effacing, soft spoken and quiet personality, Jim Ovia nevertheless towered above the bank and earned a formidable reputation for ruthless efficiency and high net-

worth professionalism. His marketing savvy and professional brilliance animated the entire fabric of the Zenith corporate soul and rapidly transformed the fledging start up into a national and international financial services power house, with gross assets now cresting the $20 billion mark. Indeed, by all available indices, Zenith bank has been a marvelous success. However, despite such obvious successes, there remained the lingering doubt over its long term viability outside the context of a Jim Ovia leadership. It was a problem which GT Bank, a close industry competitor, had successfully dealt with when the founding GMD/CEO, Fola Adeola stepped down in 2001. The emergence of the late Tayo Aderinokun as GMD/CEO gave GT Bank a strategic advantage in the reckoning of industry analysts, over Zenith bank. It is a settled fact in Management theory that for an institution to qualify as really successful, it has to be capable of undergoing leadership changes and still remain profitable. The logic is very simple. Human beings, including top managers, are temporary, but organisations are not. In other words, organisations are like barracks in the old saying “Soldier go, Soldier come, but barracks remain”

Each year, as Zenith bank declared billions of naira in turnover and profits, many wondered, “What will happen to it without Jim Ovia?” Well as if on cue, the answer came in 2010 with the CBN decreed term limit for bank CEO’s. Within 24 hours of the rule coming into effect, the Zenith bank board announced Ovia’s replacement in the person of Godwin Emefiele who was hitherto the DMD. It was an impressive response. BY the end of that financial year, Emefiele answered all the sceptics by posting an impressive performance. Finally, the fears were abated; there can be a successful Zenith Bank without Jim Ovia directly at the helm of affairs! Of course there is still, even today, the whispering side talks alleging that Ovia remains big in the operations of the bank. My response is, “So what?” As Oba Otudeko, Group Chairman of First Bank Holdco once told me, “Anyone who says he would not be involved in the running of his own investments is welcome to do so. As for me, I will be involved in mine!”.

The emergence of Peter Amangbo in 2014 as the MD/CEO marked another milestone in the history of Zenith bank. Like his predecessor, it was also sudden. Emefiele’s ascension to the Governorship of the Central bank of Nigeria had opened up the way for him. But he was well primed for the role. As a veteran, he was an inheritor of its culture of peerless professionalism, Marketing savvy and first class customer service delivery. As a businessman and Newspaper publisher, I do business with quite a number of banks. Zenith bank is one of such banks. However, I make bold to say that my experiences with Zenith bank is unrivalled. Zenith bank customer services sparkles or used to sparkle. These days, I hear that the standards have fallen a notch or two. But it is still the industry leader. I recall one memorable incident to buttress this point. One Saturday in mid-2006, I had a wedding ceremony to attend. I had planned to withdraw some brand new notes from the bank in order to indulge in the then usual Nigerian culture of spraying money at the event. Somehow, I had forgotten todo so and thus by the next day, I was stranded. By the time I remembered, it was well past midday and as usual I was ensconced in the office working on the next edition of Hallmark. In panic, I phoned my account officer at the Festac branch of Zenith bank. The lady said she was on her way to a social event with her husband, but that she would attend to my request notwithstanding. To cut a long story short, she let her husband continue to the event and returned to the office and arranged for the brand new currency notes which she brought to me at the office in Ikeja. I was thus able to attend the wedding ceremony and feel good! I have retold this story several times, especially to successive generation of marketing officers of various banks. Zenith bank has set a lofty record of customer service delivery. Even as they relentlessly marketed for deposits, they serviced customers with cutting edge services.

In his widely trumpeted book, “Africa Rise and Shine”, where Jim Ovia made a rather modest effort to tell his and Zenith bank’s fascinating story, he calmly asserts that, “Zenith bank is one of the greatest success stories accredited to a Pan-African organisation. It is a globally recognised brand, recently named among the top 500 global bank brands in the world”. Obviously, that is true. I testify that Ovia was not exaggerating. Indeed, the success of Zenith bank speaks to the innate capabilities of the human spirit, and the immense possibilities of Nigeria. It is remarkable that within one generation, this man who was not born with a silver spoon has soared to the pinnacle of global success. The rise of Zenith bank recalls to my mind the meteoric rise of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, which Pastor E.A Adeboye has within one generation, built into such a global behemoth as perhaps the fastest growing Christian church in the world. They both represent the amazing potentials of this amazing country.

The secret of Zenith bank, which explains its success is the unrelenting drive of its founder, a man I have known quite closely for about twenty years now; his ambition and the excellence of the Zenith people. Such excellence is typified by the rich professionalism and dignified personality of Peter Amangbo who took over the leadership at a time of grave turbulence in the political economy. His calm leadership has added immense value to this dynamic lender. The seamless transition, ushering in an old reliable Ebenezer Onyeagwuto the helm, marks yet another opportunity for Zenith to continue its unparalled growth trajectory. Like the iconic FirstBank, this reporter and the banking industry high command, are betting on heavy odds that Zenith bank will be very much around to celebrate its 100^th anniversary as one of the leading financial institutions in the world. And it will be thanks to Jim Ovia, Godwin Emefiele, Peter Amangbo, Ebenezer Onyeagwu and all their foot soldiers!!