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| Tayo Orekoya with wife |
In November, it will be another grand celebration of Nigeria's
blue chip companies and others on the nation's capital market. The Pearl Awards
has stood out over time, all of 22 years with an array of board room
visioners and at the centre is the President, Tayo Orekoya.
In this interview with Paul Ukpabio, Tayo Orekoya who is a
former banker, chartered accountant and retired director at Lagos owned
organisation known as LAMATA, tells us the story of the awards and how life in
the financial world has shaped his lifestyle over the years.
As the president of Pearl Awards Nigeria, what kind of awards is
it, what does it stand for, and what does it celebrate?
Pearl Awards is dedicated to awarding excellence in the Nigerian
Capital Market based on empirical data and actual performance of quoted
companies. Pearl in itself is an acronym which is the performance, earnings and
returns leadership awards.
How long has it been on?
The awards has been on for the past twenty-two years and it has
a reputation of being one of the most consistent awards in the country having
been held since 1995 till date. That you must agree with me, has been quite a
long time.
How have you been able to sustained the awards for all that
while?
I must say what has sustained the awards firstly has been the
grace of God, and that is important and also the fact that it has been an award
that is based on fact and figures. We decided right from day one to be
different. We conceptualised an award whose criteria was clearly defined, we
had our objectives well cut-out, we had the vision of the awards, which is to
be a first class awards whose institution would be respected for its
credibility, objectivity and fairness. This, we have been able to see through
over two decades and beyond.
Over the years, what has been the enthusiasm of participants in
the Nigerian Stock Market towards the award?
Being nominated for the Pearls Awards in itself, is a feat for
quoted companies. The reason is because it is clear that this is not an award
based on sentiments, it is not about one company being liked more than the
other. It is about results, facts and figures. The criteria is well defined.
Can you expatiate on the criteria?
You see, companies that emerge as nominees and eventual winners
have proudly displayed their achievement at the Pearl Awards based on their
annual report, annual general meeting and so on. When you go to the reception
halls of most of these companies, you can see the laurels that they have won at
the Pearl Awards well displayed. Beyond that, we also ensure that companies
that have sustained their winning of the awards of the years are featured in a
publication called 'Winning Strategy of Nigeria's Corporate Giants,' for them
to share with others the strategies they have adopted over the years. And this
is done by the market players themselves, that is the corporate chieftains, the
regulators, the operators, and the shareholders. And this has also over the
years made prospective investors to have confidence in the Pearl Awards.
This year's award ceremony, when is it going to take place?
It will be holding on November 26th at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island,
Lagos and it promises to be another night of rewarding corporate excellence
with glamour.
Lets know about the personality behind the Pearl Awards, what
can you say about your person?
I am a chartered accountant by profession, also, I am a
certified public private partnership specialist, from the Institute of Public
Private Partnership in the United States of America. I was a banker for ten
years, I have also been in the public sector. I have been a organisational
development consultant, I have also been a director at a world bank assisted
institution for twelve and a half years. I am happily married to my wife of
over 31 years blessed with three wonderful children and a grand father of a
wonderful grandson. God has been good to me and I know He will continue to be
good to me.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me means having the greatest good for the greatest
number of people. I measure success by the number of people that I am able to
put a smile to on their faces, on a daily basis.
We understand that there has always been innovations annually in
the award ceremony itself. What kind of innovations are you looking at this
year?
Well, this year, we are bringing something different (laughs),
but right now I think we should just keep it under wraps, the element of
surprise is always alluring. We will definitely be having an award that will be
worthwhile, there will be a huge success worthy of celebrating by the winning
companies.
The last edition is still being talked about because of the way
you spiced it up here and there, do you want to compare that with what you are
going to have this year, is it going to be bigger?
The last edition we had, was our twentieth year edition. Yes, we
had side attractions, multi cultural attractions, but this year, we will be
coming from another dimension entirely. It still promises to be the usual Pearl
Awards with glitz, glamour, and the, who is who in corporate Nigeria. We are
going to introduce the CEO's round table. (Laughs) I just let out a part of it,
definitely it is going to be a strong networking platform for corporate
chieftains and in terms of entertainment, it is going to be the biggest
corporate event in Nigeria once again.
Do you believe that we have cause to celebrate after the
recession is gradually going out of the economy?
The truth is that, despite what is happening in the economy, if
you have watch the results that have been coming out from the companies this
year, you will find out that yes, we have had recession, but we are gradually
getting out of the woods. And that is why the theme for this year's Pearl
Awards is 'winning with tenacity.' So we want to separate the boys from the
men. You know, we are going to celebrate companies that have been able to
sustain their growth in spite of the unease in the economy, inspire of the
global downturn, inspire of forex fluctuations, inspire of infrastructural
decadence, and other challenges we are having in the economy. So despite the
challenges that have been there, these companies are returning value to their
stake holders. We need to celebrate them and we know that they deserve to be
celebrated.
From what you have told us, it is obvious you have been
hardworking over the years, so how you been able to cope with the family front?
And how have you still been coping?
I am a family man to the core. Incidentally, we met when we were
young. We were both barely 19 when we met, and today we still look young. I
have been a family man but because God expects that every man should take
responsibility for his family if you cannot be a successful man, you cannot be
a successful leader. So the leadership must start in being able to lead your
family, bringing up your children in the fear of God, and ensure that they
follow the tenets of Christian life. In spite of the work, I create time for my
children and by the grace of God, they all have done well, the baby of the
family is going for her Masters degree, the others have finished their Masters
degree and are engaged, so I am happy.
This year, the results so far sounds good, but what is your word
to the regulators of this market at this time?
Well, my word to the regulators would be that they ensure and
sustain the tempo and also ensure that they raise policy consistency. They
should ensure that the market continues to consolidate on the current gains.
Even the market is gradually getting out of the woods, the bulls have taken
over and we want a situation that it will be sustained so that the returns on
investment would be worth the investment made by shareholders. We also want the
regulators to ensure consistent education on the capital market operations so
that confidence can be fully restored. We want them to look at encouraging more
local companies to get listed on the Nigeria Stock Market. They should look at
the listing regulations and how these can be streamlined and stepped down so
that more companies from the telecoms, oil sector can be listed. They need to
get into the market. We believe that if the regulators do this, the market will
be better for it. As it will be deepened and then we can consolidate on the
gains.
How does Pearl Awards motivate the winning companies?
That is the key factor. First, we want to be able to engender a
healthy competitiveness, that is one of the objectives of Pearl Awards among
quoted companies. Whereby they would be able to utilise innovations,
diversification and enhanced strategy to move forward their performance. When
you celebrate good performance, the others will not only want to be nominated,
but will also strive to achieve higher performance.
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| OREKOYA |
Can you assure investors that coming to the market this time
around their fingers will not be burnt like before?
My advice will be that every investor whether retail or
corporate that wants to come into the market, should ensure proper investor
education. You must know the market and as much as possible, get professional
advice in making investments. As much as possible also, you should have your
risk well dimensioned and then you should ensure that you diversify your
portfolio to ensure you have adequate returns.
With you celebrating the Awards this year, could that be a
pointer to the fact that Nigerians should be celebrating, that the economy is
coming out of the woods?
I think yes. That is because where we were last year is not
where we are now. I mean we are not there yet, but we are far better. If you
could recall, Pearl Awards did not hold last year as it was stepped down
because of the mood of the economy, the nation was not worth celebrating. But
now, things are getting better and I will want to implore the government to do
more in terms of managing the economy, in terms of infrastructural
regeneration, in terms of ensuring that we diversify the economy. The boost to
the agricultural sector I think, is in the right direction. But government
should also come up with incentives to keep supporting the average persons and
also micro/small medium enterprises needs to be encouraged the more. Government
is doing well in this direction, but I believe it can still do more. Again the
age where people think that they can get paid employment should be discouraged.
People should be encouraged to go on entrepreneurship. And if the conditions
and the investment environment is fair, I believe we can get the economy back
on track fully.
Life as a grand father, how are you coping?
(Laughs) Its so exciting, as a grandfather you see the greatness
of God when you realise that your own child has been able to give birth to a
child. I now understand why they say that grandfathers should play with their
grand children (laughs), the feeling cannot be expressed until experienced.
When I look at my grand son, I see the greatness of God. Its a great feeling.
Are you fulfilled?
I feel fulfilled to the glory of God. Fulfilment is actually
inspired by the God in me. I thank God because it is not about just me, but
about the things that God has done in my life. I appreciate Him very much.
Some people seem to believe that while the country was deeply in
the recession, some other kind of people were making money within the same
general economic downturn. How do you put that together?
The truth is, some people could have been benefiting, it is a
natural rule of life. But what I think is more beneficial is that a greater
number of people should be benefiting. We want to have an economy that is
egalitarian, where everybody is able to live averagely, comfortably and
conveniently well. It is not a case of determining how the economy is doing,
based on the number of people flying private jets, while others are wallowing
in poverty. We want an economy that is fair, where people do their normal
business and earn a living and from that earning, they can send their children
to school, invest in the capital market, get some returns and from there also
have a room over their heads and everybody is living a normal life; rather than
a few people benefitting from under an economy that is in recession.
The theme for this year's awards you say is 'wining with
tenacity.' You have been there year in year out, how have you been able to hold
unto that tenacity to keep it going?
I must tell you that it has not been a bed of roses. But one
thing that has been clear is that by the grace of God, we had a will to
succeed. Right from day one, we determined that this awards will be our
contribution to developing the Nigerian capital market and the economy and we
are not going to back down. When it was tough, like it is said, the tough gets
going, and tough times never lasts, but tough people do. The good thing was
also that, right from day one, the awards had credibility. It had integrity.
These paid off in the long term and we have been able to sustain the Pearl Awards
to the glory of God. So we have kept our name, we have kept it out of
controversies, there has not been issues about the winners and we publish a
book 'how the winners emerge each year, facts and figures.' That we usually
present every year at the awards night. So far, it has been a success story.
You said you met your wife early, did you also marry early?
Yes, we did. I married her at the age of twenty-five after six
years courtship. It has been the best decision I took in my life. My wife and I
have been friends and still friends today.
What attracted you to her?
Everything about her attracted me. The moment I saw her then,
something told me she is my life partner. Way back in 1980, I was 19, and I told
her, 'I am going to marry you, and you will be my life partner. I promise you
by the grace of God.'
What was her response?
She replied, 'are you sure?' And I said yes, 'the future is
bright, we will be there together.' I thank God that we are living that
future today.
What does she do?
She read business administration. She is the director of finance
and administration of CITC Consulting.
Advice for the youth?
Youths should be focus in life, to have a direction and then to
imbibe total submission and obedience to God. When God directs, you can't go
wrong.
You are not all about work, what do you do for play?
I like watching movies, I like going on vacation and when I do,
I like to go on a cruise. I see that a lot of Nigerians don't know how to enjoy
themselves. I was introduced to it seven years ago, and it has been a wonderful
experience. I have gone to the Bahamas, Mexico, Jamaica and I have had a good
time.
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