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The Lessons Learnt in 2020 Will Add Value to 2021 – Mahmood Ahmadu

Published

5 years ago

January 27, 2021

Eric

By Charles Khiran

Leadership expert and professional speaker, Charles Khiran, engages his business mentor and super entrepreneur, Mahmood Ahmadu, who is also the chairman of OIS, and one of Africa’s greatest entrepreneurs, on a one to one in Dubai, on behalf of the global community.

May I begin by congratulating you on your Forbes award and your Euro-knowledge humanitarian award in 2020, very well deserved sir!

Yes, it was a bright spark in what was a turbulent and challenging year for all of us. The Forbes Africa award was a big surprise, and a high privilege to be selected from a line-up of super achievers and some of Africa’s biggest names was a thing of great joy.

I was also particularly pleased to have received the Euro-knowledge awards as well the second year in a row. However, of greater value to me was the important Euro-knowledge category of ‘leading personality on humanitarian response to COVID-19 crisis’, because as you clearly know, so many lives were adversely affected by this dreaded disease. We had to mount a massive response to the COVID-19 crisis all through the year to alleviate the suffering of so many. I was glad it was recognized by Euro-knowledge. It also encourages us to do much more.

Everything that could be shaken was shaken last year, especially in the business world; many household names from around the world disappeared or were badly affected. You have your business footprints in over 52 countries; how have you and your various companies managed to weather the storm and keep afloat?

Truthfully, I couldn’t really sit here and tell you our genius got us through! Just like every other business owner out there, this thing caught us all by surprise. I will have to give thanks to God above all else for seeing us through what was an extremely challenging year. I have been in business for over 30 years, and I can honestly say I have never seen or experienced anything like what we experienced last year in business!

Speaking to my various friends from around the world, many were in very bad shape and some unfortunately are still not sure whether they will pull through.

Clearly, we as a business, sustained losses, and we equally embarked on strict streamlining of our operations, and pragmatism in terms of leadership was required with regards to our strategic response to the pandemic.

However, uppermost on my mind was how to sustain and retain our staff, especially our top staff. It has taken a lot for us to attract, train, develop and retain some of the sharpest minds out there in terms of our employee pool, and I did not want to lose these talents. There is a grave gravity of responsibility in running multiple profitable businesses and championing the careers of thousands of employees, and it is something I take very seriously.

Furthermore, just like every other global business, we had to look at our overall operations and see which ones we can transition online with the enablement of dynamic technology, and which ones we would have to shut down in the short term. We had always ensured we maintained a lean and agile operation over the years and that has been one of the biggest blessings.

Tell me a bit about the importance of leadership in times of crisis, especially in the past year of the pandemic in steering the ships with thousands of employees?

Well, as the great leadership guru, John Maxwell said – “Everything rises and falls on leadership” my first priority is providing direction with respect to vision of how we are going to navigate in an unprecedented time. So I and the other leaders have had to dig deep and raise our games a notch, for example I have had to increase the rate and regularity of my communication with the team. I have had to be more visible and present than usual; many of our employees in other markets around the world are working from home because of the lockdowns so communication has been more critical than normal.

Therefore, it became absolutely critical to provide virtual platforms that allow for groups as well as two way dialogues. These have been important in settling the angst, and quashing unfounded rumors company wide.

I began hosting weekly and monthly webinars where I spoke face to face with the team, answering questions of what we know, providing hope and inspiration helping to alleviate fears. The other thing is the value of authenticity, transparency and empathy by speaking candidly to the team and letting them know what is going on, sharing brutal truths. These are solid leadership qualities, but I can tell you it has been amplified even more in these times of unprecedented turbulence.

Finally, it has also been all hands on deck with everyone rolling up their sleeves including me. So I have paid more forensic attention to some details than usual after months of immense financial pressure on businesses everywhere including ours, we have learnt the importance of collaborative support from our partners and tighter cost controls in other to maintain strong balance sheets.

What would you say are some of the biggest lessons you learnt in 2020?

In truth, 2020 has been a year of immense education like no other, even for one as pragmatic and visionary like I believe myself to be. There have been so many learning opportunities in the midst of the chaos.

1. You have to know that time is finite, do not waste time

2. I learnt to make important decisions at speed while leading multiple business organizations remotely, even with some feelings of anxiety as we were not sure what was happening.

3. I learnt the importance of constantly being prepared for any eventuality, and the need for more stress testing

4. I learnt not to sacrifice the future based on the current year’s problems. We were still innovating and planning for bigger visions while people were focusing only on the current problems.

I personally believe my own equity as a leader has gone up exponentially because of what I went through and survived in 2020

You are the brain behind probably the largest, innovative and exciting technology companies out of Africa. How has technology helped you in this past year?

There are certain things that technology cannot change, like the human to human experience which we miss terribly in many of our locations experiencing lockdowns. However, for everything else technology is what we know and what we do, so as compared to many, technology has been a life saver as this is our normal terrain.

We have been developing breakthrough technology for governments and large scale institutions in Africa and around the world for the delivery of financial solutions, streamlining the ease of payments and transaction processing through our unique and intuitive platforms for many years now.

So we have built and deployed technology in some areas to quickly plug holes and bridge gaps to stop the hemorrhaging of money where expedient. Our central focus is to never stop innovating, and we are responding to this crisis with even more innovation!

I know you do not have a crystal ball, but what do you see ahead in this new year, 2021, especially in the business environment?

In truth, for anybody to say they know what is ahead of us this year will probably be purely guessing. I don’t believe anyone has a clear picture for what lies ahead. Governments around the world are responding as best as they can to an unprecedented situation, so all we have is faith and hope.

My faith in God helps me to believe that we will be out of this situation soon, but I am not convinced that it will be business as usual anymore. One thing I am completely persuaded about is the ingenuity and the indefatigability of the human spirit. Humans will always find a way!

When I reflect all through history and some of the battles and challenges that have confronted humans, from the great depression, the Second World War, civil wars, Stock market crashes, Black Monday and so many others, I realise that humans found a way, rebuilt and have always came through. I am persuaded we will bounce back and bounce higher after this dreaded pandemic, but there are still many tough months ahead for all of us.

My hope is by the third quarter of this year, we should begin to see the shoots of recovery and the enabling environment from the regulations standpoint to enable high flight again.

What final words of wisdom do you have for other leaders in difficult situations?

I believe leaders, who have had to navigate through a devastating year like 2020 and survived it will definitely be worth their weight in gold. So many have witnessed enviable businesses that built fold up or crumple before their eyes through no fault of their own.

I would like to encourage them that the lessons learnt from this period whether good or bad, will definitely add to their overall value going forward. The best business schools could not have taught many of the valuable lessons learnt last year. I would like to encourage them to lift their sights above the temporary failures, and instead focus on what educational good they can glean from the situation.

Remember that adversity and crisis reveal your foundation and your build quality. When crisis comes unannounced like we all experienced last year, all we can do is control some of the details even though we could not stop it.

Finally, guard your mind and your thoughts and discipline it! Do not let fear take you captive, and make a decision not to speak words of fear out of your mouth. Besides the fact that you are listening to yourself, your people are also seeing the world through your eyes and words! May God help us all!

Charles Khiran is an Afro-European professional speaker and corporate trainer based in the United Kingdom. He provides bespoke and customized training to governments and business organisations. For more information please visit www.charleskhiran.com

Headline

Supreme Court Reserves Judgment in Appeal over Nullified PDP Convention

Published

21 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Eric

The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment in the appeal filed by the Taminu Turaki-led group of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the conduct of the party’s national convention, held last year in Ibadan, Oyo State.

A five-member panel of the apex court announced on Wednesday that its judgment would be delivered on a date to be communicated to all parties in the appeal.

Justice Garba Mohammed, who led the five-member panel, made the announcement shortly after lawyers representing parties in the appeal adopted their processes as briefs of their arguments for and against the appeal.

The appeal was filed by the Turaki-led group’s national executives of the party who emerged from the convention.

They had approached the apex court to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had nullified the convention for being held in disobedience of a valid order of the court.

While adopting their brief of argument filed on April 2, the appellants, through their team of lawyers led by Paul Erokoro (SAN), urged the Supreme Court not only to allow their appeal but also to dismiss a cross-appeal lodged against them by a leadership group in the party aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Meanwhile, Lamido, who was represented by J. C. Njikonye (SAN), as well as the Wike-backed group represented by Joseph Daudu (SAN), filed preliminary objections seeking dismissal of the appeal.

The respondents insisted that, contrary to the contention by the Turaki-led group, the appeal did not fall within the sphere of the PDP’s internal affairs.

It was the respondents’ position that both the high court and the appellate court had rightly exercised jurisdiction over the matter.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment last year, restrained the then-Ambassador Iliya Damagum-led National Executive Committee of the PDP from proceeding with the convention slated for November 15 and 16, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Justice Lifu had ordered that the convention should not hold until an aspirant to the office of national chairman, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, is allowed to purchase interest and nomination forms to enable him to participate in the convention for the election of national officers.

The party, however, went ahead to conduct the convention in disregard of the orders of the court.

The PDP had predicated its action to conduct the convention on the grounds that the court lacked the jurisdiction to stop the convention, as the issue brought before it was an internal matter of the PDP, which no court has jurisdiction to delve into.

However, the appellate court in its judgment last month disagreed that the issue at the trial court was an internal affair of a political party, which courts cannot entertain.

The three-member panel of the appellate court subsequently nullified the outcome of the convention for being held in disobedience to the orders of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Dissatisfied, the PDP approached the apex court, praying it to accept the appeal against the lower court judgment, set the judgment aside, and hold that the issue was an internal matter of the PDP, which both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain.

However, the respondents in the appeal urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit and hold otherwise.

Headline

LP: Nenadi Usman Floors Julius Abure at Appeal Court

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2026

Eric

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by Julius Abure challenging the legitimacy of the Nenadi Usman-led leadership of the Labour Party (LP).

A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a Tuesday judgment, unanimously affirmed the January 21 judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which upheld the legitimacy of the 29-member caretaker committee of the LP, led by Senator Usman.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, which Justices Abba Mohammed and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike agreed with, the appellate court held that the earlier Supreme Court judgment conclusively settled the leadership dispute within the LP by nullifying the convention that purportedly returned Abure as National Chairman.

Justice Lifu had, in the January 21 judgment, relied on an April 4, 2025, decision of the Supreme Court, which held that Abure’s tenure as the party’s National Chairman had expired. The judgment directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Senator Usman and other members of her committee as the legitimate leaders of the party, to the exclusion of all others.

The court further held that the lower court had the power under Section 251 of the Constitution to compel a statutory Federal government agency to perform its functions when it ordered INEC to recognize Senator Nenadi Usman as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

It was equally agreed with the trial court that constituting the LP’s caretaker committee, headed by Usman, was a doctrine of necessity required to provide leadership in the party when a vacuum appeared to exist.

The court faulted Abure’s claim that the trial court denied him a fair hearing and accused him of abusing the court process.

The court also accused Abure of forum shopping by appearing before the Nasarawa State High Court in a case already decided by the Supreme Court, and of persisting in the claim the party’s leadership despite the apex court’s clear and unambiguous pronouncement.

It held that the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/255/2026, was devoid of merit and constituted an abuse of court process.

“On the whole, I agree with the decision and conclusion of the trial court as the same, being in accordance with the Constitution,” Justice Oyewumi held, adding that the lower court reached a reasonable conclusion that the Court of Appeal cannot fault.

While dismissing the appeal, the court awarded him costs of N10 million for wasting the court’s time on an issue that had already been conclusively determined.

Earlier, the court held that Nenadi Usman, as a juristic person, had the right to file the case before the trial court, and that the trial court had jurisdiction to hear and determine the case.

The court also rejected Abure’s allegation that the lower court denied him a fair hearing, noting that the claim lacked any basis.

Headline

Tinubu Sacks Edun, Appoints Oyedele As Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2026

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has approved a minor cabinet reshuffle in the membership of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

According to a memo signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, two cabinet members, Mr. Wale Edun and Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa are to leave the cabinet while their replacements have been named.

A statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yomi Odunuga, on Tuesday evening, said Edun, until the latest development, was the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

“He has been directed to hand over to Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, who is now to take over as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Oyedele was formerly a Minister of State in the ministry.

“Also Mr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma (PhD.) has been named as the ministerial nominee and minister-designate for the Housing and Urban Development Ministry,” Odunuga stated.

The memo also directed Dangiwa to hand over to the Minister of State in the ministry pending Darma’s confirmation.

The memo stated that “all handing over and taking over processes should be completed on or before close of business on Thursday 23rd April, 2026.”

Explaining the President’s decision, Odunuga quoted Akume as saying: “These changes are aimed at strengthening cohesion, synergy in governance as well as achieving more impactful delivery on the economy to Nigerians, through the Renewed Hope Agenda.”

He said the President, in approving the cabinet reshuffle, has fully exercised his powers as conferred on him by Sections 147 and 148 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).

The President thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to the nation while wishing them the best in all their future endeavours.

The President, Akume noted, equally assured all cabinet members that “the process of reinvigoration shall be continuous.”