Boss Picks
ICYMI – June 12: The Heroes, the Villains
By Eric Elezuo
June 12 has become an official national day, after many years of the agitation to recognize it. It was the day that Nigerians set aside tribal and religious sentiment to vote massively for MKO Abiola and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe in an election everyone described as the freest and fairest.
But the presumed winner never took office because nidway into the release of the results, the then President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled the process, and there began a crisis.
While many agitated for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate, many sold out, and joined the Babangida, Shonekan and Abacha oppressors.
Below is an abridged list of those in support and against the June 12 mandate. You can add more names if there are:
MKO Abiola
The story of Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola is better compared to the beautiful bride, so beloved and cherished all because of how she distinguished herself. MKO, as he is popularly called, was the candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the disputed June 12 1993 Presidential election – an election acclaimed by not a few persons as the freest and fairest the country has ever had. The Ogun state born billionaire entrepreneur was leading handsomely when the Babangida junta suddenly annulled the election.
Abiola will not easily let go of his mandate, and with the people solidly behind him, he fought the Babangida and later Abacha junta to a standstill, and finally paid the supreme price when he died in detention on July 7, 1998, a day he was supposedly to be released, in the presence of notable world leaders. His death was a great blow to democratic and June 12 struggle.
One striking thing about Abiola’s democratic struggle was the fact that he didn’t actually need it. He was stupendously rich, and could have let go but he didn’t. He died fighting for the masses. He died a selfless democrat at 60.
Gani Fawehinmi
One of Nigeria’s finest lawyers, late Abdul-Ganiyu Fawehinmi was a human rights activist, who defended the masses without equivocation. He was fearless in his approach to matters so long as it provides succor to a citizen. Before he was recognised and awarded the coveted Senior Advocate of Nigeria, his followers had ‘honoured’ him with the ‘Senior Advocate of the Masses.’
Late Fawehinmi reported that he was arrested, detained and incarcerated a total of 32 times by successive military regimes, including those of Gen. Yakubu Gowon (six times), Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (three times), Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (17 times) and Gen. Sani Abacha (six times).
Babangida said of him, “I appreciate you that you have a strong conviction and fight for it consistently. This is the context in which I see Gani.” He added that the arrest of Gani is ‘all in a day’s work. It’s just part of the job description’. Today, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has posthumously honoured him with the GCON award.
Frank Kokori
As the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) at the time, Kokori singlehandedly paralysed the country’s economy by calling out workers in the petroleum sector to go on strike. The mass action significantly paralysed the economy, and gave the government a wake up call.
He allegedly refused carrots dangled by the Abacha regime all because of the democratic struggle.
Wole Soyinka
An intellectual of repute, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was not left out in post-June 12 struggle. It is on record that the literary icon used his international connection to draw the attention of the international community to events in Nigeria.
He was one of the brains and voices behind the much talked about Radio Kudirat, which was set up at a time when the military had their foot on media organisations and journalists. He was also a strong pillar of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) made up of pro-democracy fighters.
Kudirat Abiola
She was the second wife of MKO Abiola, who stood stoutly behind her husband. While Abiola was in detention, Kudirat took up the mantle, and was in the forefront of the fight for his release. Joining forces with other activists and civil rights giants, she became a painful thorn to the Abacha led regime.
Her fearless journey was cut short when she was brutally murdered at the Oregun area of Lagos on June 4, 1996. She was only 44.
A partaker in her assassination, Mr. Mohammed Abdul, aka Katako, in 2007, confessed that Kudirat’s murder was state sponsored.
He said: “On the day of the attack, we followed Kudirat Abiola’s white Mercedez Benz from Ikeja to Allen Avenue and then to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. When we got to the Toll Gate area, (Sgt. Barnabas) Rogers asked me to get close to the Benz and I did. Then, he (Rogers) leaned out of the window and started spraying the victim with bullets with the P90 rifle. After that, we immediately drove to Dodan Barracks.”
Anthony Enahoro
Also a leader of NADECO, Enahoro led the coalition in the Diaspora while on exile. He was the Chairman of NADECO; the Chairman of the Movement for National Reformation and was the leader of Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO).
The statesman, known for moving a motion for Nigeria’s self-rule, never relented in his call for the recognition of the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by Abiola.
On many occasions, he escaped assassination. He died on December 15, 2010, at 87.
Beko Ransome-Kuti
Beko formed what has been described as Nigeria’s first human rights organisation, the Campaign for Democracy, which was used to tackle Abacha’s dictatorship in the post-June 12 struggle. The CHDR is also Beko’s brainchild.
Under the regime, a military tribunal in 1995 sentenced Beko to life in prison for bringing the mock trial of Obasanjo to the attention of the world. His freedom came with the death of Abacha in 1998.
He died on February 10, 2006.
Ndubuisi Kanu
He is one of the few Igbo men who fought ceaseless for the restoration of the June 12-Abiola mandate.
After his retirement from the military, Kanu joined the pro-democracy movement and was one of the leaders of NADECO during the period; he later became chairman of the coalition in 2013.
Kanu also had his share of the bitter experiences like other pro-democracy activists like him. During the struggle, he reportedly escaped assassination by a stroke of luck
Alfred Rewane
Rewane was a successful businessman, a major financier of NADECO in the post-June 12 struggle. He used his means to support his compatriots in the opposition to the Abacha regime.
He was murdered on October 6, 1995, in his Ikeja residence, at the age of 78.
Abubakar Umar
Umar was another soldier, like Kanu who opposed to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election.
He masterminded Abiola’s installation as president, and was caught, but was lucky to get away. He left the Nigerian Army in the heat of the struggle in 1993, and became a social critic and founded a political party called the Movement for Unity and Progress.
Ayo Opadokun
Chief Ayo Opadokun spent a sizable part of his life behind bars in the battle to actaulise June 12.
Alao Aka-Basorun
A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Aka-Basorun was one of the pioneers of legal activism. Fondly referred to as ‘The Lion of the Bar,’ he was said to be one of the earliest proponents of national conference and restructuring of Nigeria’s federation.
He was one of the leading lawyers who defended Abiola during his “treason” trial, aftermath of his ‘Epetedo Declaration.’
He suffered a memory failure at the assassination of Kudirat Abiola and never recovered.
Abraham Adesanya
Adesanya, as the leader of the Afenifere and deputy leader of NADECO remained at home with the likes of the late Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba and a host of others while many fled the country.
He mysteriously escaped the assassins’ bullets in 1997. It was during the trial of those suspected to have attacked him that revelations were made that he was marked for assassination for being a member of NADECO, a group already outlawed by the military regime.
Tunji Braithwaite
Braithwaite was one of the brains behind the ‘June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations,’ another pro-democracy advocacy group. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he rejected offers by successive military juntas and remained in the country even as a good number of activists fled the country.
Olusegun Osoba
One of the finest journalists Nigeria has ever produced, Chief Olusegun Osoba, was the Editor and Managing Director of government-owned Daily Times Nigeria Ltd under Babangida’s regime. He had bitter experiences like his compatriots.
Osoba revealed that Babangida sacked him three times while Abacha made attempts on his life three times due to his alignment with NADECO.
Osoba said in parts, “I will call him by his name. Three times Babangida sacked me. Three times he re-instated me. At last, he converted my sack to resignation. Three times Abacha wanted to kill me. I was in hiding for one year,” he said.
Other notable activists in the June 12 struggle are Frederick Faseun, Ibrahim Tahir, Balarabe Musa, Bola Tinubu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Walter Carrington, Bolaji Akinyemi, Bola Ige, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Yinka and Joe-Okei-Odumakin, Dele Momodu, late Chima Ubani, Debo Adeniran, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Omoyele Sowore, Segun Maiyegun, Segun Okeowo, Femi Aborisade, Tokunboh Afikuyomi, Ademola Adeniji-Adele, Joe Igbokwe, Solanke Onasanya, Kayode Fayemi, Shehu Sani, among a host of many others.
The Villains
Ibrahim Babangida
Perhaps there is no greater villain of the June 12 struggle that Babangida. He will be remembered for his infamous annulment of the June 12, 1993 election. In fact, he started the imbroglio when on June 23, 1993, in a nationwide broadcast, he annulled the election.
Though he took full responsibility for the annulment of the election he claims it was a collective decision.
Sani Abacha
Abacha had the opportunity to right the wrongs of IBB, but failed to do so, instead he constituted himself as a terror, and planned to perpetuate himself in power.
During his regime, many lives of activists were cut short, and he caused others to flee the country. He did not stop at denying Abiola his mandate, he arrested him and held him inncustody until his death in 1998.
In his quest to kill June 12, and democracy in general, he lured and lobbied friends and associates of Abiola to serve in his government. Many of them such as the running mate to Abiola, Babagana Kingibe, Ebernezer Babatope, Lateef Jakande among others, withdrew their loyalty to the presumed president-elect.
Tony Anenih
Chief Tony Anenih was the National Chairman of the SDP, on which platform Abiola contested the 1993 election. Anenih, alias ‘Mr. Fix It,’ He practically failed to fix the people’s mandate, and forced forces with the oppressors.
Babagana Kingibe
Many see Babagana Kingibe as the greatest let down of the June 12 struggle. He was Abiola’s running mate in the 1993 contest, and common sense assumed he will stick with his principal to the end, but he became a turncoat and sold the mandate when he joined Abacha’s regime with the likes of Tony Anenih.
A lot of people have said that he does not in any way deserve the honours of GCON bestowed on him by Buhari. He didn’t fight at all before giving up. He never believed in June 12.
Uche Chukwumerije
The late Sen. Uche Chukwumerije became Babangida and Shonekan’s Information Minister while activists were fighting to reclaim the June 12 mandate. His propaganda theory was so potent that many wondered where he gets them from. He fought activists to a standstill.
In later interview, he supported the annulment based, according to him, on ‘security report…at the time’. He eventually benefitted from the democratic process as elected senator.he died on April 19, 2015,
Daniel Kanu
Kanu came from nowhere to become Abacha’s henchman and perpetrated serious anti-democratic activities, including organizing the infamous one million march for Abacha with his ‘Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha’ group. He basically dined and wined with the autocratic government.
Kanu was reported as saying, “The destiny of this nation and the transition to democracy under the present dispensation can only achieve its viable potential if handled by prudent, purposeful, and transparent leadership of General Abacha.”
When he contested and won PDP’s ticket for the House of Representatives in AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in 2002, he was paid back in his own coin as his was ‘annulled’ over “unverifiable certificates” and “unclear antecedents.”
Arthur Nzeribe
He was Babangida’s own henchman, and was in the forefront of truncating the June 12 election with his infamous Association for Better Nigeria.
The ABN had made taken a major step to ensure the junta remained in power by approaching a court to prevent the conduct of the June 1993 presidential election. Its argument: leader of the NRC and the SDP were corrupt politicians.
The Campaign for Democracy challenged them and won.
Nzeribe’s association, again, went to court after the poll to prevent the release of the election results. Babangida listened and the political crisis ensued.
Nzeribe later boasted of his role in the cancellation of the June 12 election.
Abimbola Davies
He was one of the directors of the Nzeribe-led pro-Abacha ABN, among several others. He has been criticised for his links with the anti-democratic forces. Davies made a u-turn shortly after, and exposed the ABN motives.
Ernest Shonekan
A kinsman of Abiola, Shonekan happily accepted the interim leadership role. He could have used the opportunity to cause, but he never did. He revolved round the presidency until Abacha sacked him three months later.
Abdul-Azeez Arisekola-Alao
The late Ibadan-based billionaire businessman pitched his tent with Babangida in as much as he was Abiola’s friend and Yoruba Islamic leader. He spoke vehemently against the June 12 mandate.
He said, “Wallahi tallahi billahillazi la’ila ha illahuwa – and we are in the month of Ramadan; that is what happened at that time. It was after the election that members of the Armed Forces Ruling Council threatened to kill both MKO Abiola and IBB, if he insisted on releasing the result of the election. They threatened to kill both IBB and Abiola.”
Lamidi Adedibu
The late strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, was said to have ‘arranged’ the infamous conditional bail to be granted to Abiola while in incarceration, a move that would have denied Abiola his mandate if he accepted the offer.
IBB was later quoted as saying that Adedibu supported the June 12 annulment.
Jerry Gana
Prof. Jerry Gana was one of the civilians co-opted into Abacha’s transition and being the Minister of Information, he was one of earliest people to sing the dirge of June 12.
Gana had in May 1994, almost the first year anniversary of June 12, reportedly said, “The military administration (Abacha’s regime) did not actualise the June 12 election, in spite of its opposition to the annulment, for fear that certain sections of the country could rise against it. If they actualised June 12 when they came in, another section would rise.
“The annulment is a painful one but we cannot because of it allow the people of Nigeria to be destroyed. Somebody has made a mistake like somebody made in 1966, like somebody made in 1984, like somebody made a mistake by stopping Jerry Gana from becoming a president by annulling my own primaries.”
Al-Mustapha, Sofolahan, Others
Abacha’s former Chief Security Officer, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha; Kudirat’s former Personal Assistant, Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan; a son of late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Mohammed Abacha; and Rabo Lawal were in December 1999 charged with conspiracy and murder over their alleged involvement in the assassination of Kudirat Abiola.
After 13 years of instituting the case, which was presided over by five successive judges and during which the accused persons were in prison custody, Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan were sentenced to death by a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012.
Lawal Pedro, who led the prosecution, had accused Al-Mustapha of ordering Barnabas Rogers, (alias Sgt. Rogers), a member of Abacha’s Strike Force, to kill Kudirat. However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on Friday, July 12, 2013, discharged and acquitted al-Mustapha and Shofolahan, saying there was not enough evidence to incriminate him in the murder of Kudirat. The verdict overturned the death sentence passed on al-Mustapha by the Lagos High Court.
Similarly, the likes of Bashir Tofa, the candidate of the NRC, who has yet to openly admit that Abiola won the election; Chief Tom Ikimi, the chairman of NRC, who defected to Abacha’s camp; Humphrey Nwosu, who couldn’t muster the courage to release the remaining results and others.
The Five political parties that adopted Abacha as their sole candidate for the election are also great enemies of the June 12 struggle. Someone had described them as the ‘five leprous fingers of Abacha’.
Additional Info from The Punch
First published on June 10, 2018
By Eric Elezuo
From whichever angle one views it, Bella, the beloved daughter of billionaire businessman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., is an enigma, a point of reference and research material for acumen, industriousness and resilience. She is the typical of the never-say-never spirit of the Nigerian women. Yes, she has taken hers a niche higher, infact beyond the reach of competitors.
Nigerian women have shown resilience, strength and character in administration, government and entrepreneurship, contributing more than their quota, and giving vent to the growth and development of the nation’s socio-economic sector. Among them is the impactful Executive Vice Chairman of the A-list communications outfit, the Globacom Group, Mrs. Bella Disu.
A strong purpose-driven professional and boardroom guru, whose administrative skills, intellect, experience and academic trajectory have remained a subject of reference, Bella, as she is fondly called, is a woman, who though has a privileged background, carved a niche for herself, climbing through ladders and cadres to get to where she presently is, and more importantly, can boast of the desired leverage and ability to defend her position.
Born Belinda Ajoke Adenuga, on May 29, 1986 to the duo of Emelia Adefolake Marquis, a Nigerian entrepreneur, and the global phenomenon, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., Bella received her early education in Lagos, at the prestigious Corona School in Victoria Island before enrolling at Queen’s College for her secondary education. In 1998, she transferred to Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, where she concluded her secondary education.
She proceeded to the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, and later, a Master of Science degree in Leadership from the Northeastern University, also in Boston.
In January, 2021, Abumet Nigeria Limited announced her appointment as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Abumet Nigeria Limited maintains worldwide partnerships with reputable manufactures and maintains a state-of-the-art production facility, located in FCT Abuja, fully equipped with cutting-edge machinery and technology.
Abumet is a subsidiary of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, and a leading solutions provider for the planning, processing and installation of aluminium and glass products, from single standard windows to sophisticated facades and large-scale design masterpieces. She replaced Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, upon his resignation from the board. Bella is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria (MNIM) and the Institute of Directors of Nigeria (MIOD).
In addition to her French National Honour of Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (“CAL”), and currently the Executive Vice- Chairman of Globacom Limited, she is also the Chief Executive Officer of Cobblestone Properties & Estates Limited, and a Director on the Board of Mike Adenuga Centre.
In less than four years of her leadership, Abumet’s profits, according to Billionaire Africa, surged to 307% in 2024, marking a major turnaround from losses in 2021.
The paper reported of her exploits as follows: “As a Non-Executive Director, she helped boost Julius Berger’s revenue to N566.2 billion, pushing it into Nigeria’s top 50 listed firms.
“At Abumet, Disu is driving innovation in façade technology, deploying unitized curtain walls for improved insulation and energy efficiency in Nigeria’s construction sector.
“Nigerian business executive Bella Disu has led Abumet Nigeria Limited, an innovative glass and aluminum manufacturing company, to record-breaking earnings, with profits quadrupling at the end of the 2024 fiscal year. Her leadership has not only steered the company back to profitability but has also reinforced the business acumen that runs deep in the Adenuga family.
“In a LinkedIn post, Disu, who has served as chairman of Abumet since 2021, shared the company’s turnaround: “Abumet is reaching new heights, and I’m excited to share our latest achievements. I am especially proud of the remarkable turnaround we’ve achieved—transforming from a loss in 2021 to delivering a 307 percent increase in profit in 2024.
“At just 38, Disu has earned her place among Africa’s top executives under 40, proving her ability to drive business success while steadily stepping into the legacy of her father, billionaire Mike Adenuga, who ranks among the continent’s wealthiest individuals with a fortune of $6.8 billion. She took over as chairman of Abumet’s Board of Directors in January 2021, succeeding Bamanga Tukur at a time when the company was struggling with steep losses.
“Since then, Disu has orchestrated one of the most impressive corporate recoveries in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. Under her leadership, Abumet returned to profitability by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, bouncing back from the impact of COVID-19 and the financial challenges of 2021. The company sustained its profit in 2023 before posting a fourfold increase in 2024.
“Reflecting on this achievement, Disu credited the success to strong leadership and teamwork: “This success is the result of strategic leadership at the Board level, the dedication of our management team, and the collective effort of every Abumet employee.”
“Bella Disu expands Abumet’s market reach
As a 90-percent subsidiary of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Abumet plays a key role in the construction giant’s success. Bella Disu, who also serves as a Non-Executive Director at Julius Berger, has played a ‘much more’ active role in driving growth in the building solutions sector. By the end of the 2024 fiscal year, Julius Berger’s revenue rose from N446.1 billion ($296.4 million) in 2023 to N566.2 billion ($376.2 million) in 2024.
“Profit after tax also increased from N12.74 billion ($8.5 million) to N14.97 billion ($10 million), boosting the company’s market capitalization on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to N202.1 billion ($134.3 million). This has placed Julius Berger among Nigeria’s top 50 publicly listed firms, ranking 35th on the NGX.
“Under Disu’s leadership, Abumet has strengthened its market position by expanding its sales and marketing efforts. The launch of its Lagos sales office has helped grow its market share for made-in-Nigeria window and door solutions, while its EVONIGGLASS insulated glass brand has gained wider recognition. Despite market challenges, the company has posted record-high revenue and profits, exceeding expectations.
Abumet deploys energy-efficient curtain walls
Looking ahead, Disu is focused on pushing innovation in advanced façade solutions, leading Abumet’s efforts in glass and aluminum manufacturing.
“Abumet is deploying unitized curtain walls that will completely envelop the façade, ensuring not just aesthetic excellence but also enhanced energy efficiency through modern insulation technologies,” she said.
With a strong record of turning businesses around and driving growth, Disu is cementing her leadership in Nigeria’s business world. Her influence now extends beyond construction, telecommunications, and real estate into the country’s broader manufacturing sector, where she continues to make a lasting impact.”
Bella’s trajectory in the world of enterprise is a clear case of the demystification of the proverbial a tree cannot make a forest’, as she has conscientiously turned tables around wherever she found herself, bring in new ideas, new innovations and structural discipline that completely overhauls a system for all the positive outcomes.
Hers, is a case of continuous rise in the business world, and the home front. She is a better definition of a virtuous woman, and at less than 40 in age, the sky holds no barrier to how much more Belinda Ajoke Olubunmi Disu nee Adenuga could achieve in the coming months.
In November 2025, at a Techx Ikoyi event, Bella made a strong case for positivism, using herself as a veritable content and well researched material. Her speech titled, Say Yes Now! Why Readiness is a Myth, is still much talked about as presented in full below:
I was 38 when I finally met my whole self. Bella Disu — the change maker, the creative, the lifelong learner, the woman unafraid to keep evolving.
It’s interesting though, I didn’t meet her in a moment of perfect readiness. I met her after I got tired of constantly walking within the same walls. Today, I’d like to share the story of how I stopped waiting, what it taught me about why we hesitate, and what happens when we finally say yes. 
A while ago, I decided to try something new. Not in business, but in my years-long fitness journey. At one point, I weighed 110 kilos. At another, 64. By my mid-30s, I had found a rhythm: 160 grams of protein a day, strength training four times a week, 10,000 steps daily. Slight work, right? I had three walking pads — one in my bedroom, one in my study, one in the office. Don’t ask. I’ve never been one for small measures.
But it worked. Of course it did. Until one day, I realized this is my life — walking in place and staring at the same walls. So, I thought maybe it’s time to move differently. Maybe I should learn tennis.
Yet, as soon as the thought came into my mind, I hesitated. I asked myself, “Should I do it? Should I wait? Wasn’t it too technical, too hard, too late?” After all, who starts tennis at 38?
Despite not feeling quite ready, I found a coach, showed up on the court, and soon I was playing tennis three, sometimes four times a week. And then, to my horror, I discovered that tennis doesn’t even give you that many steps. All those side-to-side moves don’t count. But by then, it wasn’t about steps anymore. I was hooked. And now I am often amazed at the physical and mental growth that has since happened all because of one small decision. I’d asked myself, “Should I do it? Should I wait?” And something in me answered, “Say yes now.”
But I’ve thought about why I hesitated in the first place. And it’s that for years I thought I had to wait for the right moment, for more qualifications, for a different version of myself. Psychologists call it destination addiction — the belief that happiness lives at the next milestone. So, a certain weight, title, or degree.
And I know I’m not alone. How many of you have asked yourselves: “Should I do it? Should I wait? What if I fail?” We all know that familiar voice that whispers, “Not yet.” So, if the antidote is that simple — say yes now — why don’t we all do it?
We don’t because hesitation is a conundrum. It wears the mask of readiness. And I used to mistake readiness for a finish line. Then in 2014, I met a coach I had invited to facilitate an HR session. And after the session, he said, “So tell me about Bella.”
I froze. I really did. I could talk about my work, my father’s mentorship, even my wedding — which is probably my biggest claim to fame at the time. But about me, I… I really didn’t have much to say. So, I was thankful when he offered me a complimentary session and said, “Let’s talk to Bella from 10 years ago. What would you tell her? And 10 years ahead — who is she?”
To be honest, that future Bella was hazy. But his questions drew out interests and passions I once buried. So he then said, “What’s stopping you from going after them? You can be many things at once.”
So I said a mental yes to his words — and it opened doors to pursuing diverse interests: a first master’s, later an MBA, writing and publishing my first children’s book, impacting lives through the Bella Disu Foundation, and gaining the courage to walk into rooms that once intimidated me.
You see, each step reinforced something critical: readiness is not a destination — it’s a posture. And we become ready by doing.
Today, I’m no longer a woman hesitating in life or business. And that transformation has seeped into organizations I lead. I’ve led through discomfort many times. I’ve restructured a board and redesigned corporate strategies. And I’ve dealt with the late nights, the doubts, and that familiar restlessness that keeps leaders awake thinking, “We have to make this change.”
Yet conviction, grounded in facts, gives me a sense of urgency. And that to me is leadership — seeing what could be and moving towards it. Viewing urgency as a journey toward clarity and not chaos.
And this is particularly important because organizations wrestle with hesitation just like individuals do. Some companies choose to wait for perfect timing — and lose their moment. Others say yes now — and change industries.
I’m sure you all are familiar with these three companies that sat at the same intersection in the 1990s. Remember Kodak?
Kodak saw digital images coming and froze. Blockbuster saw Netflix and laughed. Why? Organizational loss aversion. The fear of letting go of a successful past to pursue an uncertain future.
In contrast, Apple saw the same digital future and accelerated it. The difference? Two companies chose to protect their past and failed. One chose to create its future and thrived.
And that story isn’t foreign. It’s happened right here at home, too. Just think of how we went from seeing the glory days of a popular quick-service restaurant that defined our childhoods to the success and triumph of newer ones like Chicken Republic and Kilimanjaro.
We’ve also seen the rise and agility of fintechs pushing banks to challenge their long-held ways of doing business — and in doing so, unlocking entirely new markets and customer segments.
The companies that say yes now prove that courage and speed matter more than size and comfort. Therefore, the companies that thrive, the leaders who excel, the people who grow — they all share one thing: they’ve come to recognize the mask of hesitation and take it off.
When hesitation says “not yet,” they know that doing creates readiness. And when comfort offers its gentle cage, they choose the discomfort that leads to growth.
Indeed, when I look back at every important shift in my life, it began with a small yes — often inconvenient, sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally irrational.
Saying yes to tennis at 38. Saying yes to learning again. Saying yes to growth when it would have been easier to just stay still.
But here’s what I didn’t expect: saying yes never ends with you. My teams learn to challenge comfort because I did. The women I mentor raise their hands because they saw me raise mine. And my daughter Paris picked up a racket because I picked up courage.
Every yes we give ourselves becomes a light that tells someone else it is safe to begin.
So, right now in this room, someone is sitting on an idea — starting a new business, changing roles, writing that first page, booking that class. Maybe you’re waiting for perfect timing, asking yourself, “Should I do it? Should I wait?”
You already have your answer. The traffic light — it’s already green. So move. Say yes. But most of all… say yes now.
Thank you.
Bella is sure a force to reckon with; in all ramifications!
By Eric Elezuo
If there is a limit to paying dues as regards affecting humanity, Captain Emmanuel Adesegun Sotomi, has done absolutely divine, excellently well and incredibly outstanding. And he is only 45 years. Yes, December 5, 2025 was his birthday.
A typical all-rounder, Sotomi is a blend of academic, field and the unthinkable. He is a generalissimo in every field he has found himself; enterprise, camaraderie, business of 9-5 or flying for commercial purposes or pleasure. Sotomi is the future.
A brief of his adapted career trend reveals that Sotomi has seen it all, achieved it all, and can be defined as human technology transfer in the way he has mentored a great number of youths and competitors and contemporaries alike.
Philanthropism; yes, a lot of folks, who know him are full of testimonies of his open handedness, his love to rescue the needy and lift the downtrodden are phenomenal. He is a lover of humanity, a true legend in discipline.
Soft spoken and well read, Sotomi is a dream of every growing youth, who planned to be thoroughly established before the golden age. He is a role model.
Below is a derived biodata of the fast rising pilot-cum-entrepreneur…
Captain Segun Sotomi is a skilled commercial pilot, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He attended the University of Lagos before going to top-tier aviation schools in South Africa, Canada, and the United States to obtain his pilot licenses. He is currently a captain with Gulf Helicopters Qatar, a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum.
Capt. Sotomi is licensed to operate both airplanes and helicopters [Licenses include SACAA PL (Airplane); CPL / FAA ATPL (Helicopter)]. His previous work experience includes Nest Oil, where he flew offshore.
He is also the founder and CEO of Southern Shore Integrated Services LTD, an offshore aviation logistics support company, and has a passion for working with, and empowering youths.
Captain Sotomi has served in several management positions in his flying career, and also sits on the board of different top-tier companies.
He is an avid polo player, and is happily married with children.
Happy 45th birthday!
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