We became friends by mutual admiration derived from reading and enjoying each other’s newspaper column. Each time you read Dr. Obadiah Mailafia’s column, he gives you value for money with his erudition, insight, experience, research and the power of his prose. How can he just die like that, going six feet down under with his head brimming with so much wisdom and ideas?
Dr. Obadiah was named after Prophet Obadiah, one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Obadiah’s story is told in 1 Kings 18:4 about how he heroically rescued one hundred prophets from the murderous hands of Jezebel who was after them. Obadiah hid them in two caves, fifty prophets per cave, and fed them with bread and water. That was how they survived death in the hands of Queen Jezebel, wife of Ahab—the most wicked of Israel’s kings. We are told that Obadiah spent all his money on feeding the poor prophets and even had to borrow money with interest from Ahab’s son Jehoram to be able to support them when he run out of money. He was able to rescue the prophets due to his insider knowledge as Ahab’s chief of staff.
This was the prophet Dr. Obadiah Mailafia was named after, a prophet who did not keep his mouth shut but spoke truth to the authorities, preached the message of justice, righteousness and the fear of God in the land. He prophesied that there would be destruction caused by greed, pride and the mistreatment of the people of Israel.
After our exchange of letters, I finally met Dr. Obadiah Mailafia in his hotel room at Federal Palace in 2016 when I was conducting interviews for my book ‘50 NIGERIA’S BOARDROOM LEADERS—Lessons On Corporate Governance and Strategy.’ As a member of the board of Nigerian Breweries, he had come for a board meeting and had agreed to talk to me on his boardroom experiences. I am proud to say his chapter which I titled Leveraging my CBN Experience in the Boardroom of Nigerian Breweries is among the best in the book. In it he shared his experience as a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank and how he brought that experience to bear on the board of Nigerian Breweries. He explained his role as a non-executive director at NBL:
“Being a former CBN man, my experience must contribute to the good management of Nigerian Breweries. The expectation is that I will bring a whole range of knowledge, insight and experience that can help, on the strength of my understanding of the dynamics of the Nigerian economy, my understanding of government policy, the regulatory framework and how it affects and impacts on the business of Nigerian Breweries. In this vein, I am advising the board, advising management on key trends in the economy and their likely impact and implications for the business.”
I am happy that I have kept the thoughts and ideas of this great man in my boardroom book. That is the essence of being a biographer, capturing the great ideas of the masters and preserving them for posterity. The book “50 NIGERIA’S BOARDROOM LEADERS” is in the library of every serious executive. It is a must-have for anyone aspiring to sit on the board of a company or any organisation.
Outside boardroom matters, I asked him a few other questions not included in the book: “Where do you find the time to write your column?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s annoying to my wife because she says: ‘Why are you bothering yourself with this country? It’s not going to change.’ Writing is something I cannot help. You will not believe it, there is even a mystical angle to it. There were times when I will wake up at 2 a.m. A voice will just command me to write. I have no choice than to obey. I cannot sleep until I get up and write. It has happened to me a number of times. I remember the voice commanded me to write on Martin Luther King Jr. during his 100th anniversary. I wrote and I finished it around 5.30 a.m. As I was finishing it two doves came to the window and started dancing. Honestly, it was extraordinary, almost a mystical experience.
“It’s a burden I feel for the land. I fear that at the rate we are going, this country might break up. And it would be terrible for Africa. Because we are the land of destiny and the whole future of Africa lies in our hand. If Nigeria can’t make it, forget Africa. In fact, the white people would recolonize Africa. The only people they are afraid of is Nigeria. And they would be more than happy to help us destroy ourselves.
“So, I write because I have a burden. Somehow, that burden creates the time. It’s a bit tedious because you simply have to write, whether you like it or not. Once you are committed to a column, that commitment keeps you writing.
“I also write because of the desire to engage with Nigerians, engage with them on the challenges facing our country. That sort of thing. I never thought I would end up as a columnist. But there it is.”
DISAGREEMENT
The only area I had a disagreement with Dr. Obadiah Mailafia was when he tried to convince me that he did not think it is right to include my late friend Dimgba Igwe in my boardroom as a co-author. He tried to make his point that I should let the dead rest in peace. But somehow, I disagreed with him and went on to include my beloved friend as co-author—even though the idea of the boardroom book came after his death. In fact, he inspired it from the grave. May the souls of my two friends Dimgba Igwe and Dr. Obadiah Mailafia continue to rest in heavenly bliss. They were both strong, committed Christians and servants of the Most High God. Their spiritual lives are roadmaps for me to follow and make heaven too.