Sir Remi Omotoso is the Chairman of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria and DN Meyer Paints. He has previously served as Managing Director of Odua Investment Company Limited and Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He tells Nonye Ben- Nwankwo and Ademola Olonilua about the story of his life
It would be difficult for anyone to imagine that you are 70 years old because of your youthful look. How have you been able to remain fit?
I’m flattered and it is appreciated. I think it is God’s grace. He gives us the grace to live well. If you take a look at what the Bible says, 70 years is supposed to be the half way of our life. If you live right, eat right, work right, exercise both physically and mentally, and do everything in moderation, you are not likely to ‘depreciate.’ The truth of the matter is that every day of our life, we are depreciating. The depreciation becomes highly noticeable when you do not have a balanced life. I look youthful through the grace of God and I do not abuse the grace. I also always have positive thoughts because negative thinking has a way of destroying the body. As much as possible, I do not keep a record of wrongs. It is in my own interest not to hold a grudge against anybody. I just move on with my life. The most important thing is the grace of God and if you are also mindful of these other factors, it means that you are not abusing the grace of God. Eventually it would lead to a healthy life.
As a young boy growing up in the village, what was your dream in life?
To be honest with you, the highest I aspired to be was to be a teacher. It was the impact of the environment on me. For the first 14 years of my life, I never travelled out of my local government area. The people that were our role models were the teachers and priests. They were the people at the highest echelon of the society and the pride of the community. They were the elite, so everybody prayed that their child should become a teacher and by luck, maybe a headmaster. Since I was brought up in the village, I knew nothing about big organisations and businesses. I knew nothing about the commercial side of life. It was all about environment and the biggest commercial contact that I had was at the market. I did not even know that there was anything called a bank.
Would you still remember how you felt when you left your immediate environment?
I remember vividly the way I felt. That was in 1959. It was my second year in the secondary modern school. When I was in my second year in the school, there was an excursion and they brought us to Ibadan. You could imagine my joy. In fact, that was the first time I wore my first pair of shoes. I was 14 years old then. Because I was going on the excursion, my mother had to struggle to buy me a pair of tennis shoes. Till today, I am grateful to her that she awarded me my first pair of shoes at the age of 14. As soon as we left my immediate environment and we got to Ilesha, I started seeing buildings that were taller and bigger than what I was used to seeing. The streets were broader, I was mesmerised. When we got to Ibadan, what we saw was mind-blowing. They took us to the cinema and that was the first time I would go to a cinema house. I was amazed by the technology of cinematography. We went to Cocoa House and I was amazed by the tall building. I could not comprehend how they built such a structure. I saw trains and I was astonished. From that day, my horizon expanded and the excursion fulfilled its purpose of bringing me out of the cocoon. My thinking about how far I could go in life began to change because I had thought that if you could become a headmaster, you had made it big in life. I realised that there could be more to life than being a teacher.
For you to have owned your first pair of shoes at 14, you must have had a tough and rough childhood.
It is the benefit of hindsight that would make you think that it was tough. Then, we did not see it as being tough. Every other person was like that and there was no one of my age that had shoes at that time, so it was not as if I was deprived. We were all the same. We all enjoyed eating our pounded yam, running around playing, going to hunt for rodents. Our life was normal. To people now, it might sound like a lot of suffering, but we saw it as being normal. That was what life was like for us.
We learnt that there was a point in your life when you hawked kerosene and cigarettes; how true is that?
It is absolutely true. I am still hoping to go and look for the kerosene case where my mother used to put it at home. I sold kerosene, cigarettes and matches. I was also my mother’s manager in the ‘buka’ she was running. That was how we lived. For me to get a pair of shoes was not easy. My mother did not just wake up one morning to go to the market and buy me the pair of shoes. She saved the money for over four months. It was from the proceeds of my sale of kerosene, matches, cigarettes and the ‘buka.’ She did not want me to be the only one that would go on the excursion without shoes.
Education probably was not so fashionable during your time. Whose decision was it to send you to school?
I must correct that impression. In Ekiti, education was everything. Anybody who could not send their child to school was seen as an irresponsible person. Everybody saw it as a duty to send their children to school. Education was prime and a need that parents recognised. If you had to go and borrow or sell part of your possessions to send your child to school, an Ekiti man would do that. Most of the time, parents would join thrift collections so they could save money to pay school fees. Parents would work harder than usual to get money for their children. Life was a lot easier for our parents back then with the free education that was introduced during our time by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
What kind of relationship did you have with your step siblings?
We all got along well. I have half brothers and sisters. Fortunately for me, we were not many in my family but there were some that were not as accommodating and friendly as others. The irony of it for me was that the closest to me was my half sister. Everybody said we were just like twins and our mothers did not care about our closeness. We did everything together and even went to the same college at the same time. We took photographs together and if any man wooed her, they were in serious problem with me. I ran into many troubles with teachers because of her. I was severely punished. I had greater love for her than for my blood sister. My father tried to promote unity and there was no discrimination. I was a carefree fellow, so I would go to my stepmother’s room and eat whatever I found there. People used to tell me to be cautious that I could be poisoned but I never bothered about that. It depends on your disposition and I had a very friendly disposition. Out of the seven of us in my family, five of us are left, two are dead. Three are from my stepmother while two are from my mother. My father promoted unity among his children and I also imbibed that.
How would you describe yourself as a young boy?
I was a very rascally fellow. I fell between two stools; a caring father doting over me and not wanting me to die again because they thought I had come to this world before. He put me in a cocoon and was always watching over me. My mother on the other hand, was different. I was the only son she had but she would not take any nonsense from me. She would beat me mercilessly any time I misbehaved and she knew all my tricks. That was why I never missed selling my kerosene because I would not want to dare her. Beside that, I was a happy fellow. I enjoyed my childhood; I played football and ran into all sorts of trouble. I fell from the top of a tree at a time in my life; I toiled with all sought of things. I was a rascal.
How were you able to come out with good grades from school?
God gave me a sharp brain. I would do little and the result would be fantastic. I also had the fortune of being given to teachers by my father to be trained. Despite selling kerosene, I must still spend an hour having lessons with teachers. That was my father’s order. I was getting coaching more than my peers. My father was very particular about that. There was never a dull moment; I would be busy till I went to bed. Even before bedtime, I would spend some time with the teacher. In fact, my father sometimes insisted that I stay with them and I would go to school from their house.
Did you eventually teach at a point in your life?
Yes, I taught. After modern school, I went to a teacher training college. It was a grade three teachers college and it mandated me to be a teacher. I did not like my experience in the training college. The discipline there was almost unbearable and they made me do all sorts of things. They would ask me to empty the bucket of urine. I had it rough. By the second year, I was already a senior to some other people. It was a two-year programme. I was the time keeper. One year of suffering should not make me feel that bad but it was so tough that I said it was not worth going for the return course known as the Grade Two teachers course. I stayed back at home to study privately for my GCE Ordinary and Advanced levels. I taught for about four years. I taught in the Methodist Mission School in Ibadan. I later got myself a job in a private primary school and I believe it was divinely arranged because it really changed my life completely.
We learnt you had an accident while writing your GCE, what happened?
It was when I was studying for my advanced level. I had registered for three subjects and the day I was going to have my first paper in geography, I had read all through the night. When I stood up to have my bath, I got dizzy. I did not see the door and I hit my head on the edge of the door and I had a deep cut and blood was gushing from there. I never went for the exam. It prevented me from writing the exam. When I got to the University of Ibadan to register my course, I insisted that I wanted to study geography. The professor there said he didn’t understand why I wanted to study geography as a major when I did not offer it in my advanced level. I had to lie to the man that the woman who wanted to pay my school fee said that if I did not study geography, she would not sponsor me. The woman, Chief Ogunlesi, actually told me that she was going to pay for my school fees just like I was her son. She was the owner of Children Home School in Ibadan. I begged the professor and he said that I was troubling him. But on my third visit to him, he said he would help me. He said that I would be the first person in the history of the university who did not have an A level in geography but would be registered as a direct entry student who would major in geography. He said that I was putting his reputation at risk as a professor and that if I failed, I would disappoint him. I never failed.
But why were you bent on studying geography?
The subjects that I passed in my Advanced level were art subjects. I applied at the University of Lagos, Ibadan and Ife. University of Lagos offered me political science or law; Ife and Ibadan offered me history. In our time, we did not have counselling like it is now. I did not have anybody to advise me. I just sat down in my room and picked the subjects that I would do. I love geography. It is the centre of knowledge. It takes you into economics, sociology, humanities, geology and everything that has to do with human existence.
Do you think you would have gone to the university if you did not meet Mrs. Ogunlesi?
There were scholarships and bursaries during that time but I don’t think I would have got any of them. I got good grades at my A levels but the competition for scholarship was very stiff. I think God just designed it that I was going to go to the university through her. She did not know any of my parents but it was her school that I went to after running away from the mission school. The day she interviewed me, she found some measure of rascality in me and how that attracted her to me is only known to God. When she saw me, she said that I was like her son. She said I was bold because I challenged her.
How?
We were to appear before her at 8am and I thought by 12pm, the interview would have been over and I would be on my way to the library. But as at 10am, she had not attended to us and I saw the cook that was going to serve her breakfast, so I told the cook to tell her that we were waiting. The cook went to tell her and she came out. She asked who asked the cook to tell her that we were waiting and I raised my hand. I told her that I did not bargain to be in her house till that time and I still had to go to the library to collect some books. I told her that with the way things were going, I might not be able to get the books and she told me that my interview was over. She said that I should come and start work the following day. Others waited to be seen one after the other but mine was done on the staircase. I did not even sit before her for the interview. She never asked for my credentials and by the time I got there on Monday, my letter of appointment was waiting for me. The few years I spent with her, she was like my mother. I stopped being just a teacher and also became her personal assistant. Anytime she wanted to go out, she would send for me. We went to prayer gatherings together. I was with her when I was writing my A level and she accommodated me in one of the guest rooms in her house. The same cook that I asked to tell her that I was waiting was the one she mandated to cook my meals. By the time my results came out, she was very glad. One day, she called me and asked how I would pay my fees and I told her that I had not even thought of that and she offered to take responsibility of anything that had to do with my university education. It was divinely arranged because she never met my mother. She and her husband followed me to my graduation; she really stood by me. Those who did not know her thought she was my mother.
How were you able to climb the corporate ladder?
I must never fail to emphasise this. For everyone in life, God has a purpose. Your destiny in life has been carefully crafted by God. Someone came and turned Mrs. Ogunlesi against me. When I left the university, she did not compel me to teach in her school but I told her that I would serve her. In her enthusiasm to see me become the principal of her secondary school, she told the principal I was working with that he should prepare me well for the job because after four years, she would like to make me the principal of the school. That was the beginning of my tribulation because the man did not want me to take over his job. He did everything he could to make sure that he turned the love the woman had for me to hatred. He almost succeeded. There was also another child of the woman who felt that I was too close to her mother. She was also the secretary of the board of governors of the school. The principal had gone to report me and they tried to settle the issue but because of my character, (I believe in honesty and integrity) I could not look the other way. Something happened that I thought should not be but they went and told a different story to Mrs. Ogunlesi and she believed them. The board of governors met and a decision was taken that I should be sacked. This was in 1970. I got sacked. It was in November and my students were preparing to write their WASSCE, so I begged them not to pay me but to allow me to see those children through with their exams. As soon as the students were through with their exams, I became jobless and they had reported me to the teaching commission in case I was looking for a job elsewhere. I came to Lagos on the invitation of my cousin, Doye Akinyemi. I stayed with him and there were nine of us in a room with a cat to watch out for the rats. I began to look for a job and somebody gave me a letter to go to Lever Brothers. I was told that they could recruit me as a management trainee but he could not guarantee that I could get the job because it would be based on my performance. Every desk I went, I met someone that finished from the University of Ibadan. They showed me how to fill the form. I did all that and went for the interview. I was the only one with B.A Hons, the rest had B.Sc in Economics or Business Administration. I came out first in the interview and by July 1, I was asked to come and start my appointment as management trainee but not till I had brought a letter from my last place of employment to certify that I was eligible to work with them. I could not show them my sack letter, so I went back to the school. Thank God that I asked them to allow me to work till the students wrote their exam without pay. They were very warm to me. I asked them to give me a letter and they did. They said that I worked with them till December 1970. They never said I was sacked and they attached my last pay slip. That was how I got to Lever Brothers. By the time I joined Lever Brothers, the story of my life changed completely. As a management trainee, the salary I earned was more than that of the man who invited me to Lagos. My life changed.
Were you able to make up with Mrs. Ogunlesi?
Shortly after I left the school, the Oyo State government took over all secondary schools. The school was one of those taken over and it was merged with another school. The principal who thought that he would be there for life was asked to go. When I got the Lever Brothers’ job, I never forgot the goodness of the woman in my life. I went back to her, not to beg because an Ekiti man never goes to beg when he is not guilty. It is not in our character. I related with her and she also saw that the story was a lie, so she drew me close to her and embraced me. Till she died, I was one of the closest persons to her. I would take my wife and children and we would spend a whole day with her. We would be in her room and I would run errands for her because by that time, she was already getting old. It was mother and child brought together again.
How did you meet your wife?
Everything about me has to do with divine arrangement. I met my wife through divine arrangement because I had been going out with other ladies. I didn’t date two girls at a time. I am a very serious lover and I cannot love two women at the same time. I tried to be with a princess from my hometown but it failed. I also tried dating another lady whose mother really liked me because I was a promising young man but it did not work out. I tried another princess but it did not work too. One day, a friend of mine said we should go to the University of Ibadan and promised to introduce me to his girlfriend’s sister. The woman that is my wife today was the roommate of the person we went to see. When we got to her room, she was not around and my friend who brought me to Ibadan disappeared into thin air. The lady I met in the room told me that they would soon come. She then bought me coke and biscuit. I felt appreciative of her hospitality but it did not go beyond that. When I left, my mind kept telling me to go and visit the lady again because during that time, there was no telephone. The following Saturday, I went to Ibadan to visit the lady. I went to her hall and they said she had gone to Sunday School. Immediately, I jumped into my car and traced her. She was teaching when I got there, so I stayed in my car and it was a very long wait. By the time she came out of the class, I came out of my car and walked up to her. I offered to take her to her hall but she did not recognise me immediately, so I told her I was the one who came to see her roommate the other day. She refused to enter my car and said she would walk. I was very disappointed. I went to wait for her in her hall. She met me there but walked pass me as if I was invisible. The following weekend, I went back. She asked what the matter was and why I was so desperate. I told her that I wanted to be her friend and after about six visits, she showed mercy on me and went out with me. We clicked and we thank God for the result. I believe that it was by divine arrangement because I was not really a patient man but she was worth it.
How did you feel when you were given the national award?
I was in the Lagos Chambers for Commerce and Industry as the Director-General and CEO. I was the secretary of the committee that made recommendations to the Presidency on who should be given the national honours. My name came up as one of those recommended but I told them that I felt it was wrong because we made recommendations. The following year, I was away in America and they recommended me for the award. It is not an award that is given to someone on a platter of gold; you must have contributed immensely to the nation. In my years in Unilever, it fell on my lot to do backward integration. In addition to my primary assignment, I was made to work on import substitution and I did quite a lot in that area. The people themselves put together all I had done without me being there. All they asked me to do was to fill in some gaps they could not fill and submit a comprehensive write-up on myself. They found the little I had done worthy and I was given a national award. Member of the Federal Republic is normally given to those in the private sector.
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