By Duke of Shomolu
Yesterday, Maddtimes released a parody of all eleven Bank MDs in bikini and sashes with the names of their respective banks slung across their chests.
The caricature of the new Zenith Bank MD and that of Fidelity Bank were the most popular for various reasons adduced by respondents.
As expected, the caricatures created waves of protects like I care. They said I was demeaning womanhood and belittling the achievements of these obviously very brilliant professionals who have really worked very hard in achieving their present status on the pedestal
People are funny.. Maddtimes for sometime now have been caricaturing all and everybody. From Tinubu on a toilet seat to Akpabio in padded underwear and we have not been accused of demeaning manhood for whatever that means.
Coming to women, all of a sudden, ‘Edgar don’t you have daughters and is your mother not a woman?. I wave all these unintelligent babble away as I focus on the most important things.
One of the most important things on my mind right now, is the trend that is the rash of Female MDs in our banking institutions.
From the first appointment and the applause it generated, I started watching the thing very closely. You see our banking system even though driven by innovation and dynamism is actually a ‘follow follow’ train where once one institution drops an innovation before you realise it, the rest join.
See for example, the caricature cartoon character admonishing us to meet them on what’s app with funny names is a perfect example. Today we are being pushed by Leo, Adora and all sort of cartoon characters from almost all banks seeking our interest in their products and services.
So it was only a matter of time before the dam will break and Banks will start looking at their female population seeking the right candidates for positioning.
By the time the announcements had crossed the 50% mark of the figure we have today, the screaming and joy of empowerment had left my mind and the ugly reality of what was taking shape was beginning to evolve in my head.
In discussions with key elements in the sector, further strengthened my resolve that this was a deliberate strategy to regain control of the banks by the owner managed oligarchs that were taken out by Sanusi. Simple.
I will explain. The owner – manager MD was a new thing in the annals of the Banking industry. They had emerged from the reforms of the Obj administration who liberalisd the sector, deregulated TeleComms, reformed Pensions there by releasing the economy to the market and opening up a new middle class which invariably threw up a new class of wealthy bank owners.
These grouping who had learnt their trades from the older class of Oligarchs and the rest and who skewed corporate governance by holding firmly as Chairman/MD and who also turned the banks to family owned enterprises were in some case father would be chairman and son will be MD or in some laughable instances father will be Chairman and step mother is MD and her son is ED- were ready to emerge.
They became rock stars, dressed like Hollywood royalty and lived the life. They became lords of the manor and sat on top of financial behemoths and as expected abused the system to the point where there was no difference between depositors funds and the MDs personal accounts.
The CBN had to act and brought in the tenor limit policy which suddenly made these oligarchs very wealthy jobless people.
They immediately put in their cronies and ruled from the back. Some of them didn’t find it easy as some cronies rebelled, broke out, formed their own banks and competed. Others simply ignored oga and faced Board room squabbles while some others just remained meek and mild and operated behind the larger than life images of their principal.
Well today we now have 11 women fronting these banks and a cursory look at some of them, you will see very glaringly what has happened.
With background in HR, Business development and some Technology, capacity has been sacrificed for obedience. The Oligarch is now back in full control as we will begin to see an MD serving more as a confidential secretary rather than the main drivers of the institutions
It’s already happening where big customers simply ignore the MD and head to where decisions are taken and then get the MDs summoned for execution.
One of the 11 Banks lost 4 EDs in 15months. Any of these EDs were well qualified to be the MD but they had to give way for the anointed female who had climbed the ladder very quickly as a result of her BD prowess armed with funny credentials.
With no technical depth, she would be relying very heavily on the Oligarch and a weakened Board and management structure to run one of the biggest banking institutions in Africa.
Sadly, the NGx, SEC and even the CBN are either complicit or remain powerless to do anything cos on the face of it, these women really do have the qualifications although suspect in some cases.
We hve seen PhD certificates bandied from rogue schools and other such qualifications that cannot stand the critical scrutiny of a well thought out verification process.
In the end, the system suffers cause it throws up the key man risk into the whole equation. Even though the oligarch is shadowy, his powers are apparent and if anything happens to him we are faced with a decimated Board and management to scramble to run such huge enterprises.
This is like giving a huge Boeing jet to an Air hostess to fly simply because she has been on board for the last 30 years, we as passengers can only but pray for safe arrival.
Na prayer.
Duke of Shomolu
