Daily Independent (Lagos)
Gbenga Bada
4 July 2009
interview
Lagos — Former President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Pascal Gabriel Dozie, stands tall among many most successful Nigerians.
With an impressive resume, which includes Chairman, Diamond Group Advisory Board and Chairman, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, this septuagenarian, who learnt some of his business tricks from the London School of Economics (LSE), has become a role model and point of reference on the economy having demonstrated such brilliance at Diamond Bank and UCL-Modern Ceramics Industries Limited among several other organisations. Gbenga Bada, met him at an art exhibition and he spoke on his life at 70, love for art and the Nigerian economy.
You are known to have a passion for collecting artworks, how do you view the arts?
Artists are people that are gifted by God. For me, I believe they could be prophetic or entertaining with their works and such is what I have been able to induce from the art exhibitions that I attend over the years. Aside that, I strongly believe that artworks challenge your intellect in making you decipher whatever the artist is trying to say or the story he or she is trying to tell with the paintings or sculptures. It also makes you think in the abstract without necessarily solving any problems.
What informs your passion for the arts?
My passion for the arts is a positive diversion, which also helps the mind to be creative because you are always trying to find out what the artist is trying to say with his works and the rationale behind all his works. More like trying to unravel a mystery or trying to get what is behind the mask. And besides, you can always interpret art works in your own way. You see what your mind feels the artwork is.
How can art become a source of revenue in Nigeria?
I believe we can realise this motive of making art a source of revenue because if it isn't possible, how do you think the Americans and Europeans did it? Of course, we also can in Nigeria because we have several art lovers who are collectors among other things and these artworks are very expensive. At least I know of some group of men, who own companies and when you get into their offices, you see permanent exhibitions. Even in Nigeria at the Lagos Business School (LBS), you would see several works of Nigerian artists.
So, in what other ways do you think the art world could be made more lucrative as a well-established business success?
It is only through events like exhibitions, which the artworks are shown and viewed by larger audiences that this can be achieved. I mean, for an artist like Chika Aneke, at whose exhibition I was, he would go a long way selling himself to myself and other art lovers because he stages exhibitions and avenues for people to see what he has been able to create as an artist.
How true is the saying that your love for your wife inspired your passion for the arts?
I picked up my love for art through my wife. She is the actual collector but my love for her made me love art works and I have grown to become a big fan and lover of artworks. I could say she made me love collecting artworks.
Tell us more about your wife's love for the arts.
Well, she is a lover of the arts. She is so much in love with artworks and goes to art exhibitions. I had joined her to understand her love for arts and what it all entails so that when we talk, we can both hold some conversations on artworks. I mean this is what marriage is all about because it's a joint venture and since your wife likes something, you should also try to like that thing and vice versa.
Which artwork in your collection do you like the most?
I have a lot of artworks that I treasure and I can't specifically point at one as the most loved one because each of the artist tells a different story differently. So, I have Bruce Onobrakpeya and Ben Enwonwu among others. Like I said, I can't tell you, I would tell you over and over that my wife is the collector; I came to love art accidentally.
What are your artworks worth?
I wouldn't know because prices of artworks change continuously and this also depends on how much you value your artworks. There are some artworks that are so valuable to me that no matter how much you place on it, I won't sell.
If you would put a price on it, what is the biggest amount you have spent on an artwork?
Until the last five years, I was a paid worker, who earned salary and what I earned as the chief executive of a bank at that time was nothing compared to what these people are earning at the moment. So, like (former president Olusegun Obasanjo) said, 'cut your coat according to your cloth and not according to your size.' And of course, my purchases are cut according to my pocket. If you think I'd be giving you a price, I'm sorry to disappoint you, I can't do that.
You recently celebrated your 70th birthday in style. How has life been since then?
Well, life continues. I'm grateful to those for who 70 was worth celebrating, and I pray that they would also be recipients of such grand and warm occasions too by God's grace. For me, it's great to be 70 but as it is, life continues.
Why the choice of an economist to give a lecture on wealth creation at your birthday ceremony?
If you listened to the lecture, you'd find out that it has to do with wealth creation but most importantly, it would be seen that the lecture has to do with what we are facing in Nigeria as of today. Nigeria as a dual economy of formal and informal with the informal bigger than the formal. How do we bring the informal to the formal so that we can have one economy? That was basically the reason for Dr. Pat Utomi as the speaker of the lecture given at my 70th birthday. And that was why he gave practical example of what is obtainable in the country with the lack of knowledge of our people in terms of wealth creation.
It was said that immediately after the economist left the podium that day, the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola contacted him for some negotiations. Did you facilitate this and how did you feel being the tool for the meeting?
I don't think that has anything to do with me. I mean, why should I be remembered for the Lagos State governor contacting him after speaking at my birthday? You see, it's a continuation thing and because I live in Lagos, I would definitely benefit in the programme should the Lagos State Government embrace some of the ideals. Even those outside Lagos would also benefit from these laudable achievements because it would definitely spread across. I think the Lagos State governor and his team should be congratulated for that feat.
As a veteran, what can you say about the Nigerian economy at the moment?
You see, it is very difficult because if you watch football, which I'm sure we all love, you'd find out we watching outside the field would be seeing several ways and opportunities with which the footballer could utilise the ball but the man with the ball only sees one way, which is the opponents surrounding him. When he plays, we say he's a stupid man and that's just how we outside the running of the economy and those running the economy see it in just one way. So, we only see how the economy can be run in a tangential way but there are some people who are there like the footballer and who does not know how to juggle it because he sees opponents around and he sees a leeway where he can pass the ball. Unfortunately, for those running the economy, they are dealing with human beings and some of the difficulties in implementation is that five of us can hear the same thing and you can also get five different interpretations. Once you have different interpretations, our reactions are not the same, so it is not easy for those running the economy and we all need patience.
It is believed in some quarters that the appointment of Sanusi Lamido as the CBN governor is another way to Northernise the post. Do you also believe or subscribe to this?
How can you talk about Nothernisation because the economy is just one. I think it's only naive people who cannot think through and properly that would talk about north eastern, southern and western marginalisation because the economy is one. We have a new CBN Governor, Lamido, who is not (Chukwuma) Soludo and as such, it should be noted that they are two different personalities and therefore would come with different styles. But they have one thing in common, which is making the economy function properly. Their styles might be different but their objectives are the same.
So also is the allegation that the N25 billion consolidation process, which turned the face of banking in the country by Soludo wasn't all rosy. Would it be correct to say Soludo didn't perform creditably?
I can't say Soludo didn't do well. In fact, I would say Soludo performed admirably well. You see, you can't say because somebody is out of office, you now try to trash him. I think that is wrong, it's not easy for what he has done because he has guts to do what he did and this gut gave the Nigerian banking industry a lot of respect at home and abroad. Not everybody would benefit from the policies one makes but as long as the number of people that would be benefiting is larger, it's a good policy according to economics. So, all his policies had several people benefiting with much stakeholder benefiting than those that didn't benefit. For me, he performed well.
What would your advice to the new CBN governor be?
He would know what to do but all I'd tell him is to do what he considers best for the country because he would have all the cards. I'd only be looking at it tangentially, so as long as he does what is good for the country, I am happy and content.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
