Cornelius Adebayo: A statesman who stood the test of time, by Calixthus Okoruwa

I had recently resigned my job at MTN to found a communications consultancy, XLR8. As clients were yet to show up, we decided to put together an exhibition and conference which we tagged eNNOVATE. The exhibition would help bring together, mobile network operators as well as operatives in the value-added services sector. At the time, many entrepreneurs could already sense the opportunities that GSM technology was laying bare and had begun to explore these possibilities. There were operatives in car-tracking for instance, helping to provide an additional layer of security for vehicle owners. There were developers helping to make fancy ringtones, logos, pictures and all, at a small fee for subscribers. There were other developers involved in gaming. It was the humble beginning of what we imagined would blossom into a massive ecosystem that would deliver considerable economic value to the country.

We believed that the sector needed to be promoted better in order to enhance popularity and entice more Nigerians to be part of this emerging digital ecosystem – innovate and create new uses for technology and adopt these innovations enmasse. eNNOVATE Expo was going to be a key way to do this. And then we began writing and dispatching letters, sharing our vision and articulating how eNNOVATE would add value to the telecom industry and wider economy.

We had assumed that the big mobile network operators of the day – MTN, V-Mobile (now Airtel) and Glo would jump at the opportunity. But we were mistaken. Our letters to them were often met with insipid responses or a rigmarole of questions that led nowhere. Only Mtel, then the mobile arm of the defunct land line provider NITEL, led by a recent returnee from the diaspora, Edwin Momife, saw the value in the expo and chose not only to participate but to sponsor it as well.

But to deliver on its objectives, the new expo also needed a combination of credibility and publicity. We needed to involve government at different levels. I put a call across to Nnamdi Nwokike who was head of the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and he excitedly bought into the project. A subsequent letter to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Ernest Ndukwe was a mere formality. Indeed, we bullishly used the NCC’s logo in all our communications.

Then we sent a letter inviting the Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo to do us the honours of formally opening eNNOVATE. There were no phone calls and no follow-up lobbying as we had no access to the gentleman. Surprisingly, on the eve of the opening of the event, I got a call from the minister’s office, informing me that the minister would be available to formally flag-off the exhibition.

Chief Cornelius Adebayo’s presence at the maiden eNNOVATE Expo put a seal of credibility on the event. In addition it helped to generate publicity which in turn helped to beam attention not only at the emergent value-added services sub-sector of the telecom industry but also at the array of innovative possibilities it was driving. Thankfully, the event also provided a publicity lever for the minister himself, giving him an opportunity to engage the dozens of journalists who converged at the event, on key aspects of ongoing projects in his ministry among others.

Nokia the industry behemoth responsible for four out of every ten mobile phones manufactured in the world at the time, took up the mantle of sponsorship of the 2006 edition of eNNOVATE. As usual, in addition to our letters to industry players and the industry regulator, NCC, we sent a letter of invitation to Chief Cornelius Adebayo. He showed up in person as he did in 2005 and reinforced the seal of credibility of the Expo.

Looking back at the array of subject areas which eNNOVATE Expo and Conference examined in those days, it is amazing to observe how prescient the analysts were. I particularly remember one analyst projecting that in the future, YouTube would disrupt Nollywood’s distribution model. Today, YouTube is the choice destination of new movie releases by Nollywood producers. Another projected that the combination of industry convergence and increasing miniaturization of devices would lead to the obliteration of some industries with the broadcast industry being particularly at risk. Today, streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video are almost driving conventional broadcast players into oblivion.

After the highly successful 2006 edition, on a trip to Abuja, I paid a visit to his office to personally thank the minister for his support of eNNOVATE. His office was simple and organized, tidy and decent, shorn of unnecessary protocol. I was ushered into his presence barely five minutes after my arrival. The old man rose from his seat to offer me a handshake. Preliminary greetings over, he leaned forward attentively to find out what my mission in his office was. When I told him it was to personally thank him for his sacrifice in regularly travelling physically from Abuja to Lagos to participate in eNNOVATE, he was disappointed and told me so. “You already sent me a letter to thank me. That’s enough. You didn’t need to come all the way.”

He was, he explained, merely performing his role as minister. “Your objectives align with ours as a ministry. We want to see millions of Nigerians maximize value from ongoing technological developments. We want Nigerians to participate in driving this industry. We want Nigerians to drive its evolution and progress. We want Nigerians to benefit from it.” He spoke coolly, yet calmly, his gentility belied by the fact that he once laboured in the trenches in the battle against military rule, ending up as refugee abroad for many years. “I know it’s tough to organize these things, but please continue to do your best,” he counselled.

A few months after our meeting, apparently impressed with his work in communications President Obasanjo redeployed Chief Adebayo to the critical Works Ministry.

Not unexpectedly, in subsequent editions of eNNOVATE, and with different executives now occupying the communications minister’s seat, our letters of invitation were neither acknowledged nor replied.

Instructively, though, Chief Adebayo’s seal of approval over a consecutive two-year period had procured for the eNNOVATE brand, industry-wide respect and recognizability. Big industry players like MTN had become sponsors. In addition, eNNOVATE drew considerable attention to our organization, XLR8, including from global corporate brands who would soon become our clients.

I’m saddened at the passing of Chief Cornelius Adebayo whose transition recently, leaves a huge vacuum in the tribe of public officers whose sole motivation is service to community. I pray to Almighty God to console the family and friends he leaves behind. He was an incredibly decent man.