Shuaibu Idris
Shuaibu Idris is a team leader with over 20 years experience in business consulting and he worked in several organisations. He is a director of Time-Line Consult Limited and, recently, Deputy Managing Director of Dangote Flour Mills Plc. He had immense exposure in investment banking, finance, treasury management, human resources, sales and marketing. He has a professionally sound background and has burning desire for hard work, dedication, devotion to duty, a sense of responsibility, tolerance, and above all, principled.He has a degree in accountancy from the Bayero University and a masters degree in banking and finance from University of Wales, United Kingdom.A Harvard University alumni, Alhaji Idris is also a member of several professional associations including Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Directors, Institute of CreditAdministrators and Institute of Management amongst others. He is on the board of several companies, banks, government parastatals and institutions. In this interview with TUNDE ESO, he spoke on his career, politics and encouraged Nigerians to pray for, support and have regard for their leaders. Tell us briefly about you.I hail from Kaduna State and started my educational sojourn in L.A Primary School, Doguandawa. Thereafter, I proceeded to Government Secondary School which was completed in 1981. Then I went to Bayero University, Kano, for a degree in Accountancy. I had my National Youth Corps Service in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where I served as Customer Account Officer at National Oil Chemical Company, now Conoil. After my NYSC I went back to Kaduna state to start a career with the civil service and was employed as Inspector of Taxes.
I spent about a year in that capacity and then joined the then Chase Merchant Bank Nigeria which later became Continental Merchant Bank Plc. I assumed duty at the bank as an analyst handling lending portfolio. I was there for about 10 years. I travelled to United Kingdom for my Masters degree in Banking and Finance at the University of Wales through sponsorship by the British Council. Immediately after the program, I came back to Nigeria to join the banking industry again. I started first as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of a finance company called Lakeside Investment which was a subsidiary of Africa International Bank, former BCCI.
I spent about two years here and then moved to Liberty Bank as Assistant General Manager in charge of branches and the public Sector. I was domiciled in Abuja. I was here for about three years and then left to start my company, Time-Line Consult Limited. After about a year in my personal business, I was convinced to work for Dangote Group as Group General Manager in charge of Human Resources. I was later made the Group Treasurer and then transferred to office of the Chief Executive as Special Assistant of the then Vice President of the Group. Subsequently, I was transferred to flour milling part of the business to make positive turn around in the management of the team. I was Deputy Managing Director of Flour Mills where I left in 2010 to pursue a career in politics.
Is it true that you ran for governorship election in Kaduna State in 2007 and 2011 respectively under People’s Democratic Party?Yes in 2007, enormous pressure from my friends, associates and a group of elders convinced me to try my hands in politics. So I contested as governor of my state in 2007 under the platform of People’s Democratic Party and was defeated at the primary by Arc. Namadi Sambo who became the flag-bearer of PDP in 2007. In 2011, I contested again with two other aspirants. However, on the eve of the primaries, I was appealed to by a group of elders to step down for Sule Usman who later contested with Patrick Yakowa. Yakowa eventually became governor.
Do you intend to contest again come 2019?Politics is not a question of someone saying I want to do this or I want to do that. Circumstances determine what actions to take in politics and what actions not to take. 2019 is still far away; perhaps one cannot guarantee whether he or she will still be alive by then and secondly, we have Nasiru El-Rufai as our governor. Based on the few steps he has taken, to me, appears to be in the right direction. We have enormous expectations from him. So if for any reason at the end of his first tenure in 2019, he wishes to proceed for the second term, why wouldn’t we support him to run again? For me, I will gladly support him. So far, we have no regret electing him as Governor of Kaduna State.
With 20 years experience in industry and consulting, what are your major challenges in life and in business?I think it will be very difficult to sum up all the challenges under a particular description. You need a compartment to analyse the trajectory of my life.
First as a banker, what were the challenges while in the banking industry? Fundamentally, issues of capital have being a major a challenge in the sense that Nigeria is generally a poor country where saving culture has not been entrenched. Because of this, most of the time banks operate without much of savings from the generality of the population and if citizens don’t save, banks will not have the needed capital to lend. One would say Nigerian banks don’t give long term lending. But you ask yourself, do they have enough deposits to do long term lending? So as a banker, one of the major challenges that we faced were inadequate savings from Nigerians and so you could not have needed capital to fund the productive sector of economy and provide needed long term lending that manufacturers or entrepreneurs would love to have.
The second has to do with attitude; I mean Nigerian’s attitude in general. Nigerians seem to be a little profligate. For instance, an average Northerner is offered N5million as loan to service his business; unfortunately, this is when he decides to marry extra wife. In the South-West, particularly the Yorubas, this is when he decides to give a befitting burial to his mother or father who died 25 years ago while an Igboman will want to throw a party to show his peer group that he has arrived. So when these individuals fail to pay back loans, the banks are left in debt. This is discouraging and these are some of the challenges one faced as a banker.
Another one is human capital. You want to recruit someone and place an advert for it. You get over 200 applications and by the time you finish your screening exercise, you will be lucky to get 2 or 3 qualified candidates for the position.
Similar problems were applicable when I was in the manufacturing industry.
Here, one might want a good engineer, an experienced personality in finance and so on; they are very difficult to find in Nigeria and even when you find them, the attitude to work isn’t there. More so, the general attitude to work is not encouraging as an average Nigerian wan to get rich quickly. They don’t want to work to get rich; they prefer to engage in all kinds of dirty deals all in the quest to get rich quickly. So that is another major problem working in a manufacturing industry.
Thirdly, as a consultant, are people ready to pay for the consultation you rendered to them? There are three significant personalities in every human being’s life: your lawyer, doctor, your financial adviser and maybe your religious adviser. The religious adviser could be an Imam or pastor. They don’t usually charge for services or consultation rendered as they only expect reward from God. But if you hire a lawyer to advice you, how many people are ready to pay for consultation? The services of lawyer or that of a financial consultant is similar to the services of a medical practitioner. People prefer to pay a medical doctor than paying the consultant who gives financial advice. So, that has been a major challenge as a consultant.
Having enumerated these challenges, what would you proffer as solution?The solution is that we need to have a moral re-orientation. The family as the nucleus of the society needs to be re-established. These days, men and women are just interested in bearing the phrase Mr and Mrs so that people can think they are responsible, but are not willing to take those responsibilities associated with marriage institution. Therefore, good parenting bears good society.
How was your growing up?I am proud to say I am a product of a polygamous family. My father had four wives and I am the eldest male child from my mother and my two other sisters got married without schooling. Extended family for me was very good because after I lost my father, my elder brother from another mother took care of all of us. He paid our school fees and served as our father. I was also a beneficiary of federal government scholarship through which I was able to pay my school fees. With the help my elder brother, I was able to pave my way through. Even after university education, the N200 allowance that the then military government paid us was sufficient enough to live in a decent accommodation. And immediately I completed my NYSC, I got a job. So growing up was easy for me.
What has being your most memorable moment in life?Is there any time that one would say is memorable? I think in all moments I have had in life have been memorable. I am contented and thankful to God.
At what age did you meet your wife?The surprising thing is that I am one of the few northerners that married late. I am 51 years now and I got married 23 years ago. Northerners don’t marry that late. By Hausa standard, at 17 or 18 years at most, they get married. I got married 5 years after a graduated from university.
What propelled you to start Time-line Consult?In the life of every professional, one should plan to be on his own after leaving white-collar job. From day one, because my father was a trader and my elder brother who took care of me after the death of my father was also a trader, I saw the wisdom of being a trader. When I started, I said to myself that before the age of 50 years, I must develop something that will be able to sustain me for the rest of my life. I thought of being independent at a very tender age. I knew how to save money even while I was in the primary school and I could remember that my mother also thought me the act of saving by asking me to save to the extent that I saved enough money to sew cloth for myself.
Would you consider attitude to be the key to your being successful in life?
It’s been God, share luck and the ability to do the right thing at the right time and not a question of high service.
What are the four major things you want President Buhari to tackle?Insecurity, corruption, unemployment and infrastructure. Nigerians should be advised to be patient enough for him to work. They should also learn to pray for their leaders; not by abusing them for making any mistake.
What are your hobbies?Reading, swimming and travelling.
Where is the best country you have travelled to in the world to unwind?Nigeria is the best place for me because there is no other place like home.
Are you a fan of any football club?Yes, I like Arsenal
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