By Agatha Emeadi
Dr. Ije Jidenma is the President, Institute of Directors (IOD) and Chief Executive Officer of Consulting Edge Limited. Another significant thing about her is that she is the first child of Dr. Fredrick Chigozie Ogbalu, author and renowned promoter of Igbo Language, who was affectionately known for initials and surname, FC Ogbalu. In this interview Jidenma spoke on her emergence as IoD director, her father’s Igbo language promotion, and many more.
How did you emerge as the IoD president and what background or antecedents did you bring to the position?
I emerged as the 17th President of the Institute of Directors on 24th June 2021, following my successful election by the Governing Council of the Institute. Before then, I had served the Institute in several and varying capacities. As an office bearer, I had served as the First Vice President of the Institute and statutorily chaired its Finance & General-Purpose Committee. I had also served as the Second Vice President and chaired the Membership & Branch Development Committee. These two strategic positions automatically conferred on me the membership of the Presidential Consultative and Strategic Committee (PCSC), the advisory organ for the President among other several roles in the institution.
Beyond the IoD, I had served on various Governing Boards and Advisory Boards of profit and not-for profit organisations. Some of them include First Pension Custodian Limited, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, where we had oversight on subsidiary boards across Africa, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, DRC, Gambia and United Kingdom. With a stint at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Arthur Mbanefo Digital Resource Centre and the Benola Cerebral Palsy Initiative have given me an exposure to the zenith of my career. Again, being on the Board of several organisations such as The Centre For Values in Leadership, Management Consultant, IFC-certified Board- Assessor and IoD-trained and certified independent non-executive director. They include the Chief Executive Programme of the Lagos Business School, the Leading Professional Service Firms programme of the Harvard Business School, the Corporate Governance Programme of the Kellog School of Management, University of Chicago, The Finance for the Board Room programme of Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom and the Risk Management Programme of Euromoney etc, plus several in-house programmes all centred on board effectiveness.
Your father, Dr. F. C. Ogbalu was at the forefront of promoting Igbo language and culture. What was the idea or experience that drove his passion?
My father worked tirelessly to promote and advance Igbo Language and culture. However, things were mainly in the oral tradition. My father gave impetus to written Igbo along with other prominent Igbo and their forebears. It was his life’s mission. Even though his discipline of study was Economics – he got Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from University of London and Master of Science in Education, Buffalo, USA, he devoted his time as a teacher to teaching Igbo Language and Culture. He formed the Society for Promoting Igbo Language & Culture in 1949 when he was barely 21 years and wrote the anthem of that society which basically encapsulated its vision, mission and goals. He was a collector of Igbo proverbs, idioms and cultural items. Some of his notable works were “ Ila oso Uzuakoli” (a notable cultural event in that area of Igbo Land), ‘Omenala Igbo’ (a book on Igbo culture that remained a reference point for several decades). Others include ‘Akwukwo Ogugu Igbo’ (that covered Primary 1 to 6); Uwaezuoke, Obiefuna and Ebubedike. He also published Igbo newspapers and magazines like ‘Onuora’ and Anyanwu (The Sun). He wrote ‘ Osua Okowa ‘ a pre-cursor for Igbo dictionary which the vastly illiterate population in the sixties used as a reference book. He wrote many books in Igbo folklore such as ‘ Mbediogu ‘ already translated to French and ‘Nza na Obu’, etc.
He inspired and supported generations of Igbo writers and authors by reviewing their manuscripts free of charge and publishing and printing their books at the University Publishing Company and Varsity Industrial Press Limited located at Onitsha. These include, ‘Onye oma Emeka’ and ‘ Okpanum aku eri eri” by Tagbo Nzeako. He spearheaded and sponsored annual seminars held at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where the academia discussed and ratified issues concerning the development and usage of written Igbo. He, through the Society, led the engagement with the various stakeholders such as the government (he gave advocacy talks over the radio and television) and had leading government figures involved such as Sir Akanu Ibiam, who was an active patron of the society; Chief Janet Mokelu, Mr Vincent Aniago, then Secretary to the East Central State Government, Chief Osita Okeke, then Commissioner for Education etc. He engaged the Church through the clergy like then Archbishop Arinze (now Cardinal Arinze), Bishop Gideon Otubelu, Bishop Onyemelukwe (Bishop on the Niger) cultural leaders such Igwe Eze (Eze N’Ukpo na Dunukofia, Igwe Osita Agwuna (Igwe Enugwu Ukwa na Umunri), Igwe Okpoko N’Oba, Igwe Ezenwa to name but a few. His vision and mission gained wide acceptability and reverence. Within the academia, were Prof Adiele Afigbo, the renowned Igbo historian who incidentally was his student at the St Augustine’s Grammar School, Nkwerre., Mr E.C. Ezekwesili , then Dean, Students Affairs of UNN, his Principal when he served as the Vice Principal of St Augustine’s School, Nkwerre , Dr Theo Okoye, Prof Igboeli, Prof Uzochukwu, Prof Chinyere Aniche both of University of Lagos, Dr Romanus Egudu of University of Benin and so many other arrowheads in academia. He was also a pioneer of the Copyright Protection Movement aimed at the protection of intellectual capital as he found to his dismay that most of his works were willfully pirated by mercenary traders, printers and publishers.
What was growing up like? As a “Daddy’s Girl” what advice did he give you?’
My father had a special place for me being the first child in a family of seven children. He affectionately called me Eliz. (short for Elizabeth). That was the name of my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Nwamgbogo Ogbalu. Again, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth the second, had a few years earlier paid a historic visit to Nigeria thereby raising the fervour for that name. My excellent academic performance in my early years also placed me on a pedestal. I was a child prodigy and more of a perfectionist which I later in life realized was not such a good attribute for stability. For instance, why bother about the 5 per cent mark you did not get while you had 95 per cent in your kitty. Why sad that you came a second place instead of your usual first? Are you not thinking of others?
He was proud of me and what I stood for. I only recall once that he rebuked me during the Nigerian civil war when I kept malice with another child and he could not understand how I persisted despite my maternal grandfather’s intervention. As for my mum who at a time was my class teacher, she drummed into my ears that I was careless. Perhaps because I would be quick to finish my examination and submit without going through to correct the errors. I was the youngest in my class and may have lacked the needed maturity. Most of the advice from my parents were through exemplary conduct and not verbal. For instance, my dad was strategic in his ways. He may say that he didn’t have money for that trendy shoe but next moment he is buying a multimillion naira printing machine. He is sacrificing all to found a secondary school as when he did for Nnamdi Azikiwe Grammar School or when he, together with others like Daniel Nzeakor, Modebelu , Obekie – founded St Peters Anglican Girls’ Secondary School. Abagana. He was known not to accept gifts or any sort of gratification from anyone. My mum is very modest, humble and dedicated. The modesty of my mum and Dad have undoubtedly rubbed off on me.
Being a focused child from tender age, what did you sacrifice to achieve success?
I must confess that I was a focused child and had a high sense of responsibility from a tender age. I burnt my own share of the ‘midnight oil ‘in school. I served as the library prefect in my secondary school, Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Onitsha, and was highly commended for my transformational efforts. I came to learn the meaning of the word ‘diligent’ in my primary three when my teacher, Mr Dim, wrote in my report card ‘She is diligent: very diligent’ Of course I came first when all the streams’ of 5/6 classes were compiled together for the third term result.
This continued in secondary school and university at which point I deliberately made a ‘mental note’ not to study for First Class. In those days, there were track records of having no single First Class in some Social Science and Arts disciplines. Sometimes there was one or two. When I came to my senses, it was already too late and even though in our class we had one First Class, then Brenda Jones (later Brenda Ibrahim) a few of us regaled ourselves in what we termed ‘Upper 2-1 ‘. A cousin of mine Nwanneka Asinobi (Nee Uchefuna) who was a classmate of mine in secondary school, openly expressed her disappointment when I told her that I came out in Second Class Upper Division. I have lost some of my doggedness through the deliberate change of my worldview in terms of total wellbeing, appreciation of individual differences and the concept of success and failure
Listening to you portrays you as a very active participant in your sector. How did you balance the home front and busy schedule?
The management of the home front and the workplace is a delicate balance and I dare say that it continues till this day and is never perfect. It has to do with my capacity to take a strategic view of things and put them in perspective. It is not always that the home comes first or work comes first. For instance, in a situation that has to do with illness, of course, the home comes first. There was a day I worked through the night to meet a critical deadline but this didn’t happen everyday and I carried my husband along. I kept communicating with him until ” lo and behold ” I was “trapped in my office”. I have had reason to ‘rush to the United States of America within a week or less when my daughter needed me. I have had to lead a corporate delegation to another country and had to handover to someone else after the strategic opening ceremonies and preliminary sessions, in order to attend my son’s high school graduation.
How have you been able to cope with widowhood?
I had a marriage that was marked by fond memories. Even though my husband was only four years older than me, it would appear as if he had garnered full experience of life and what it was all about that is read in special books. He had a good sense of humour that was the ‘icing’ on the cake. Perhaps, it was because he lost his father quite early and had to go through the challenges that came with it as his mother was ‘a housewife’ but highly intelligent.
I learnt delegation from him. My parents did things by themselves including things that other people were paid to do for them. My husband and I had a similar world view in terms of core values. We rendered service for the intrinsic value and not because of any primordial gain. We worked together on not for-profit projects such as when he was the Chair of Committee for the Ceremony of Tributes organized by Aka Ikenga in memory of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. I was at the background and was part of the invitation of eminent personalities across the country: Mallam, Maitama Sule, Prof Ali Mazrui, Prof Isawa Elaigwu etc. He fully supported my installation as the President of Soroptimist International, Surulere, and all our projects prior to my ascent to office. He had a political bent, because he served as the chairman of Hall Chairmen and President Anambra State Students, while I served as the Vice President, University of Nigeria Medical Students Association, University of Nigeria. We had similar stories and experience that we could relate to. With his sense of humor, he skilfully crafted family ” tit bits ” which we cherished and still joyfully reflected on and talk about as a family. He brought a lot of excitement and fulfillment to bear. He supported me unequivocally when I left my banking career in pursuit of a PhD. We had a way of allocating roles without discussing it. We allowed some freedom and flexibility on each side and each was wary of the other party’s action when the boundaries are crossed.
Unfortunately, my marriage ended suddenly when my husband suffered a “brain aneurism” on a Monday after working the whole night and submitting his architectural work to a client and by Wednesday, he was gone and gone forever. It was catastrophic for us. For me, it was unimaginable that his dreams and visions would be cut short and lost forever. My daughter had to be spirited down from the United States of America against our planned decision to represent us at the 25th wedding anniversary of her guardians, Dr & Dr (Mrs) Mike Okoroafor. He had so much for him then that I couldn’t imagine all that has gone. Though such gingered the drive to help actualise his dreams and passions such as public speaking and philanthropy and helped my grieving period. His friends and mentors rallied round and accepted to serve as members of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation instituted in his honour ‘Goddy Jidenma Foundation’. They were Prof Ben Nwabueze, Chief MT Mbu, Dr ( Mrs) Kuforiji- Olubi, Dr Stella Okoli, Prof Pat Utomi, Justice Rose Ukeje, and Engr Obidi Ezenwa.This helped me greatly in my grieving period as I gained intrinsic satisfaction in the pursuit of its goals which strengthened and ultimately helped to stabilize me.
Today, I still grieve but not in an unconsolable manner. We remember what he stood for. I always have him at the back of my mind as I make decisions. Sometimes, I would have ‘a knowing smile’ when I realize how proud he would be with regards to some of the actions we have taken. At the end, I am not over stretched as we had discussed everything under the sun including joking about death. I, however, felt bad that he worked extremely hard and died at 51 years.He always looked forward to attaining the age of 60 years which never came. He had crammed several life times in one life time. He spent his life in the service of others; served as the Commissioner for Works, Housing & Transport and as the Commissioner Commerce, Industry & Transport where he introduced many schemes that are still operational till today. I believe in the biblical philosophy that it is better to give than to receive. There is surely an intrinsic fulfilment that comes with giving. My husband always advised people around him such as his siblings to look for something to give. If you do not have time, give money: if you do not have money, give service: if you have none, you can give advice on how to solve problems. It is not in the worth of what you give but, in the selflessness, just as the exemplified widow’s mite, in the Bible.