I often forget I’m a woman —EX-NSE DG, Okereke-Onyiuke

Prof Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke is a former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. She tells BABATUNDE TUGBOBO about her life, career and other issues

You studied Business Administration, Finance, and Computer Science. What informed your career choice?

I met a friend at City University, New York, United States of America, who is now my best friend. Her name is Europa Gay. I initially thought she was a student because of her petite stature but it turned out she was my lecturer. I told her that women were not given a lot of opportunities to excel. I told her I wanted to be like the men, go to the university and have my PhD, and she was impressed. I told her I wanted to study a course that men studied, so that I would learn from them and beat them. So, she guided me. She gave me a list of courses that were studied by many men. Business Administration, Finance, and Computer Science were part of them and they caught my fancy.

Did your parents influence the choice of your career?

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Not at all. My father wanted me to be a doctor, but I could not stand the sight of blood, so I did not go in that line. He actually refused to send money to me after my first year of studying Business Administration, so I had to train myself. My friend, Gay, taught me how to study full-time and also work full-time.

What was your career trajectory before you joined the Nigerian Stock Exchange (now NGX)?

I started my career on Wall Street, New York. I was interested in the amount of money they reported every evening on the New York Stock Exchange News. So, I told my friend about it, and she informed me that the industry was dominated by men, and I would not be given a chance. I then wore my traditional attire, went to (a firm on) Wall Street, and demanded to see the third person in command. I was allowed in, and he was mesmerised by my boldness. I eventually  got the job. 14 years later, I moved to Nigeria. My movement to the NSE was prompted by the plan by the then council to recruit a technical person to assist the market in setting up trading. It was during the era of the late Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony, as the President of the exchange. The man and his team were instrumental to my joining the organisation.

You rose through the ranks to become the Director General of the Exchange. How were you able to surmount the pressure of working in a male-dominated environment and excel?

Working at the New York Stock Exchange was completely different from the NSE. In New York, I was treated the same way as the male staff. However, the situation was different in Nigeria. (At the time), the only women who worked there were typists. I was chosen to come to the NSE because of my competence. The President of the New York Stock Exchange and the third person in command were the ones who recommended me. So, I was in no small position for the men at the stock exchange to look down on.

Did you envisage that you would get to the position of the Director General of the Nigeria Stock Exchange?

I did not really envisage that I would become the Director General because I just came to set it up and go back to my job in the USA, which I took a leave of absence from. But God has been kind to me. I was able to excel in my job and the council had confidence in me. When my boss, the late Apostle Hanford Alile, retired in 1999, the council did not have any issue with me succeeding him. Having worked under him, it was not difficult to work with my colleagues to move the exchange to the next level. The stock market is a field on its own. It is highly technical and the chief executive officer must be knowledgeable about the market’s architecture. One good thing about the exchange during our days was the premium placed on staff training. We exposed our staff to international training at various levels. The exchange was blessed with a crop of talented staff in all departments. We partnered with our stockbrokers to achieve many goals. Without stockbrokers, there is no market. They are multidimensional professionals. Some of them were former bank chief executives. We tapped into the talents of our stockbrokers to implement enlightenment programmes.

As the DG of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, what were the notable roles you played?

I did not do anything different when I was the DG because from the first day I set it up, I trained a lot of people. I came to help Nigeria have the number one stock exchange in the world, and I kept doing that. The system runs an organisation. We had put a proper structure in place to ensure that the system was up and running, whether the CEO was around or not. The same applied to departmental heads. We spot highly talented staff, engaged them with tasks and rewarded them accordingly. There was no dull moment for anyone.

You were one of the most powerful women in business circles during your tenure as the NSE DG. How were you able to properly channel the influence you had?

Only God is powerful (laughs). We are mere mortals. If one is in a powerful position where one has to supervise practically the whole economy— including banks, stock broking firms, investment houses, real estate, and oil and gas companies— one needs to thread softly. If one is in the midst of men, one has to make sure that one is friendly with all of them. I worked that way and made sure I achieved results. Many times I actually forgot I was a woman because every day, I was surrounded by men. As a woman (in such position), one should not antagonise men, or rub it in their faces that one has the power of office to deal with them. Rather, one ought to show them friendship, and at the same time, be firm and do one’s work accordingly. So, I got along with all of them.

How were you able to record laudable achievements?

Having worked at the New York Stock Exchange before I came to Nigeria, I was already used to working with men. I looked at the way people related to the stock exchange in USA. If one went to the trading floor, one would identify everybody by their first names. What I did here that I am proud of was that I brought many women into the financial system. I talked to them, counselled them, and also talked about how to handle men. Every month, I used my personal money to have lunch with them. I would call their bosses to say we were going to have a women’s meeting. We would have lunch and discuss. We always used the opportunity to share problems women faced in their respective offices, including the ones who had male bosses, and a few who supervised men. I really accomplished that among women bankers, insurers, corporate individuals, and those in the oil sectors. I set an example by behaving well, so women were not afraid anymore among men. At the time I came, there was hardly any female CEO. However, I never let it get into my head. I saw it as a call to serve, and it was the same discipline I set for my staff. We worked as one family with a unity of purpose. When an employee works with an ownership mentality, the organisation will thrive. That was our story.

What was the toughest decision you took as the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE?

We prevented a breach of our listing requirements by turning down an application by a prominent Nigerian to buy a quoted company without disclosure of identity.

I also believe that one of the toughest decisions I made was to get the board members of the exchange to accept that women could sit with them on the trading floor and become stockbrokers (laughs). Running a stock market requires many tough decisions.

What was your most memorable moment as the DG of NSE?

That would be the day I became the Director General of the exchange. I was just doing my job, and I never envisaged that I would reach the pinnacle of my career. I was excited on that day because it became clear to me that the exchange had met all the criteria to be admitted into the World Federation of Exchanges. It was a great day for me and my colleagues.

We struggled to meet their requirements, including their rules, regulations, trading style, market, and a whole lot more. I was glad we succeeded.

The demutualisation of the exchange started during your tenure in 2001. What informed that decision and what were the envisaged challenges?

What informed the decision was simple. If one does not demutualise, the public will not feel the effects because they do not understand what it is. But, if one demutualises, it becomes a public limited company. If one does that, one would get full membership and worldwide recognition from the WFE. We started the process, and the Council approved it. The stockbrokers, who are members of the exchange, that is the stock broking firms, not the traders themselves, also approved it. The owners of stock broking firms are the members of the exchange who constitute the shareholders. So, it was approved and all the documentation was done before I retired. That was the last assignment I wanted to finish before leaving the exchange.

How did the idea start?

I borrowed from what I learnt at the New York Stock Exchange, and from capital market teachers at the university. I won’t say it was my own making. I reproduced what I was taught as a student, and that is what being a good student is about. One should learns and not just regurgitate what one has been taught just to pass an examination. But, years later, one can reproduce the same thing, and that is what I did.

However, I must also recognise that it was a collective effort of the board, management, staff, market regulators and operators. The market was more than mature already. If people were not afraid to let go, I would have listed the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 2000.

At the beginning of the new millennium, I made the proposal for listing the Nigerian Stock Exchange on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and to take it further for about five years to list it on the London Stock Exchange (United Kingdom), New York Stock Exchange (USA), and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa), which the council more or less had approved before I left. It was a project I wanted to start as far back as 2005, so that not only would I finish listing it on those stock exchanges, but also watch it stabilise.

Was there any concern of regulatory approval at the initial stage?

The only aspect I did not support, and which I consider illogical, was for the management of the exchange to go to the National Assembly in Abuja to seek permission to go public. If one wants to list one’s company, would one go to the National Assembly to seek permission? No. It is a company, and we had done all we needed to do. We notified the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is a government organ set up to oversee from a distance, so that they can report to the government whatever is happening in the stock market. They were not to supervise the market, but to oversee it, so that they can report to the government. That is what SECs do all over the world. If a bank wants to raise money in the stock market or wants to go to the market, does it go to report to the National Assembly? No. They would only notify the Central Bank of Nigeria and the CBN would look at their books, to see whether they qualify for the listing requirements. Before I left, we had already notified the CBN. Notification is different from going to defend and answer questions about why the exchange shares should be listed on its platform.

What are the benefits of demutualisation?

Liquidity is not usually cited as a primary reason for demutualisation. Rather, it is implied. The benefit is however very explicit. Demutualising the NSE will result in the exchange’s ability to generate increased trading volumes. This trading volume translates into significant inflows of capital, hence liquidity for investors. It also translates into profits for the exchange as an independent company. Examples of transactions that will attract liquidity include exchange services for derivatives trading, clearance, and settlement. The prominence of the exchange-traded fund as well has attracted high trading volumes in most exchanges.

Exchanges demutualise in reaction to competition and technological innovations. On the competitive front, the NSE would be run as an efficient business enterprise.

In this environment, the promise of demutualisation is that, along with the capital necessary for investment in technology, the boards of newly demutualised exchanges provide a new corporate governance structure that is more effective in managing conflicts among participants. In corporate lingo, the new exchange would be designed to maximise the ‘residual’ value of the enterprise that accrues to the shareholders.

The financial sector has always been excited by new technology. It should therefore come as no surprise that changes in the structure of stock exchanges have coincided with periods of greater technological upheaval. As a business responding to competition from other exchanges, there is an ever-present need to stay ahead of the game on the technological front. Innovation in communication and data processing technologies hold a strong appeal to investors who now understand that data is king.

How does a demutualised market benefit foreign investors?

There is a lot of value in our market because it has been fully tapped, and many stocks are trading below intrinsic values. Foreign investors need to be assured that our market is transparent. Listing the exchange on its own market means it can also get listed on the other exchanges on our plan list. We are already members of the WFE, so it makes it easier for us to list in London. Once we have the London listing, it will be much easier to get New York or Germany or any other country. That is what we should be gunning for. Luckily, during my tenure, I took a lot of the stockbrokers to the London Stock Exchange. They made personal contacts with stockbrokers there. A lot of the fund managers such as JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley met us because the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange at the time, Dick Grassol, who was once my boss had hosted us at the New York Stock Exchange. They hosted us jointly with the United Nations. He encouraged the United Nations to give us that exposure, and we held that meeting at the place where the United Nations Security Council holds its meetings; not the ordinary board room. It was Grassol who liaised with the person at the United Nations that was in charge of the African Business Group that we got the security council of the United Nations to tell them about the NSE. Many people were invited by the New York Stock Exchange on our behalf and a lot of those fund managers were there. So, it would make our listing much easier when we go to talk to them. Some of them that are still there will remember. Even if Grassol is not there tomorrow, they would know that on such a date, something like that happened. He invited some people, including the number one insurance company in France, which now operates in Nigeria, because of that outing.

One of the issues in the Nigerian Stock Exchange is the failure of companies to adhere to Post Listing Requirements. How were you able to tackle them?

We tackled them with love and enforcement of post-listing rules. We sanctioned when necessary. Investor protection is at the core of our functions.

At one point, granting margin loans to stock broking firms became controversial but today, some stockbrokers are calling for margin loans as one of the strategies to boost transactions in the securities market. What is your advice?

It should have been done a long time ago. It is a good way of empowering our dealing member firms. Margin loans should not be stopped because some people had defaulted. There are rules guiding the loans. It is good for market operators because it is tax deductible. It has its own challenges but it is a normal loan to drive activities in the market.

After your exit from the NSE, you have continually shown interest in stock broking. What is the reason behind your sustained interest?

It has become a part of me. Stockbrokers are wealth creators. Women have made serious contributions to the growth and development of the capital market by removing the stigma of gender inequality in many professions. They have achieved this by using their God-given sixth sense. The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers should work towards holding a forum to encourage those who have derived wealth from the market to support the millennials who lack the wherewithal to participate in the market.

During the inauguration of the President of the CIS, you canvassed that the NNPC should opt for an initial public offering, and seek a quotation on the securities market. Can you expatiate on your position?

I canvassed vigorously that NNPC should go for an initial public offering to raise huge funds with ease and make Nigerians part owners. It should consummate this with listing on the securities market as quoted companies attract investors because of terms and conditions attached to the listing. Investors have more confidence in such companies. If NNPC is listed, its accounts would be accessible to the investing public.

I tell Nigerians not to shy away from raising money from the stock market. Governments take money to build factories and they die. They build trains but because of lack of supervision, they die. If it is quoted on the stock market and Nigerians buy shares, the managers will sit up and play according to international business rules.

Do you believe that the Federal Government is fully utilising the capital market to finance the economy?

No. That is what I will keep saying; never. We have always told the government to raise funds from the market to provide infrastructure, rather than going on a borrowing spree.

The market option is a win-win affair between the government and the capital market. Stolen funds should not be used to develop other economies. They should use such funds to grow their own economy by investing in the stock exchange, oil and gas, and other sectors that will benefit them and the country.

The stock market has been more on a bullish run in recent times. What are the opportunities for investors in a period like this?

Yes. For investors that have money, this is the best time to buy because the market is down. But the companies’ fundamentals are still strong. Before it becomes bullish again, it will take a little while. Every investor must work closely with a stockbroker. This will help the investor to have a clearly defined investment objective, and understand his risk tolerance, time horizon, and other determinants of the type of portfolio he needs. Many got their fingers burnt in 2008 because they wrongly mistook the capital market for the short-term. Although, there are speculators who take the highest level of risk, investment in the capital market is basically for the medium and long-term.

Are there policy measures that the government can put in place to attract investors into the capital market?

Of course, there are ways by which government can attract companies into the securities market. Aside from the patronage of the market to raise long-term funds as a demonstration of confidence in the market, there are policy measures that can be deployed. For instance, a tax holiday of about three years is a carrot that can galvanise companies into a listing. The government’s patronage of products and services among others can encourage companies to seek quotations.

During your tenure at the NSE, emphasis was placed on investor education. Why was that?

Investor education is a continuous exercise as people across diverse backgrounds should be exposed to the benefits of investment in the securities market. It is one area that every management of a stock market must pursue. Investor education and financial literacy are major projects that should involve both the capital market regulators and operators. The continuous deployment of technology in the market implies a new method of doing things, and all stakeholders should be empowered. During my tenure, we started education visits, whereby we encouraged pupils in primary schools and students in college and tertiary institutions to visit the market.  We did this to let them see firsthand what they watched on television. But, more importantly, we exposed them to the elementary principle of savings and investment. They watched trading on the floor and interacted with stockbrokers, called ‘city gentlemen’. We encouraged them to become shareholders. We later commenced an essay competition, and used Lagos State as a pilot. It was highly successful and we extended it to other states, as well as Abuja. We gave out shares as prizes for the winners. We also leveraged sports to create awareness of investment in the securities market. There was a year we bought shares for all Under-17 football players. Investor education can take place in schools, clubhouses, churches and mosques.

It is said that no economy can survive during a conflict. How is the insecurity in Nigeria affecting the stock market?

The state of insecurity is preventing a lot of indigenous and foreign investors from investing because they do not trust the country. Other issues such as inflation, exchange rate challenges, and forex scarcity are headwinds that impact negatively on investment.

You played a key role in the formation of the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria. What can you tell us about the background of the company?

I was invited by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to write the blueprint for the company. The original concept was that Transcorp would be a conglomerate, similar to the South Korean Chaebol conglomerate. Transcorp has gone through many corporate transformations and it is currently doing well.

Who are your role models?

The late Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony, and my friend, Europa Gay (laughs).

What do you consider to be the most memorable moment of your life?

I thank God that I have had many memorable moments in my life and career. Let me mention just two (laughs)— the day the exchange went live in 1986, and the day women started trading as stockbrokers.

Did you at any point in your career feel like quitting?

Absolutely not. I loved my job.

Many Nigerian youths want to travel out of the country to seek greener pastures. What advice do you have for them?

I would advise them to think of Nigeria first. If they are going to work or broaden their horizon, they should go there and make Nigeria proud and come back to better the country with the knowledge gained.

How and where did you meet your husband?

We met at a party in the US (laughs). I was a very good dancer. He noticed and asked some friends about me and they told him that at the time, my father was the Speaker of eastern Nigeria.  He used that as an avenue to speak to me because he is a very shy person. His father was also a Minister in eastern Nigeria. So, he asked me to dance.

What endeared him to you?

He could keep a conversation. He is a very tall and handsome man, and he was also very serious with his studies.

How are you enjoying your retirement?

I am now fully involved in consulting business. I have been well exposed to the financial district, and I can help to teach others. I now train people in areas such as the stock market, stock brokerage and the capital market. I lecture people outside the stock market, banking and capital market as well. The more knowledge there is about the capital market, the better for Nigeria. Everything is not about the government. The government does not create wealth; the private sector does. The government spends money and does not create wealth. People should deemphasise government.

I do international consulting and reach out to lots of friends who are happy that I have retired. I have more time to do consulting work. I teach people how to make money. Everybody has acumen, and mine may not be to make money but to teach others how to make money, and then, I benefit a little.

What is your favorite colour?

My favourite colour is Purple.

What is your favorite food?

I particularly enjoy rice and plantain.

How do you unwind?

I do not unwind (laughs). I do not have the time for that. I do not even watch movies. I usually have a lot of visitors.

How do you like to dress?

I love dressing up fashionably, even when I’m home.