Mele Kyari @ 59: A Leadership Lesson Unfolding

Two Psychological theorists, Robert C. Roberts and W. Scott Cleveland, in an article published in the Handbook of Humility defined humility as “intelligent lack of concern for self-importance, where self-importance is construed as conferred by social status, glory, honor, superiority, special entitlements, prestige, or power.”

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kolo Kyari (OFN) personifies the nature and value of humility. Kyari’s modesty has been the defining grace of his leadership at the NNPC Limited since 2019 when he was first appointed.

Though highly regarded as a cerebral technocrat in the oil and gas industry locally and internationally, there’s nothing in his mien that advertises his rich mind and lofty status. Instead, what is on display is his frugal, ready -to-plough appearance of a workman.

His leadership has been devoid of arrogance and the vice of pride. He has remained open to new ideas and demonstrated the willingness and ability to self-assess, and the aptitude to acknowledge mistakes. Those who have worked with him or encountered him closely like this writer know that if there’s one word that sums up Kyari as a leader, it is modesty!

As the NNPCL CEO marks another life milestone today, I feel compelled to spotlight this side of the high performing public servant who was recently re-appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the NNPCL CEO.

Kyari is a stickler for excellence and diligence but puts on no airs, even when dealing with very junior subordinates. This is why he’s been able to inspire and carry his team along with him at the NNPCL. I’m sure those working with him at the NNPCL Towers would have several anecdotes about Kyari’s humbleness. But as one who has related closely with him, permit me to relate one or two that happened in my presence.

After a program in Benin, Edo State Capital a few weeks ago, he told some in his entourage to accompany him to an office without mentioning the name of the office. It turned out that Kyari was nolstagic about his humble begining and decided to visit the office where he started with the NNPC 33 years ago. He felt proud to show the corner of the office and the location of his desk to the admiration of all the staff who felt pleasantly surprised by the CEO’s unannounced visit.

The city of Benin obviously holds fond memories for Kyari because shortly after, he looked for an old friend he bonded with while starting out his career in NNPC 33 years ago. His name is Nurudeen Asonogie, who is now a staff of the National Orientation Agency. Although Kyari had kept the friendship going despite his status, he still felt a duty to meet an old friend. He arranged a meeting and the two friends met again, but it was at the Benin Airport, due to Kyari’s tight schedule.

Everyone in Kyari’s entourage was surprised when the NNPCL CEO took Mr Asonogie’s hand and sat with him on a pavement along a tarred road at the airport! No one who saw the two men could have guessed that the NNPCL CEO was the unassuming, casually seated man along the road! For Mr Asonogie himself, it must have been a humbling experience as it was all those who witnessed it.

On Sunday January 6, Kyari showed his characteristic prudence and spartan lifestyle when he was taken out for lunch at a restaurant in Paris, France where he had traveled for an event. The bill showed that each person had consumed a $300 meal! When Kyari saw the bill, he expressed shock and said if we had gone elsewhere, we could have had a sumptuous $30 meal!

Kyari has brought this shrewdness and ability to self-discipline to the management of the affairs of NNPCL and inspired his team to be as diligent, prudent and transparent. This is perhaps his strongest motivation to reverse the image of NNPC as an opaque behemoth by opening up the books of the company for the first time in 43 years. The NNPC made history when it published its first audited financial statements in 2020.

The NNPC also declared profits for the first time in 2020. It declared a profit of N287bn, up from a loss of N800bn. This trajectory continued in 2021 when profit moved up to N674 bn. The remarkable turnaround of NNPC from a loss-making government corporation to a vibrant commercially driven oil company has happened under Kyari.

This turnaround is not by happenstance; the successes were deliberate and planned. As soon as he came into office in 2019, he launched the Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence( TAPE) agenda to prioritize good governance and profitability in the running of the corporation.

Of course, Kyari’s aim for launching TAPE was to ensure that all staff embraced the call for accountability in the use of public resources and management of the affairs of the corporation. While it is not yet uhuru, there’s no doubt that Kyari has achieved some of his objectives.

Kyari has spent his adult life working for his country, having started out in 1991 as a Field Geologist for the NNPC. He had excelled in all positions he had served up till 2019 when former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him the GMD of NNPC. It was one of the appointments made by the former president that was hailed by industry stakeholders as that of a round peg in round hole.

President Tinubu passed a vote of confidence on Kyari when he re-appointed him in November as the Group CEO of NNPCL. The appointment showed that Kyari fitted the plan of President Tinubu to have a profit-driven oil company. The President’s statement announcing the appointment said he “anticipates the fullest measure of compliance with the performance-driven and results-oriented mandate of his Renewed Hope Agenda.”

One of the two leadership lessons one must learn from Kyari is how humility improves job performance and changes the culture of a workplace. When a leader leads by example, and shows willingness to learn despite his knowledge, and celebrates the brilliance of others, he is more than likely to achieve the organization’s objectives.

Kyari is a team player who believes there’s potential in every member of the team and works hard together for everyone to achieve the group’s goals. That is the definition of humility.

The second and equally vital lesson to be learnt is how accountability and transparency can improve profitability of a commercial entity and the integrity of a leader. Although shrewdness may be an innate trait of Kyari, his ability to make it a workplace culture at the NNPCL that has turned the organization into a profit-making machine must be admired.

Kyari had headed important and lucrative departments at the NNPC before he became GMD in 2019, but in none of these offices was he found wanting in spite of the number of times the company had been probed. It is credit to his financial discipline that he has not been involved in any scandal since he came on board in 2019 unlike many in his position.

In a clime where wealth and opulence are associated with public office, Kyari has been a calm, pleasant oasis in a desolate desert. He is changing the narrative that every high public servant is a thieving parasite on public resources. He has inspired me, and many others, to believe that Nigeria is not bereft of selfless good men and women who can be entrusted with the commonwealth.

Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, I salute you and wish you continued God’s guidance as you step into another year of your life.

– Ume writes from Abuja