Femi Pedro, a boardroom strategist, politician and a socialite was 60 last Thursday 29thJanuary, 2015. The former deputy governor of Lagos State shares with ORUKPE NELSON his many strides through the years.
A few days ago, you turned 60. How will you rather view life now? And how did you achieve your youthful look with no significant greying?
Personally, I feel blessed and fortunate, and I thank God for keeping me alive and healthy to this age. Life is indeed a gift and a blessing. Of course, life also presents you with different challenges, ups and downs. I continuously give thanks and praises to our creator, I try to live life to the fullest, and I try to leave my footprint in the sands of time. I pray for many more glorious and eventful years ahead. As for my youthful look, I think it is due to the grace of God, and a matter of adhering to a lifestyle of healthy living, regular exercise and avoiding the excesses of worldly things.
You have enjoyed the fabulous grace which reflects in your poise and style, were you actually born into an aristocratic family? And you are obviously stylish in a unique sense of the word, how did you imbibe the art of looking dapper and clean always? What are your favourite fashion accessories?
I was not born into an aristocratic family, but my 22 years sojourn in the banking industry transformed me into a dignified and self-confident person. My sense of style is contemporary and smart. I developed this while I was the Executive Assistant to Otunba Subomi Balogun at FCMB in the late 80s. Otunba Balogun is a man of style, and he always took his outward appearances seriously, and still does. While working closely with him, I picked up a number of exemplary attributes, including his grace, poise and sense of style, and this has remained an indelible part of me till date. As for fashion accessories, I love good shoes and I keep a reasonably healthy wrist-watch collection.
Do you really do any sports? Are you a soccer fan and which is your best professional team in the world? And how do you unwind?
I was an active footballer at high school and university. I was a member of the famous Ahmadiyya College Agege football team in 1973-74. I was also the captain of my University soccer team in Wisconsin in 1980. I love football, and I have been an active fan of the great Manchester United for almost four decades.
However, my greatest sport interest is golf. I am an avid golfer, and I play golf at least three times a week. I also travel around the world to play whenever the time permits. Apart from its exercise value, I love golf because it mirrors life. Success in golf requires sound technical skill, unparalleled integrity, impeccable character, hard-work, perseverance, patience, and a strong mental ability. I believe that these are the very same attributes we all need to succeed in life. It is an ageless and timeless sport, so I continue to encourage young and old people to take up golf and experience a positive transformation in their lifestyles, no matter how busy they may or may not be.
How about your wife and kids, what does family mean to you? Can you remember your first date with your wife and the dramas of those good old days?
A strong and stable family life is critical to success. I have been married to my loving and caring wife for 32 years, and we are blessed with four grown-up boys. I have a happy and stable family, which has contributed immensely to my modest achievements in life. My wife and I met when we were very young, and we fell in love with each other almost immediately. This was almost 40 years ago, and we have been together ever since. We were inseparable even under the nose of her strict disciplinarian dad, so much so that he only met me for the first time after I had proposed to her.
What books have you read that affected your life most positively? Growing up, did you have to pattern your life after some models?
I love reading books and I have read quite a few. I have taken a particularly keen interest in the autobiographies of great and successful people, including the likes of Mohammed Ali, Martin Luther King, Chief ObafemiAwolowo, and Barrack Obama to name a few. Interestingly enough, I am already working on my own memoir, and I hope to publish it sometime in the foreseeable future.
One book that has positively impacted my life is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. I have read the book over and over again, and I also attended a seminar/training programme handled personally by the author. Guaranty Trust Bank – my employers at the time-sponsored the seminar, which gave us the unique opportunity to learn and acquire valuable knowledge from Stephen Covey first-hand.
The book itself is a timeless classic. It taught me a holistic, integrated and principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. It led me towards the pathway of living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity. It gave me the mindset to adapt to change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. It is a book I recommend to everyone because it can positively transform your perspective on life.
Did you play pranks? Can you recall any childhood pranks that landed you in trouble?
Yes, I played many pranks, but the one that I will never forget was the day I went with my friends to chase crabs in Ikoyi. I was about 10 years old at the time, and I scaled the fence of a private house off Awolowo Road to chase live crabs. At the time, the house was occupied by an expatriate family. Immediately we landed inside the compound, we were promptly taken to the police station nearby. I cried my eyes out, unsure of what would become of me! Eventually, my grandma was contacted and I was released. She greeted me with dirty slaps and a very sharp tongue. I learnt my lessons the hard way, and avoided chasing and catching crabs in residential areas.
For you, it’s been milestones in the area of politics and entrepreneurship, how were you able to cope as a boardroom strategist and deputy governor?
It has been challenging, but exciting. This is the point. The attributes for successes and great achievements are universal, and have been tested successfully by many nations, corporate organizations and individuals over the years. In the corporate world, I was trained on attributes like accountability, transparency, integrity, proper planning, meritocracy, impeccable character and effective communication skills, to name a few. If these attributes for success are imbibed by politicians in our environment, politics- and the overall polity- will become slightly more attractive and predictable, and this will in turn lead to good leadership, good governance, tangible progress and sustainable development.
What proved as challenges at the inception of your career?
Shortly after I commenced my banking career at the CBN, I fell in love with banking, and decided fairly quickly that I needed to move to the private sector. I was interested in working at Chase Merchant Bank because I was familiar with the great institution in America. The greatest challenge was trying to get employed at the bank. I made several efforts over a three-year period, but was always unsuccessful. I enrolled at the Chartered Institute of Bankers in London and qualified as a professional banker to further boost my chances of moving to a first class private sector bank. After six years at CBN, I eventually succeeded. I was employed by First City Merchant Bank (now FCMB). This marked the beginning of a successful banking career spanning over two decades.
As a family man, what kind of father would you say you are, since you have a job that is demanding?
I have four grown-up boys. I have a very close and personal relationship with all of them. We are like brothers and friends. My work has never been a hindrance, and I have devoted adequate time to raise them properly. They have all turned out to be very responsible men.
While growing up; who are the friends who influenced you?
Actually, my grandmothers influenced me. They taught me great values of humility, integrity, hard work, industry and character. I did not have many close friends while growing up. I grew up in a family compound of many kids under the care of relatives. These people impacted great values in us, which are still very relevant today.