Deacon Gamaliel Onosode speaks impeccable English. As a matter of fact, he does it better than most English people. Still strong and sound at 80, the venerated corporate titan who studied Classics at the University College, Ibadan granted audience to YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, on Tuesday, June 17, 2013. This was somewhere on the Island. The erstwhile Chairman, Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas; Chairman, Cadbury Nigeria Plc; Chairman, Commerce Bank Plc; Chairman, Nigerian stock exchange Investors Protection Fund and Chairman, Dunlop Nigeria Plc shed some light on his essence as well as some of the things that are essential to him…
Why do we have too many people in Nigeria who lack integrity?
Because they do not realize that life is a gift from God. And they are expected to be stewards of that gift, and it is required of every steward that he or she be found faithful. Therefore, if you know that you have to give an account to the giver of that gift; that is the giver of life – of what you do with that life, you will be more circumspect in what you do, what you refuse to do, what you acquiesce in doing.
What is the secret of success?
It depends on how you define success. For me, success is being faithful as a steward. A steward of the gift of life, and I believe that God gave me life. So, my success is to be measured by the extent to which I prove faithful as a steward of that gift which has been entrusted to me.
Why do some people attain success, but find it difficult to sustain it?
It depends on what you call success. I mean, if you define success the way I have, you would be able to sustain that success by maintaining a living, continuing relationship with God. So, I talk to God everyday, I listen to Him every day.
How does it feel to be 80? You also don’t look 80…
Well, if that’s your observation, I can confirm that I feel exactly the way I felt 10, 20 years ago; 25 years ago. I don’t feel that something has gone wrong, namely that I’m now 80 instead of being 60 or 65.
What is the greatest thing that God has done for you at 80?
The greatest thing He (God) has done for me is that I am still alive. And now the Yorubas talk about being alive without being alive. Do you know you can be alive without being alive? And that’s why when people pray for me that I should live long, I say please, add good health. I don’t want death to meet me already dead. I want death to meet me still alive.
What hasn’t God done for you at 80?
There’s no limit to what God can do with me. At 80, if I may follow the Mosaic example, I am ready to remove my shoes so that I can wear the new shoes that He has for me. So, He can still deal with me before the end comes, before the field is called to rest. He can still do with me far more than He had done with me in the past. On the other hand, it could well be that He has done with me almost all that He has in mind. But I don’t know. Everyday is a new day and a new challenge and I am ready to respond by His grace to the challenge of each new day.
How does it feel to be adulated, revered, celebrated by too many people?
When I hear the wonderful things people say, it goes in through this ear and comes straight out through the other ear (Demonstrates it amidst laughter) and I face the realities of surviving for the next few moments while I still have life.
NB: First published December 2013