The Chief Executive Officer, ENYO Retail and Supply Limited, Abayomi Awobokun, shares with TUNDE AJAJA his business journey, growing up and social engagements
You studied Applied Mathematics in the university, which qualified you to work in different sectors at the time you joined Oando, what was the attraction to the oil and gas industry?
I joined the technology and strategy department, so I wasn’t really attracted to the industry. I joined because there was a vacancy in Oando at the time and they were looking for a junior member to join the technology and strategy team. So, it didn’t have to be oil and gas; it could have been any sector. I simply followed my passion for technology.
At 31, you became the Chief Operating Officer and subsequently the Chief Executive Officer of the Downstream Business in Nigeria, West Africa, Europe and Middle East at 33, could you share with us the work ethics that earned you such rapid promotion?
I think the best way to explain that is to say I had a very good boss and coach in Mr Wale Tinubu. Initially, I worked in the Information Technology department. From there I moved to Strategy and Planning, supporting the different strategic initiatives of the business, and from there I moved to becoming the Executive Assistant to the Group CEO. Then, there was a vacancy in one of the subsidiaries and I was deployed there as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer. I got promoted to be the COO and eventually the CEO. So, it was all largely merit-based but there was a lot of coaching from my line manager at the time, Mr Tinubu.
At the time you left Oando to start ENYO, the retail arm of the value chain was almost saturated, how easy was it for you to nurture the company to prominence, especially in a challenging business environment like Nigeria?
I wouldn’t even use any of easy or difficult. I would say we needed to fill a vacuum that we saw in the industry and that vacuum was that a lot of the players in the downstream sector that were very established were either majors like Oando, Total, Mobil or they were very mature independent players that had been in the industry for over 10 years. So, we saw the opportunity to do something new that would contribute positively to the narrative of the downstream sector and that was our focus. Was it difficult? Certainly, but because we saw a gap, we simply stayed focused on that. We found the opportunity and God led us to the right group of shareholders that are very experienced. Our Chairman, Mr Tunde Folawiyo, is an industry veteran and an avid investor and we have other shareholders. Once those elements came together, we put together a very good team. Some of them were not so experienced but were passionate and hardworking, and the rest is history. So with these, it was smoother as a result of the board, the shareholders and the first team we put together.
Senior executives, especially in lucrative sectors like oil and gas, find it difficult to start their own business, especially because of the associated risks. If you could juxtapose, how easy has it been?
Our experience has been very positive. I was well prepared for it and I had been in the industry for a few years under the tutelage of very experienced people. Perhaps, we started the company when the industry was kinder. The regulatory agencies have also been very supportive. So, we have generally benefited from a calmer industry and it has continued to get better. Altogether, I have to say it has been a positive experience because of these factors and because we were able to attract talents. We have a good team of honest young men and women who are passionate, honest and focused and have supported the brand up till this point. We also have a good partnership with entrepreneurs who allowed us to brand their stations.
The downstream sector has been deregulated by the government eventually, what do you think about that policy of the government, especially in the face of agitations against it?
All the policies around pricing; we are still in the early days, but we also must commend government’s courage. For years, different commentators like economists have offered advice on deregulation and this government is taking the bull by the horns and is moving in that direction. I think the benefit is ours, not just the marketers alone. The whole economy would benefit from it. The government must continue to engage more vigorously while the courage displayed must also remain consistent. Reversing policies that hold well for the economy must be something that the public advises the government not to do. Liberalising prices, putting mechanisms in place to ensure that it is not abused and ensuring the quality of products and pricing are held to standard must continue. The government should continue to monitor and create a conducive environment.
Some reports have it that a teacher once told you that you could never do well and some other reports said you once did some funny jobs to make ends meet, did these influence whom you have become today if those reports are true?
I’m from a middle-class family. My dad is a medical doctor while my mum read Law, and at different times their parents worked hard enough to send them abroad for their education. They are both still alive. I attended Federal Government College and the University of Ibadan. However, I did a few holiday jobs when it was allowed whenever we travelled, though we did them without our parents knowing, just to raise extra money and to learn about entrepreneurship. Some of those experiences have shaped my career later in life. Many people couldn’t see how the course I studied could have been applied and many also concluded prematurely that all I could do was to teach. So, yes, I was told many times that the much I could become was a teacher. Unfortunately, in some countries, people look down on some of these noble professions and so they are seen as not being a rosy career path. However, those things have no bearing on my career and my attitude to life. Indeed, my parents have a huge influence on my focus, level of work satisfaction and the desire to excel. That was how we were trained; to be honest and focused and those are what we have upheld till today.
There are usually fears about the survival of new businesses, what are those principles you think people need to pay attention to?
There are lots of these values, but let me tell you the ones that I know are very important; strong governance framework, the board and shareholders. I would always advise businesses to start with getting the governance right. After that, you need a good management team that is aligned with the vision. Also, you need a good team, comprising passionate people that are eager to learn, and you need to treat them well. I must stress that you need to treat them well, and most importantly, you need to respect your customers, which means you build a business that intrinsically proves that the customers come first. The planning, operations and communication must align and suggest consistently that the brand cares about the customers. At ENYO, we made sure we identified who the key stakeholders were and we consistently engaged them, especially as newcomers then. We needed to make sure that everybody was comfortable enough with us as we set out and that was what we achieved.
Many Nigerians lament about the harsh business environment, but Nigeria is still an attraction to the global business community; does it mean there are prospects in this market that people are not seeing?
I think we should take nothing for granted. In every season that the business economy goes through in any country, everybody sees something. In our case, the robustness of the support we had helped. Perhaps, people who don’t see the prospects have not been able to put together that kind of robust support. However, it’s an extremely challenging industry in an extremely challenging time. The business is barely a few years old and it has suffered COVID realities, but thank God we were still able to stay afloat and original. The team held together in those tough days and we are just beginning to revert to regular operations. I would say entrepreneurs should put together not just a good team, but also a good support system for their business. That’s what helps the business in tough times.
There have been clamours for Nigeria to have its own refineries, ultimately for the benefit of the end-users, but there are people who believe it might not change much. What’s your view?
The prospects of a functional refinery in Nigeria must excite every Nigerian and African. It’s a leap and a fundamental step change in the supply framework that Nigeria and this region have benefitted from as far as fuels are concerned. Apart from the impact on the economy, the prospect of export, notifications on foreign exchange and other attendant benefits like taxes to the government, employability, skill set and guarantee of supply among others are some of the benefits too. A lot of conversations that we used to have with the government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, our bankers, etc, that have to do with guaranteeing supply would come to an end. Energy security becomes something that is guaranteed, at least as far as liquid fuel is concerned. Most importantly, the retail end could then start to compete based on service offering because the supply of product is guaranteed. So, my initial thought is that it will go well for the industry and the economy and we look forward to its fruition.
Gradually, the world is moving towards electric and hybrid vehicles, how would this shape the petroleum downstream?
I am excited about this prospect because it would increase the number of products that retailers can sell. That would engender innovation and I think it will upset the market positively.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said recently that from this month, Nigerians would be able to use compressed natural gas for their vehicles, some people are sceptical about this, what’s your disposition to this?
I commend the government and the minister for being very bold in articulating this plan. A lot of the players in this sector would start making big moves in the direction the government is leading us to. Gas as a fuel for automobiles is very safe and is a proven technology globally and Nigeria is even behind in that area. With this, I think we would start to see, not just this product, but jobs and a deeper, wider industry.
As a 2016 recipient of the Young Global Leader award from the World Economic Forum, a 2017 recipient of the prestigious Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow from the African Leadership Initiative in South Africa and a three-time recipient of the top 100 African Business Persons under 40 award by the Choiseul Institute in Paris, how have these recognitions shaped your person and business?
Our membership of these international bodies deepens our access to global standards. It helps us to expand our network and access international support for some of the things we do. We are better able to benchmark our output against definite plans to see areas where we need to improve and commend ourselves in areas where we are doing competitively well. So, in terms of the benefits of some of these awards, they are mainly opportunities for us to continue to set goals for ourselves and the organisation. They are not awards for mere mentioning, they are expectations that we must meet. That’s the way we look at them.
Your company prides itself as using technology to simplify and optimise fuel retailing, could you expatiate on this?
When the business started, we figured that one of the things we could do to carve a niche for ourselves and to manage the perennial issues in the downstream sector was galloping cost and things to do with deploying consistent service offering across the focus. We figured that the only way we could surmount those challenges was to build this business on a tech platform and so we set out from the very beginning to do that and we found local partners who eventually supported us in developing our tech platform. Initially, that platform was only visible to the ENYO team in the sense that we used it to work; it guided us when it came to managing the supply chain, managing the teams at the station, visibility of process and it supported the rapid expansion of the focus and that was what we focused on for the first two to three years. However, we soon realised that we needed to take the technology to the customers in the way and manner that would ensure that we improved their convenience and that is the stage we are now. Consumers can now enjoy benefits from our tech platform.
Running a business is no child’s play, what kind of activities do you engage in to relax?
I actually find my work relaxing, so engaging with my team, customers and spending time at the stations, learning and putting things right are relaxing for me. I have to say that the men and women I work with do a lot of the heavy lifting and they are very kind to leave very little for me to do. After they have done the 80 per cent, I’m left with the remaining 20 per cent. But, in addition to that, I’m a conservative person, socially. I would choose to spend my afternoon in the house, whether to watch my favourite football club, play electronic games on my PlayStation or just catch up with friends and exchange banters. Those are things I enjoy very much. Also, I’m a family man, so I also do enjoy spending time with my family at home or at occasional lunch or dinner when possible. That’s my life really; it revolves around work, family, a few close friends and lending support to causes or initiatives that I hold dear.
I would say the key ingredients of enjoying your job/career are clarity as to where God is taking you, an alignment with that and the people that God has surrounded you with. I’m enjoying these. I’m clear in my mind where God is taking me, how he wants to handle my career and I’m very comfortable with the men and women that I’m surrounded with. They contribute immensely to the outcome when it comes to satisfaction and positivity in the workplace, so I am very comfortable and happy with what I do.
What is the greatest challenge you were afraid of that you think you have now conquered?
I think one thought that always stays with us is to ensure that we achieve what we achieved at the time we can achieve it, not to be wasteful, distracted and at the end of the day, within the time frame, not to sub-optimise. So, the way it works for me is to always make the most of the time and resources available to me. My friends and me look at senior people who are also entrepreneurs and those in the corporate world and we try to understand their journey and how they make the most of the time and resources available to them. We identify where we think they might have made the wrong decisions and learn from them. So, I would say that is what stays with you as an entrepreneur and family man.
You’re often dressed formally, do you have other preferred dress styles?
I do like the native top (Buba) and trouser and my preferred colour is white. I wear that frequently and I do look good in an Agbada with a black cap (laughs). I’m always looking for an event I could wear my agbada to. I’m very comfortable in all of those or in the football jersey of the greatest football club in the world; Arsenal.
(Punch)
