Segun Agbetuyi: The Quiet Achiever
Segun Agbetuyi, chief executive officer, Owena Bank Plc since 1993, is a team builder. Rather than lap up the glory for turning around the bank from the brink of disaster to good business an profitability, he says: "The credit goes to all the staff because we work as a team. The honour falls on all of us corporately." Agbetuyi never forgets to remind you that he is the team leader, showing that he shoulders a lot of the responsibility for the new vibrancy and resurgence the bank has experienced in the last five years. As he puts it, "the bank is making progress in leaps and bounds, and this is aptly captured by the bank's new advert campaign with the pay-off: Things are looking up at Owena Bank."
In 1992, Owena Bank was one of the six banks declared weak by the cbn. Today, it has bounced back to be one of the leading banks in the country. Agbetuyi states that rather than let the bank die, tough decisions had to be taken, though taking those decisions hurt people. For instance, "to let so many of our staff go in 1993 was a painful decision, but we had to let them go to be able to forge ahead." this reflects a critical trait in the success of Agbetuyi. He reveals that he never broods over decisions. "Once I take that decision, I graduate from the entire episode. I than God when decisions turn right and when they are not right I try to learn from how and what went wrong. I don't think of decisions being right or wrong. But then, how painful are they? If a decision is painful but turns out for the greater good of all, then so be it."
Restructuring the bank involved a lot; it required a surgical operation during which a lot of tough decisions were taken to remove all the problems existing in the bank in 1992/1993. Many unqualified and non-contributing staff were removed, proper procedures and services were established for lending and the existing risk assets were reviewed in line with current exigencies. After two years, Owena Bank went into the next step of consolidating the gains by recovering bad debts and re- acculturating the staff. The surviving staff were retrained, while new and qualified ones were recruited. Today, the bank's staff profile has become one of the most qualitative in the sector. The staff are highly motivated and this is one of the basic ingredients in servicing customers adequately.
Owena bank is today a leader in customer service. In fact, it is the only bank in Africa to offer to pay customers if unable to provide timely service under its customer service guarantee scheme - error Free Banking Or We Pay - the objective according to the chief executive is to make it one of the five leading banks by the turn of the century unsing specific measurable performance indicators. Agbetuyi, a devout Christian, attributes his success in life and in turning around Owena Bank to God. He says "God used us as a tool to make progress in the bank." Indeed, today's Owena Bank is God's own corporate miracle across the millennium.
Agbetuyi is a man of many parts and success, no wonder his leadership style has been very accommodating and motivating. Agbetuyi states that "Owena Bank is a bank that respects the integrity of Nigerians and has been rewarding gestures worthy of emulation without being flamboyant." Award to citizens that have shown honesty in discharging their duties in different sphere of life are apt examples.
An alumnus of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and a fellow of the London Institute of Bankers, Agbetuyi had diverse management training in Manchester Business School, England; Harvard Business School, US and the Lagos Business School. His working career spans Nigeria-Arab Bank, Savannah Bank and Afribank Nigeria Plc. He was also in Nigerian-American Merchant bank where he was deputy managing director before coming to Owena Bank as the first Nigerian chief executive.
Newswatch June 29, 1998
" Newswatch 1998