“What’s Your Excuse?” – Tony Elumelu Challenges Nigerian CEOs Over Women’s Leadership

Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp Group and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, has challenged Nigerian business leaders to appoint more women to senior executive positions, arguing that excluding female talent undermines corporate competitiveness and Africa’s economic development.

Speaking at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos on Friday, Elumelu urged corporate chairmen and chief executives to examine their leadership structures and justify the limited representation of women in decision-making positions.

He cited his experience across banking, power, hospitality, insurance, healthcare and oil and gas as evidence that women can successfully lead major businesses.

“I am not telling you this to be congratulated. I am telling you because I want every chairman – or chairwoman – and every chief executive in Nigeria who hears about this speech to ask himself – or herself – one question: if Tony Elumelu can do it in power, in hospitality, in banking, in insurance, in healthcare, and in oil and gas, what exactly is my excuse?” The master entrepreneur added.

The philanthropist highlighted the leadership structure across companies within Heirs Holdings, disclosing that eight women currently serve as chairpersons or chief executives across the group.

They include Owen Omogiafo, president and group chief executive of Transnational Corporation Plc; Uzo Oshogwe, managing director of Transcorp Hotels Plc; Somachi Chris-Asoluka, chief executive of the Tony Elumelu Foundation; and Agatha Obiekwugo, chairperson of Afriland Properties Plc.
Others are Catherine Nwosu of Africa Prudential Plc, Dr Odiri Ogini of United Capital Asset Management, Adetola Fasuyi of United Capital Wealth Management and Esther Adeola Balogun of UCEE Microfinance Bank.

He also cited the appointment of Omogiafo as Transcorp’s president and group chief executive in 2020, describing her emergence as evidence of the importance of recognising and developing internal talent.

According to the King of commerce, women occupied 80 per cent of Transcorp’s senior management positions by the time Omogiafo assumed the group’s top executive role.

“To the men in this room, and I know there are some: the women you promote will not thank you with loyalty alone. They will thank you with results,” the influential Nigerian disclosed.

The busines leader maintained that women’s economic participation should not be treated merely as a social responsibility but as a strategic requirement for businesses seeking sustainable growth.

“Women’s economic leadership is not a concession to fairness. It is a requirement for competitiveness,” he stressed.

He argued that no economy could afford to systematically underutilise half its talent, particularly a continent seeking to accelerate industrialisation, investment and economic development.

The frontline investor also referenced the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s entrepreneurship programme, through which he and his wife, Awele, have committed more than $120 million in seed capital to 24,633 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries over 15 years.

He disclosed that women account for 48 per cent of beneficiaries, adding that the entrepreneurs have collectively created more than 1.5 million jobs and generated over $4.2 billion in revenue.

And, said the experience reinforced the need for businesses and investors to recognise women’s capacity to create wealth and employment.

Elumelu urged corporate leaders to move beyond public commitments to inclusion by giving qualified women opportunities to lead, stressing that Africa’s economic transformation would depend on how effectively it deploys its human capital.