Dr Victor Oladokun, former Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwunmi Adesina, also worked with Dr Kolade at Cadbury Nigeria Limited. In his tribute, which the reporter culled from his LinkedIn wall, the corporate communications guru and former international broadcaster recalled how Kolade impacted his career.
He said, ‘Dr Kolade (‘CK’as we named him) was an extraordinary and visionary CEO; a man of exceptional integrity; and a passionate and talented organist . a skill he put to good use for decades, in the service of his church in Ikeja, Lagos.
‘I had the privilege of serving under CK at Cadbury in several managerial positions. First, as Publications Manager, Media Relations Manager, and later on, as Public Relations Manager.
‘CK was the quintessential communicator. His diction was exquisite. He had a way with words that probably only someone like Wole Soyinka could compete with. Long before Google, smartphones or ChatGPT, CK expected nothing but the best from his Comms team.
‘I remember being called into his office one morning. Across his desk was my draft of an urgent corporate media release covered in red ink. He went straight to the point. ‘Victor, what are you trying to say here?’ I explained. Looking me straight in the eye, and without skipping a beat, he responded, ‘Now, go back to your office, and write it just like you’ve explained.’ I thanked him and as I reached for the door, he added, ‘By the way, cut out the big words. Keep it short and simple.’ I am truly grateful for the privilege of serving alongside him.
‘Last year, I visited with CK in the company of his adopted daughter, Mosunmola Umoru and his longtime Executive Assistant, Yewande Karunwi. And what a reunion it was. As usual, CK was sharp of wit, profuse and funny with several personal reminiscences.
‘A former DG of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, CEO and Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria, Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Pan-African University; and a thought leader of great repute, Dr Kolade remains one of the iconic greats of the Nigerian public and private sector today.
‘Ambassador Christopher Kolade was a national treasure and a rare and highly distinguished Nigerian. CK, you will be greatly missed. R.I.P. eternal.’
‘We called him CK; he wasn’t crazy about titles’
Dr Chido Benedict Nwakanma, a communication strategist and media scholar who worked with Dr Christopher Kolade, whilst the latter was at Cadbury Nigeria Plc, shared some insights about his persona.
He said, ‘My first thought on the passing of Dr Christopher Kolade was gratitude. Gratitude for his longevity. Gratitude for his contributions and gratitude for his impactful life. CK, as Dr Christopher Kolade was fondly called, gave of himself wholeheartedly.
‘I met Dr Kolade at the last stage of my interview to join Cadbury Nigeria in 1990. He was friendly yet asked tough questions. He engaged me in a conversation on suit styles. All smiles, but the question was profoundly about dressing and protocol. CK’s primary contribution at Cadbury was developing the human capital and strategy.
‘He floated the Cadbury Award for Excellence. He caused a change in the use of titles. Instead of titles that change with each promotion, he pushed for the use of people’s initials. So I became CBN in Cadbury style, coined from my name, Chido Benedict Nwakanma. I didn’t have to change it when I moved from Corporate Affairs to Sales and Marketing.
‘He was an encourager and yet a disciplinarian. He was the boss who made his points by carefully chosen and spoken words, modulated with telling impact as a thespian. Dr Kolade pioneered broadcasting on the frequency-modulated wave band in Nigeria. He introduced FM radio at Radio Nigeria 2.’
‘He was a supportive boss’
Emeka Oparah, a corporate communications professional, also worked at close quarters with the late Dr Kolade at Cadbury Nigeria. In a Facebook post titled, ‘You need supportive bosses to blossom in your career’ published four years ago, Oparah, who is the Group Vice President, Corporate Communication and CSR, Airtel Africa, spoke enthusiastically about his former boss.
He said, ‘I just remembered 1996 or so, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Broad Street, Lagos. I was then a middle Manager, actually Media Relations Manager at Cadbury Nigeria Plc, a position I took over from Chido Nwakanma and left for Akin Fadeyi.
‘We had gone to the NSE for the Facts Behind the Figures, an eponymously named annual event where quoted companies explained the facts behind the figures they have published in their annual reports.
‘Dr Christopher Kolade (CK), the Executive Chairman, as usual, dazzled the city with his masterful presentation. After the Q and A session and closing ceremonies, he made to leave through the back door, but he was ‘waylaid’ by Capital Market Correspondents.
‘I was watching my Chairman from a distance. My boss, Kevin Ejiofor, had told me I would have to deal with the media on my own. Apparently, he thought I had matured enough to handle that.
‘So I started making my way to the exit to assist Dr Kolade. As I got closer, I heard him say to the journalists, ‘You see, gentlemen, my boss is not here. You know Emeka (pointing at me)? I’m going to wait right here until he comes to tell me what to say.’ That made my day!
‘My dear friends, that’s the stuff careers are made of. He made the journalists know I’m important, even calling me his boss. And yes, I was his boss when it came to Media Relations.
‘This, friends, is called empowerment. He told the media there and then how important my job was and, indeed, how important I was. What question could Kolade not answer, but he was following the company’s Media Policy, which stated that no one, repeat no one, could speak to the media behind me or without my say so.
‘I will never forget that experience which, in the most part, has influenced the way I did my work over the years-with my bosses and my subordinates. I let them do their job without any hindrance.
‘Today, even when I’m at an event, the Head of PR, Erhumu Bayagbon, is the one who engages the media. Some journalists wonder why I refer them to my Head of PR, but that’s his job. He must do his job. He must build and grow his influence. He must be empowered to do so.
‘If you want to get the best out of your people, clearly define their job roles and rewards and consequences. Ensure they understand them. Equip them (tools and training) well for the job and empower them to do it. Then and only then can you hold them accountable. And trust me, they will serve you like loyal servants, knowing the rewards and honours due them will be justly theirs.
‘My eight years in Cadbury, 1994-2002, were truly a blessing. I’ll never forget, regardless of some disappointments, which mercifully later turned out to be blessings. Almost everything I know in Communication and Management came from Cadbury. Airtel Nigeria (by whatever name called) gave me the wings to fly! I’m thankful. Otitodirichukwu.’
‘He’s integrity personified’
Prof Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), senior lawyer, author, and Professor of Corporate Governance, equally shared fond memories of the deceased.
In his glowing tribute to Dr Kolade, Prof. Ajogwu said he was a father figure who was ‘Integrity Personified.’
He said, ‘A great Iroko has indeed fallen. With the passing of Dr Christopher Kolade, our nation has lost an institution, a vast human library whose volumes were written with integrity, wisdom, and a solid moral compass.
‘He was the custodian of ethics and corporate governance, a title he did not merely hold but lived with every fibre of his being. In the boardrooms of corporate Nigeria and the halls of public service, his voice was a steady, resonant call for principle over profit, character over convenience, and service above self. At the Lagos Business School, he was a teacher who taught not just with words, but by the impeccable example of his life.
‘Dr Kolade was a bridge-builder, the connection between the East and West, a father figure, and a lighthouse guiding generations away from the rocky shores of moral compromise. His legacy is not only in the institutions he led, such as the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, Pan-Atlantic University and others, or the policies he shaped, but in the countless lives he mentored and the high standard he forced us all to see as attainable even whilst serving as the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
‘He was a diplomat in the truest sense, building bridges of trust and respect for our nation where they were most needed.Though the great Iroko has fallen, the forest he nurtured, the seeds of integrity, professionalism, and faith he planted, will stand for generations to come. Dr Kolade was a life of profound impact, beautifully lived. I have lost an elderly friend. May his gentle soul find perfect rest in the arms of the Almighty. Requiscat in pace.’
‘LBS rode on Kolade’s credibility’
Professor Bongo Adi, a distinguished Professor of Economics at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, had a working relationship with the late Dr Kolade while he served as the Chancellor of the varsity.
He said, ‘Dr Christopher Kolade was our Chancellor. I actually worked with him very closely. We worked together on a case. We wrote the case on Cadbury, you know, he was also the CEO of Cadbury at some point. We interviewed him. I spoke with him a number of times. We also set up the Christopher Kolade Centre for Ethics and Leadership at the LBS. So, this is a man who was dedicated to ethical principles in organisations. He raised the bar when it came to governance issues in Nigeria’s private sector. When you talk about credibility, institutional probity, integrity, transparency, and, you know, due diligence process, I think you are talking about Dr Christopher Kolade.
In fact, he was one of those who gave LBS the credibility that it enjoys even to this day. So, he was one of the earliest LBS leaders within that community, and the governance centre, where LBS operated, you know, he was setting the highest level of standards. So, I mean, he would be truly missed.’
‘A man of excellence and integrity’
Hilda Nkor, Principal Consultant/CEO, HNC Professional Service Limited, worked under the late Dr Kolade at the Society for Corporate Governance of Nigeria.
She said, ‘I had a working relationship with Dr Christopher Kolade. I have known him for a very long time. I worked under him in 2002. He was the pioneer President/Chairman Board of Trustees at the Society for Corporate Governance of Nigeria, where I worked, and I had to report to the Board directly. Of course, that brought me in very close proximity to him.
‘Even after he left as the Chairman because he served for about five years in that role, we maintained a very close relationship. He was there as a mentor, as a father and as a guardian as well. So, he was always ready to give advice as regards work, and all of that. We had a very good relationship. Dr Kolade was a God-fearing man and a very principled individual. A man of integrity, who will never compromise his standards, and he believes in telling the truth, no matter at whose expense. He was a very compassionate human being, a kind person and a father to all.
He would never impose his views on you. But he would make you know why you should consider his opinion. So, Dr Kolade for me was a one-in-a-million kind of person. As such, I consider it a privilege to have known and associated with him. He was really a great man, and he will be sorely missed.
‘I remembered when he took up the role at the Nigeria Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), I went to the house to quarrel with him as to why he took up such a job, and he said, ‘Listen, Hilda, we all cannot continue to complain from the sidelines; let me go in there and contribute my quota. If they accept me, fine and if they don’t accept me, no problem, but I would have made an effort, I would have tried.’ So this is one lesson I took from him.’
‘An extraordinary Nigerian who excelled in every assignment’
Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), in his tribute to Dr Kolade, shared interesting insight on his foray in the diplomatic circuit.
He said, ‘Though I didn’t have the privilege of associating with him on a personal note, I have watched him from a very close range and followed his activities from his broadcast years to his diplomatic years and then to the boardroom.
‘Dr Christopher Kolade served Nigeria meritoriously by wearing many caps. He was at one point a distinguished diplomat who served as Nigeria’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. He did so at a time when Nigeria needed a lot of traction, not just in the UK, but also in Europe, and he was a strong voice in that regard. For people like him, the difference is made by diplomats who know their onions, and so it was with Dr Kolade. But what distinguished him was the several caps he wore. He was a veteran broadcaster, as the Director-General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), and he was a reverend gentleman. He was a business guru in every sense because he also chaired the boards of several companies and so on.
‘He was just an extraordinary Nigerian. I think that these kinds of people inspire us so much as icons, and as people who have things we can emulate.
‘For me, I believe Nigerians can draw immense lessons from his versatility because he brought to every sphere of engagement that spirit. Whatever calling he finds himself whether as a diplomat, broadcaster, boardroom guru and as a reverend gentleman, indeed, the elements were so mixed with him as William Shakespeare would say, and they would say of him, ‘This was the man!”