CHATING WITH BILL GATES

Bill Gates interview: I have no use for money. This is God’s work

Having already given away $28bn, Bill Gates intends to eradicate polio, with the same drive he brought to Microsoft . He speaks to Neil Tweedie.

 

Gates

 

 

William Henry “Bill” Gates is a rich man. His estimated wealth, some 65  billion measured in US dollars, equals the annual GDP of Ecuador, and maybe a bit more than that of Croatia. By this rather crude criterion, the founder of Microsoft is worth two Kenyas, three Trinidads and a dozen or so Montenegros. Not bad for a university dropout.

Gates is also mortal, although some of his admirers may find that hard to believe, and as they say, there are no pockets in shrouds. So he is now engaged in the process of ridding himself of all that money in the hope of extending the lives of others less fortunate than himself.

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” he says, redundantly. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organisation and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.”

That “certain point” is set a little higher than for the rest of us – Gates owns a lakeside estate in Washington State worth about $150 million (£94  million) and boasting a swimming pool equipped with an underwater music system – but one gets the point. Being rich, even on the cosmic scale attained by Bill Gates, is no guarantee of an enduring place in history. The projection of the personal computer into daily life should do the trick for him, but even at the age of 57 he is a restless man and wants something more. The “more” is the eradication of a disease that has blighted untold numbers of lives: polio.

Later this month, Gates will deliver the BBC’s Dimbleby Lecture, taking as his theme the value of the young human being. Every child, he will say, has the right to a healthy and productive life, and he will explain how technology and innovation can help towards the attainment of that still-distant goal. Gates has put his money where his mouth is. He and his wife Melinda have so far given away $28 billion via their charitable foundation, more than $8  billion of it to improve global health.

“My wife and I had a long dialogue about how we were going to take the wealth that we’re lucky enough to have and give it back in a way that’s most impactful to the world,” he says. “Both of us worked at Microsoft and saw that if you take innovation and smart people, the ability to measure what’s working, that you can pull together some pretty dramatic things.
“We’re focused on the help of the poorest in the world, which really drives you into vaccination. You can actually take a disease and get rid of it altogether, like we are doing with polio.”
This has been done only once before in humans, with the eradication of smallpox in the 1970s.
“Polio’s pretty special because once you get an eradication you no longer have to spend money on it; it’s just there as a gift for the rest of time.”
One can see why that appeals to Gates. He has always sought neat, definitive solutions to things, but as he knows from Microsoft, bugs are resilient things. The disease is still endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and killing it off altogether has been likened to squeezing jelly to death. There is another, sinister obstacle: the propagation by Islamist groups of the belief that polio vaccination is a front for covert sterilisation and other western evils. Health workers in Pakistan have paid with their lives for involvement in the programme.
“It’s not going to stop us succeeding,” says Gates. “It does force us to sit down with the Pakistan government to renew their commitments, see what they’re going to do in security and make changes to protect the women who are doing God’s work and getting out to these children and delivering the vaccine.”
Gates does not usually speak in religious terms, and has traditionally danced around the issue of God. His wife, a Roman Catholic, is less defensive on that topic but ploughs her own furrow, encouraging contraception when necessary, in contradiction to teaching from Rome.
“Melinda and I had been talking about this even before we were married,” he says. “When I was in my 40s Microsoft was my primary activity. The big switch for me was when I decided to make the foundation my primary purpose. It was a big change, although there are more in common with the two things than you might think – meeting with scientists, taking on tough challenges, people being sceptical that you can get things done.”
Gates is still chairman of Microsoft but without his day-to-day attention it has taken on the appearance of a weary giant, trailing Apple and Google in innovation. Some have called for Gates’s return to the company full-time to inject some verve but he isn’t coming back.
“My full-time work for the rest of my life will be at the foundation,” he says. “I still work part-time for Microsoft. I’ve had two careers and I’m lucky that both of them have been quite amazing.
“I loved my Microsoft: it prepared me for what I’m doing now. In the same way that I got to see the PC and internet revolutions, now I see child death rates coming down. I work very long hours and try to learn as much as I can about these things, but that’s because I enjoy it.”
He emphasises that the foundation’s effort is part of a global campaign in which governments must play the lead role.
“The scale of the (foundation’s) wealth compared to government budgets is actually not that large, and compared to the scale of some of these problems. But I do feel lucky that substantial resources are going back to make the world a more habitable place.”
In 1990 some 12 million children under the age of five died. The figure today is about seven million, or 19,000 per day. According to the United Nations, the leading causes of death are pneumonia (18 per cent), pre-birth complications (14 per cent), diarrhoea (11 per cent), complications during birth (nine per cent) and malaria (seven per cent). For Gates, though, polio is a totem. The abolition of the disease will be a headline-grabber, spurring countries on to greater efforts. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $1.8 billion in the next six years to accomplish that goal, almost a third of the global effort.
“All you need is over 90 per cent of children to have the vaccine drop three times and the disease stops spreading. The number of cases eventually goes to zero. When we started, we had over 400,000 children a year being paralysed and we are now down to under 1,000 cases a year. The great thing about finishing polio is that we’ll have resources to get going on malaria and measles.”
Gates is no saint. He could be an intimidating boss at Microsoft and his company became notorious for using its clout to reinforce its dominance in the market place, at the expense of smaller rivals. Still, he and his wife are showing generosity on a staggering scale, a counterblast to the endemic greed of the Nineties and early Noughties, and they have convinced others that mega-philanthropy is the way of the future. That wily investor, Warren Buffett, has so far given away $17.5 billion via the Gates Foundation.
The children of Bill and Melinda Gates will never know poverty. They may not become multibillionaires but even the loss to charity of the vast bulk of their parents’ fortune should leave them with a billion or so each.
Gates explains: “The vast majority of the wealth, over 95 per cent, goes to the foundation, which will spend all that money within 20 years after neither of us are around any more.”
So, is it about some new-found faith, all this giving?
“It doesn’t relate to any particular religion; it’s about human dignity and equality,” he says. “The golden rule that all lives have equal value and we should treat people as we would like to be treated.”

Interview with Pastor Adeboye

CNN’s African Voices meets Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of one of Nigeria’s biggest evangelical churches – The Redeemed Christian Church of God. Pastor Adeboye was voted by Newsweek as one of the world’s 50 most influential people in 2008. Pastor Adeboye was interviewed by CNN’s Christian Purefoy, the show airs this weekend – Saturday 12th February, Sunday 13th February and Monday 14th February 2011.

Video will be updated after the show airs this weekend
Read the transcripts from the interview
Transcripts – Courtesy CNN International

Q. “How did you find God?”
A. “I came to know God in a fairly dramatic way. I was born into a christian home and always gone to church because my parents said we had to go. But after I grew up and left home – I drifted away from church until I had a little problem that defied all solutions and then someone invited me to the Redeemed Christian Church of God – I came expecting the pastor would just pray and my problems would just go, but instead he said I would have to give my life to Jesus Christ first – that if my sins are gone, my problems would disappear. So of course I resisted for a while but eventually I surrendered and as he said gave my life to Jesus Christ and my problems disappeared.”

Q. “When was that?”
A. “1973 – I was just over 31.”

Q. “If you don’t mind – what was the problem?”
A. “If you don’t mind (laughs) – as the problem is gone now, we may as well leave it there.”

Q. “You’re originally a student of mathematics how was that change to become a pastor?”
A. “Well, it didn’t quite change – once a mathematician – always a mathematician. But at that time I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos – that’s when I met the Lord. And after the founder of the church saw my zeal – he ordained me as a pastor, and when I became a pastor – I began to travel – going to universities, colleges and other institutions to share with them – my testimony, my experience. And when the founder died – we read in his will that I was to succeed him. To take over the leadership of the church – now, there was no way I could command the two, I couldn’t continue as a lecturer and still do my duties as the general overseer – that’s where mathematics had to stand aside for Christ to take full control.”

Q. “Must have been heady days – beginning of evangelical movement in Nigeria – how did you feel at the time, travelling the country?”
A. “Well, evangelical moves had been on before I became born again but yes it was quite exciting in those days – travelling across the country – meeting young people, lecturers, sharing with them – realising that many of us had been living in ignorance and then seeing the joy.”

Redeemed Church
The Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in 1952 by Josiah Akindayomi – but when he died he left only forty churches to his chosen successor – Enoch Adeboye.
It is a choice that has proven extremely successful.
The Redeemed church claims to have over five million members across 20,000 branches in 140 countries worldwide.
And there are at least 540 branches in the UK and Ireland alone
Pentecostalism has swept through Nigeria and Africa in the last two decades – offering the promise – not just of entry into heaven in the after-life but of jobs, marriage, children, health and money in this life.

NAT SOUND – Pastor Adeboye
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “In 1981 you were made the general overseer – how did you feel?”
A. “That was quite an experience. Of course I didn’t want to have anything to do with working fulltime for Christ – I preferred the way I was doing it – teaching at the university, preaching the gospel – because that allowed me more or less to be my own master. The university was paying me – in those days lecturers were well paid – and church was very poor. But then when the time came – I discovered, I might lack some things but I have a joy that money can’t buy. So it was quite fulfilling – challenging, but fulfilling.”

Q. “How do you feel when you’re at the altar, preaching?”
A. “Of course you feel excited. You feel fulfilled- you are being used by God to meet the needs of so many people at a time which is probably one of the greatest joys of being a pastor. In the university, yes you are influencing lives, teaching them – moulding them – but they are very few in number – I think the largest number of students I had in one class must be less than 100- now to see you could influence 1million people at a time can be very exciting.”

Q. “What is the Nigerian way of worship?”
A. “Our freedom of worship – the way we dance, shout, enjoy the almighty God – so I think that bit of us, bubbling enthusiasm – all is a good influence.”

Q. “Your style is not as loud, people describe you as being very humble, no expensive suits – why is that? Is there a reason behind it?”
A. “I believe the gospel is for all people. But I believe it is even more for the masses and majority of the masses – if you are going to reach for them you have to be at their level. If they see in you someone they can relate to – it’ll be easier for them to listen, to hear from you. One thing I’ve discovered about the masses – even though they might be poor and not high up there – there’s still something in them that doesn’t like being looked down upon. So they relate to someone who will talk to them at their level. But not just that – the so called high and mighty – if you get close to them, you will know that underneath the beautiful dresses – they’re human – presidents, heads of states, CEOs – they all still go to the toilet – they all still get tired, all feel pain – so if you go to the basics you will reach everyone. Because in every man there is that basic need.”

Q. “What do you think explains the explosion of evangelical churches?”
A. “Maybe we’ll say the economic situation, social problems that we face have been a very good catalyst in bringing people to Christ. I must add that some people exploited that – setting up fake churches – knowing that people will come to wherever they hear God is healing. But , like I keep telling people – any time you see a counterfeit – it means the original must be somewhere. You won’t see a counterfeit N2000 note – cause there’s no original.”

Q. “What happens if you find con-artists?”
A. “If we discover such a fellow – we dismiss him – we don’t compromise at all. And our people know that. If you find a pastor twisting the word of the bible to his own advantage – all you have to do is let me know.”

Coming up after the break – Religion and Politics
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye
“Who is it who said man is a political animal. Everybody should decide who is going to rule over him and you should not complain about anything you permit.”

PART TWO
General shots of Nigeria / people
Nigeria is a country of 150 million people divided roughly between a Christian south and a Muslim north.
It is a fault-line along which there are often deadly clashes. Both sides stand accused of encouraging such violence.
Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “Do you think Nigeria is on a religious frontline?”
A. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Q. “That can become violent. Is that part of the course?”
A. “I believe – anytime light begins to shine – there’s bound to be a little resistance from darkness. So that’s a settled matter. Unfortunate as it may seem – some politicians go in the guise of religion to perpetrate evil. I do not think genuine Christians and genuine Muslims will fight. If you kill a Muslim – you are killing a potential convert – someone who is dead cannot be converted and of course a Muslim killing a Christian – you are also killing a potential convert. But I think most of the crisis are not really religion – it’s politics. Some politicians choose to use religion as a tool for their own ulterior motives.”

Q. “Do you think the church can play a role in politics?”
A. “Of course – who was it that said man is a political animal. Everybody should decide who is going to rule over him and you should not complain about anything you permit. If you fail to vote, fail to participate in the political situation and someone gets to become your ruler and you say you don’t like the way he’s ruling you – who’s fault? Where were you when he was being voted into power? And if someone gets into power and he’s not doing what you expect him to do – then vote him out.”

Q. “Does the church play enough role?”
A. “Maybe they should do more. Because I believe in the past – the people have been so focused on making it to heaven that they don’t want anything to do with politics – politics has gizzards, which is another way of saying politics can be dirty. Christians are the light of the world – should be shining a light not being the salt of the earth which is only of use if its applied – so I think we should be doing more than we are doing now.”

Pastor Adeboye and President Goodluck Jonathan during church service
But noone is quite sure how much Pastor Adeboye is doing
Tonight’s service is attended by Nigeria’s President – Goodluck Jonathan, as well as various other state governors and politicians.
All seeking guidance.
But, particularly with controversial national elections in April – the degree to which his support and advice is listened to is unclear, also unclear.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “You have the ear of presidents – do you support, talk and support certain candidates?”
A. “When I am consulted I do talk. But then all you can do is advise – you can’t command – you can say this is the way I think this thing should be done then they’re free to decide whether they will take your advice or ignore it. You are free once in a while to make a move that will show the man on top the feelings of the masses because we are very close to the masses. I’m into saying presidents and governors are not close to the masses – but you know fully well, that if there’s total black out in the nation – lights will still be on in state house. But as we live with the people on a daily basis – we can feel their pulses better. So when things become a little too uncomfortable for the masses – we take some actions.”

Q. “Try to make them sway for a particular way to vote?”
A. “No. I mean – when you have this kind of congregation – you have members of every party in the congregation and if you want to retain their respect for you – you must be neutral. My suggestion would always be – make sure you vote for the person of your choice – if the choice you make turns out to be right – glory be to God, if your choice turns out wrong then maybe another time.”

NAT SOUND – Congregation praying
Congregation Praying
Services last throughout the night with numerous prayer sessions
And each sermon is simultaneously read aloud in English and the local language Yoruba
there are choirs, music, as well as donations and more controversially – healing.
Despite the Redeemed Church’s promise of an improved standard of living for the average Nigerian – the UN estimates 80% of people in the country still live on less than $2 a day.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “People want better life – not just in the afterlife but today – would it not be better to protest outside government house?”
A. “Prayers can move mountains. Protesting outside government house – how much has it achieved? You go there – you carry placards, if you’re fortunate – you will return home alive, if you are not fortunate – some overzealous police officer might accidentally discharge some bullets. And you protest day after day after day and after some time you get tired.”

Q. Do you think church has brought people out of the widespread poverty?”
A. “Sure – we are trying our best – the problem is huge – we might not see results to soon but we are doing our best we have programmes that are talking about how to start little business, we have seminars on small scale farming, seminars on almost everything – in other words we’re saying don’t look onto government for everything – be creative.”

Coming up – apart from religion, what else is important in Pastor Adeboye’s life?

Q. “What else do you like doing apart from the Redeemed, religion?”
A. “I love fishing. I used to be a boxer – unfortunately I can’t box anymore, except box the devil maybe.”

PART THREE
Adeboye on Newsweek front cover
In 2008 – Pastor Adeboye was featured in Newsweek magazine, as one of the world’s top fifty most influential people.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “How did you feel about Newsweek?”
A. ‘I felt humbled. Because – how could they possibly leave all the archbishops and big, big names and chose a small pastor in one little jungle. I was surprised and humbled and drove me closer to God.”

Q. “Is it a responsibility – the influence you have on people?”
A. “Of course it is- if I had my way, I would not want influence over anyone but my little family. Particularly as the bible says on the day of judgement – judgment is going to be based on this influence – how have you used this influence – for good or evil. One man was complaining to a great preacher – the preacher said what is your problem, the man said – my congregation is only fifty people in number. And the preacher said – you have a lot of people to answer for when you get to heaven – you should thank God there are only fifty.”

The Redeemed Church dominates Adeboye’s public life and what little of a private life remains – he keeps mostly to himself.

Quote – Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Q. “What else do you like doing apart from the Redeemed, religion?”

A. “I love fishing. I used to be a boxer – unfortunately I can’t box anymore, except box the devil maybe. And I go for walks, long walks. Unfortunately I don’t have time for any other thing. It’s difficult for me to now even walk in the streets – everybody wants to come and ask me to pray for them. Occasionally I want to go to market – to buy things for myself – but last time I went to the supermarket I had to run back into the car because the people who were around the shop left the shop and wanted to turn the place into a crusade ground. So I can only walk in the night when they’re supposed to be sleeping and they can’t disturb me – and once in a while I go to fish in a place that is excluded – just for the fun of it.”

Q. “Would you like to retire? Will you keep going until the end?”
A. “I would have loved to retire – I had plans of what I could do in retirement – when you are retired – you are more or less your own master – wake up whenever you like, go where you want, when you want. If I’m retired I don’t have to be in charge of the congress – I can just come and enjoy.”

Q. “Where would you like to see Redeemed go from here?”
A. “Still a long way from our goal. We want to reach the whole world – want to have churches in every nation and have members in every family in the whole world and that’s where we believe God will take us before I leave this world.”

Pastor Enoch Adeboye
That time, his congregation hope – is still a long time to come.

Christian Purefoy. CNN. Redeemed Church, Lagos, Nigeria.

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INTERVIEW WITH BARISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM

 

 Jimoh Ibrahim

Prominent businessman, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, is 46 today. The NICON and Global Fleet's Group Managing Director is also fast becoming a media mogul with the establishment of some newspapers. He shares his life and times with Yemi Adebowale as he rolls out the drums to celebrate.
How do you feel at 46?
I feel good. But to be honest, I have noticed some grey hair. I guess, due to hard work. I have been battling with the grey hair through constant removal. But by and large, I feel great and healthy at 46; praise and thanks to God.
At just 46, with a huge conglomerate, would you say that you are fulfilled?
Fulfillment is from God not of man. I have not completed my assignment. I am still on it. I am still on my mission to create more jobs for Nigerians and to improve on the economy of this country. I will continue doing these. However, I am satisfied with what I have done so far. I will continue until I get to a stage when I can no longer continue. Then, I will resign like the Pope did.
I guess that means you are on until age 85, because Pope Benedict XVI is 85?
When, I don't know; it depends on what God wants.
At such a young age, what is the secret of this your business success?
It is mainly due to the grace of God. After the grace of God, it is the intellectual capacity of the individual. The difference between a man that is rich and a man that is poor is knowledge. Also, the difference between a man that is a success and a man that is suffering is knowledge. If the man that is a failure gets the knowledge that will change him, he will rise from failure to success. You must demonstrate high level of intellectual capacity to solve problems. That is key. You must know how to get water from a rock. You must read widely. The success stories of all our companies are based on one case study or the other. You read books to know these. Mirror and Newswatch newspapers are based on the study of New York Times. Our Premier University, Sao Tome is based on the Harvard standard. I believe that by the time I retire, I will get somebody to come and continue from where I will stop.
There are stories about how you struggled to get education. What were the challenges like, while growing up in Igbotako, Ondo State?
I am a village boy and growing then in the village was interesting. Like every other kid, I enjoyed the village life. We would go to the river to swim and fetch water for domestic use. We would return home to eat in a common plate, while some of my seniors will use their dirty teeth to share our pomo meat. We sleep on a common mat. My story is very simple. I went to St. John's School, Igbotako; and then to Community Grammar School, also in Igbotako. Thereafter, I attended Federal School of Arts and Science, Ondo and then to the University of Ife where I read Law. I also attended Harvard University. Nothing has changed. My village still remains my village. I go there virtually every weekend. I still maintain some aspects of my village life. I still eat my good old village foods. I don't joke with my local black soup prepared with no oil. I dress like a village man. The only thing is that we are confronted every day with new ways of doing things in the city.
As a fresh graduate, did you work for anybody? How did the success story start?
Right from secondary school, I was very determined to be a success in business. My classmates in secondary school can testify to this. I never worked for anybody after the NYSC programme. The only thing I did was attachment at late Gani Fawehinmi's Chamber for a month during the law school programme. After NYSC, I started organizing seminars and lectures in Lagos, mainly for local government officials on the then new local government autonomy. As a youth corper, I built a house in my village. I built four houses in Lagos while doing my NYSC programme. I built a four-storey house in Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos as a corper. Under one year as a corper, I built six houses. So, you can see my drive.
You made huge money as a corper, doing what?
By delivering lectures and organizing seminars all over the country. I also held series of workshops, taking advantage of Babangida's local government autonomy. I collaborated with so many institutions, including the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria. It was very profitable. Some of the LG chairman that attended my seminars are now big men in the society. People like elder Wole Oyelese, who went all the way to become a minister. Over six of other also later became ministers.
How did you make your billions of naira?
You don't make a billion at a time. We also take loans in billion from banks. I don't work with the aim of making billions. I just keep doing my job and if there is big money available in the accounts, we just keep re-investing the money. You must also note that investments are not made in my name. It is in the names of the companies in the group. I just go on with my job. We have had cause to borrow billions and return billions to the banks. A billion naira is a figure as far as we are concerned. I don't really see what is so special about it. Money is simply an instrument to work with. If I show you my personal account now, you might not find any serious money in it. I operate by whatever money I can get from the companies in the group. The investments are there and the profit will come later. The profit is what I can spend for my retirement. Not keeping billions in my account.
In terms of assets, you are obviously sitting on billions of naira
O yes.
How big is your conglomerate now?
We are slowing down now. The only reason we are doing this is because human resources have been disappointing of recent. So, we are no longer doing new investments. We are consolidating on existing investments. However, I will soon resume new investments. Investments create jobs. I am always happy when I see the number of people that get paid at the end of the month. It impresses me a lot. This is what I am always out to do. I love creating jobs. Some of the companies we bought were passed on to us. We also need to pass it on to the next generation. It should not die with us. It is a pity that our environment has now influenced human resources and we are unable to get the kind of human resources we want.
What is your staff strength like now?
We have over 21,000 people working in our group within and outside Nigeria. NICON Insurance has over 1,200 workers. We have workers in Nigeria-Re; we have eight hotels with thousands of workers. Global Fleet has over 200 gas stations, with workers. We have banks in Ghana and Sao Tome; newspapers in Nigeria, University in Sao Tome, NICON Insurance in Sao Tome, all with thousands of workers. National Mirror and Newswatch combined, employ about 800 workers. As Newswatch newspapers go daily, more people will be employed. We are all over. We have a diversified portfolio which creates jobs for so many people. We are at a level now, where we now have so many foreigners working for us. We have Americans, UAE, Britons and so many Africans working for us.
How challenging has it been running all these companies?
It is about what I enjoy doing. Running 16 companies is like running four terms as a Senator. Some politicians are doing their fourth term in the National Assembly and they are not complaining. It is entrepreneurship that is in me. I always want to do more. I like to see troubled companies rescued. I like to see more jobs saved and new jobs created. We are still employing more. The bulk of our income is used for salaries. It is okay by me.
We hardly hear your name when it comes to charity. Have you been eating your billions of naira alone?
I don't know the billions you are talking about. But the point is that we don't make noise when we help people. I can't help somebody and then, go and put it in the newspapers. When we help institutions, like what we did for the University of Ife, we can put that in newspapers. We built a Post-graduate hall in Ife worth about N100 million recently. When helping individuals, I don't talk about these.
Where are you hoping to be with all these companies by age 50?
By 50, I definitely would have retired and somebody else will be running these companies. One of the CEOs within will definitely take over. I will start that process next year. Then, I will start short-listing for the new GMD that will take over. After handling the succession plan, I will retire to Igbotako to see how I can help the people of Ondo State. I am also thinking about retiring to the university to share my experience.
Are you thinking about going public with your companies?
We are thinking about that. If we go public, obviously we will make a lot of money selling the shares but what about the dividends to investors? We need to stabilize the companies very well and make them profitable first before going public. We are in a recession now which will probably not end till 2022. So, why should we now go and put a company in the market. When we are sure of the outlook, then, we will put the companies in the market. We want to be an ultimate investor. The investor is that man that ran his company and then put it on the market for others to benefit. I am praying very hard to see one of these companies in the market before I retire.
At 46, what is your message, first to your critics and then to your fans?
To my critics, well they have been very nice to me. Although, atimes, they go hare wire. They have helped me so much. I have almost finished reading the Bible and I am now heavily loaded with a lot of spiritual words from the Bible; not as a pastor. The Bible has helped me to realize the weapons I need to fight my battles.
People have a right to criticize me. But I get worried when a person running a barbing salon or a firm with ten staff, starts to suggest how to run a conglomerate. It is laughable. Somebody who does not know how a company is managed will be writing in the newspapers on how we should run our companies. It is ridiculous. He will be talking to a person with a balance sheet running into several billions of naira. It looks stupid. Some people will say 'I don't like how he closed Air Nigeria.' Do you want me to kill people? We noticed that our workers were disloyal and we had to take action. If I decide to continue running, and the plane crashes, it will bring a lot of pains to many people. So, we have been very careful about it. Nigerians should thank me that I did not kill anybody while running Air Nigeria. We have not said that we will not run the airline again. We have only taken it for surgery.
To my critics, how I wish they are well informed about me. But I must thank critics and I encourage them to continue. Some people will say that I took over a company to sell the assets. I often wonder where they get such information. If a company has that much assets, then it won't be sold. Some people really don't have correct information about our businesses.
For my fans, we are in the journey together. Obviously, we are doing it together. The support we get from them has been a big source of inspiration.

Are we safe with Energy Drinks?

Lagos — Power Horse, Red Bull, Burn, Rush, Throttle, Spark and Monster. These are some of the energy drinks that have taken over the Nigerian markets. They came in different packages and sizes and they are regarded as energy-giving drinks, capable of re-invigorating people, after the day's job. But beyond these claims, lies a shocking discovery-that virtually all energy drinks contain high caffeine than Coffee itself. One therefore wonders why the high patronage for a brand that is capable of threatening human life. Today, the percentage of the patronage in advanced countries are far less than in Nigeria as the drinks is gradually taking over the Nigerian market, though, many of going extinct due to the global recession.
A recent report released by some foreign experts revealed that some of the drinks, if not all, contain high caffeine, which is not too good for human health. Perhaps, this may have informed the recent decisions of many foreign schools to ban students from taking high-energy drinks because of their negative impacts on human behaviours.

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