In this riveting conversation, Abubarka Suleiman, the MD/CEO of Sterling Bank, joins the host of #WithChude and co-founder of Joy, Inc., Chude Jideonwo to talk about banking reform, foreign investment, growing employment, the requests for him to be Vice President in 2019, and surprisingly, vulnerability and emotions.
Speaking about why it is important to embrace vulnerability, Abubarka stresses this: “We need to understand that people need to connect to their emotions. People need to accept vulnerability because the truth is that it is either you are vulnerable or you’ll crack. I think we need to encourage men and young boys that are just coming into adulthood to recognise that you are not strong because you refuse to accept what you feel. Being strong is accepting what you feel, dealing with it, and getting on with it.
My approach has always been to have people in my life with whom I’m completely myself. If you’re lucky, that person is your spouse because that’s where you have the most access. But in many cases it’s not, to some people it’s a friend, some people it’s a sibling. There has to be someone in your life with whom you are not wearing a mask. With that person, you are you and you are not thinking what the person would think of you. You already know what the person thinks of you.”
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He shares some concerns about the disparity between what young people think is required in the workplace and what actually is: “There need to be more conversations about the workplace while in school, and more conversations about purpose. We create this impression that our purpose while in school is to get a job. Getting a job is not a purpose; it can not sustain you. It might pay your bills, but as you start to reflect, you’ll realise that there is an emptiness to that. We need to prepare people to have a big purpose that will drive them, and get them out of bed every morning.”
Speaking about why he continues to bet on Nigeria, Abubarka explains that contrary to how it feels now, things have not been all gloomy.
“Nigeria shouldn’t be where it is. It’s just a sequence of errors, omissions, and mischief that has brought us here. But Nigeria is also not where it was. We underestimate the progress we’ve made because, in the immediacy of time, everything looks gloomy. When you look back you’ll see that things were really happening,” he shared.
“Under thirty years ago, Nigeria’s GDP in dollar terms was 40 billion dollars. Today, it is 400 billion dollars. It’s not all gloom.
My sense is that because we are here and now, we are not thinking about nation-building as a 100-year journey. I have never doubted that this country is on the path to greatness, and many of those who choose to place their bet here will come out as winners.” he added.
