Business, Featured
Online media friends of Isaac Okorafor, director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, gathered on Wednesday, September 17, at the Ibeto Hotel, Abuja, for a surprise valedictory dinner in his honour. Okorafor will be retiring after a meritorious service to the CBN on September 30, after hitting the retirement age of 60 years.
He had worked at the CBN for 16 years and rose to the position of director, Corporate Communications. Those at the dinner heaped encomiums on him for serving the bank, media and country well.
Horatious Egua, Danlami Mmodu, Maureen Chigbo, Max Amuche and Yusuf Ozi-Usman and James Ume, all Online publishers from Bridge News, NewsDiary, Realnews, Sundiata Post and Greenberger Reporters, The Whistler, respectively, took turns to recall how Okorafor encouraged them when they took the decision to move from mainstream media to establish Online media platforms. To them, he was a friend in need and deed and a professional to the core.
The informal dinner was convivial, filled with banters and laughter with all recalling good old memories shared with Okoroafor while as a colleague in the media and at the CBN.
From the CBN team at the Corporate Communications Department, Lekan Ajayi, principal manager, Media Relations, recalled all they have learnt from him while describing his outgoing boss as a workaholic. Abdul Isa, assistant director, relished all he also learnt from Okorafor, whom he said, is very fastidious about headline casting, always demanding for one that is crisp. Also present were Innocent Ogbe, assistant director, Osita Nwanisobi, deputy director, Edere Obibia, principal manager, all from the Corporate Communications of CBN.
The climax of the dinner was the presentation of the big colourful congratulatory card filled with goodwill messages from Online publishers.
It was presented by Anthony Agbazuere, Abia chief of staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who in turn hailed Okorafor as a proud son of his State.
Okorafor, was accompanied to the dinner by Chinedum Okorafor, his son and Kelechi, his beautiful daughter, who just got married last Saturday.
He expressed joy and surprise that friends took pains to organize the dinner in his honour, stating that his success was made possible by his team in the Corporate Communications.
He recalled how he started his professional life, working as a reporter researcher at the defunct Concord newspapers, where he rose to the position of deputy editor before moving to Business Day, where he was the Editor. It was while he was at Business Day that he became a media consultant to CBN under DFID. Later, he became the senior adviser to Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, former governor of the CBN. He later went through a rigorous recruitment exercise to become a staff of the bank.
Realnews reports that it is rare for journalists to celebrate Corporate Affairs officials of any organisation because of cat and mouse relationship between the two because of stories which the later views with reservations. Journalists also resent corporate affairs officials who hardly pick their phones when journalists call and also fail to return the calls or text messages.
But in the case of Okorafor, he was very professional and will not take an undue umbrage when a balanced story that is not necessarily positive to CBN is published. Even when some editors refused to pull down the story at request, Okorafor sees that as a mark of professionalism and would not blacklist the media house or reporter quite unlike other public relations officials of some organisations.
This is the lesson other corporate affairs professional in CBN and elsewhere should learn from Okorafor as he retires.
While at the CBN, Okorafor succeeded because he has the knack of pre-empting crisis that might rock the bank and swiftly takes journalists and editors into confidence by at least not lying about issues even though he wasn’t giving out all the information there is. He is famous for holding a Chatam House meeting with editors to give the side of story from the bank’s perspective on any controversial projects and policies thus making a convincing argument that it was in national interest and some editors buy into that as patriotic citizens.
This patriotic zeal of journalists came into being when Okorafor explained why CBN banned forex for 43 items, the anchor borrowers and other controversial policies of the bank.
His, hopefully, last battle before he draws the final curtain at CBN is the controversy sparked by the recent statement from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group against CBN policies and the state of the economy where the inflation rate is now more than 13 percent, according to the current statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics.
In his usually style of constructive engagement, Okorafor fired economic salvos that was aimed at neutralising the harsh criticisms of NESG. He reminded the NESG that the Nigerian economy is not immune to global economic crisis occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. “As we all are aware, the impact of COVID-19 on countries across the world resulted in a significant downturn in the global economy. Consequently, countries, including Nigeria were forced to impose lockdown measures in order to contain the spread of the pandemic. This action resulted in depressed economic activity in the first half of the year. Except for China and Vietnam, advanced, emerging and frontier market economies, all experienced significant negative growth in the first half of 2020, and some are currently in a recession.
“In response to these unfortunate events across the globe, central banks have embarked on measures aimed at stabilizing their respective economies by reducing lending rates, which declined to negative territory in several advanced economies, in addition to increasing the scale of their asset purchase programmes. Indeed, after reducing its Federal Funds rate to 0 percent, the US Federal Reserve Bank implemented a huge securities purchase programme, which included purchase of corporate bonds (including those below investment grades).
“The Reserve Bank also provided credit facilities to non-bank institutions, which included money market funds and corporations. The balance sheet of the US Federal Reserve in support of these activities increased by over $3 trillion, while the European Central Bank expanded its balance sheet by over $1 trillion. Furthermore, the Bank of England in an unusual move gave an open check to the UK Government in order to fund its recovery efforts.
“It is, therefore, pertinent to state that the Nigerian economy is not immune from these crises given the over 65 percent drop in commodity prices; disruptions in global supply chains and the unprecedented outflow of over $100bn of debt and equity funds from emerging markets between March and May 2020; in addition to the impact of the lockdown on economic activities. These activities resulted in an over 60 percent reduction in revenues due to the Federation Account, a significant drop in foreign currency inflows, which led to downward adjustments in the naira/dollar exchange rate and a rise in inflation due to the exchange rate pass-through effect of imported inflation.”
By the time Okorafor rested his case, some key members of the NESG, who are bank managing directors, resigned from the group, casting doubts over the statement which the body issued which was signed by its director general.
One thing going for Okorafor while he manned the Corporate Communications of CBN is his sense of humour and keep in touch mien with his media constituency. He picks his calls from reporters even at a most inconvenient time, jocularly classifies “sins” of one particular reporter with Realnews, who is in the habit of calling at odd hours for information, into mortal and venial in the fashion of the Catholic Church catechism, a faith which he fervently professes. Usually, after rebuking the reporter for calling late, he still goes ahead to provide the information needed.
He thinks his overall career success would not have been possible without the grace of God of which he is thankful of. He says God’s crowning glory for him was the giving away of his only daughter, who is a graduate in Communication Studies, in marriage before his retirement. His two sons are also graduates in Medicine and Economics, respectively.
Okorafor has plans for his retirement which is to first rest and travel to different continents during which he will research for his book. But then the COVID-19 advent and it’s resolution will determine how far he can go with that.
All in all, journalists and colleagues share one feeling in common about Okorafor, he will be missed but his fond memories and legacies will be there for all to emulate and excel. They express hope that whoever steps in as the next director, Corporate Communications will continue from where he stopped. As Okorafor said: the CBN Corporate Communications Department is on auto pilot and that his leaving will not alter anything. But for his friends in the media, only time will tell.
– Sept. 19, 2020 @ 7:05 GMT |
Tags: Online publishers hold valedictory dinner for Isaac Okorafor
