Sanya Onayoade
‘Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.’ – Warren Buffett. The leadership of Tajudeen Adegboyega Akande best exemplifies this symbolic quote from the leadership coach and global investor. But Akande could also be a Boabab tree, the African icon that symbolises resilience and life, and that offers shelter and sustenance to diverse species. He is an embodiment of leadership, professionalism and philanthropy.
His faculty is cerebral, often courted in the gatherings of leaders. Besides leading elite organisations like Lagos Country Club and Business Club Ikeja; and offering skills and capacity to others like Ikoyi Club, Metropolitan Club and sundry social clubs including Rotary and Lions Club, he offers regular insights and analysis of the economy on national television and newspaper business pages. He walks the courtyard of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Institute of Directors (IoD) where he wears badges of honour. He is a Fellow in both institutions as well as several other professional bodies.
Sitting atop an international audit firm demanded a combined intellectual and professional capacity. PKF Professional Services was 12 years old in Nigeria when Akande was born. The parent body, PKF International, in contemporary times, consists of over 500 offices and over 200 member firms operating in 150 countries across five regions of the world with over 21,000 professionals. Akande joined PKF Nigeria from Messrs Akintola Williams & Co (Now Deloitte) in 1993. He was an Assistant Manager, rose through the ranks to become a Partner/Director in less than 3 years. Becoming the Country Managing Partner and CEO a couple of years down the line meant a thrust of responsibility. Today, PKF Nigeria headquartered in Lagos, has branches in Abuja and Kano, offering wide-range of service such as Audit & Assurance, Business Advisory, Corporate Finance, Forensic Accounting, Management Consultancy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Tax Compliance and Advisory, IT Consulting Services, Corporate Services and Accounting. A die-hard advocate of Small and Medium scale Enterprises as the driving force of the economy, he once initiated a social investment scheme which provided free advisory and tax services to small businesses.
The social circles know him as TJ, short form for Taju. His professional enclave designates TA in deference to industry nomenclature. Dissecting the leadership style of TA@60, you see a trajectory tilting to Transformational Leadership. TA is a student of the legendary Father of Management, Peter Drucker who said “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” In his headship of PKF, Lagos Country Club, Business Club Ikeja; and numerous national public discourses, he has propounded and exhibited his “Mentor’s” 4 Cs of Management: Competency, Character, Compassion and Community.
He had his vision set when he became the Country Managing Partner for PKF, giving the firm an enviable reputation trusted by clients. There were challenges in the firm post-Independence when the expatriate partners began to leave, or died; a time when a David Simpson of PKF Ghana used to come to Nigeria to rescue the firm. Akande raised the bar with the firm’s Partnership Deed, a performance creed that controls the obligation and loyalty and entitlements of employees, earning accolades for taking the firm to a higher echelon of integrity and commitment.
He brought his persona to bear on the leadership of Lagos Country Club, a foremost Nigerian recreational and sporting epicentre.
TJ, as known in the social circles, was comfortable in his local league of club administration. As Chairman of Table Tennis Section, he changed all the facilities and gave it a fresh breadth of air. One of his legacies was a scintillating Cool Room that gave both privacy and exquisite ambience to members. He stopped the Exco from spending Table Tennis funds for entertainment during Management meetings, arguing that elected officials were in office for selfless service including spending personal funds for club activities. Even after the end of his tenure, he was content with hosting a friend or members in the section’s Cool Room or lounge, or dashing to a couple of other sections for a drink or some fraternisation. Table Tennis was his haven. But a man’s legacies shine like the Northern Star, and so it wasn’t long for him to be ‘conscripted’ into the club’s presidency. It was a long battle between him and his mind, considering the enormous weight of his professional office, an international audit firm that required round-the-clock local and international oversight. On the other hand, was a pressure group of ‘kingmakers’ clamoring for a Tajudeen Akande’s hat in the ring. He bounced off all pressures until he was boxed into acquiescence. He was elected the President of Lagos Country Club and sworn in on June 8, 2017, becoming a Turnaround serviceman in his 3-year tenure.
Seeing the long years of infrastructural decay, he hit the ground running, cruising on his mantra of New Era, New Possibilities. That was the slogan that turned the Lagos Country Club into a huge construction site, delivering signature projects such as entrance facade and the gate house, the main building, the Membership Services office and the reception, remodeling of the Main Cool Room, Main Bar, Children Playing Ground and an Olympic-size swimming pool. He rejigged the administrative workforce for optimal service delivery. Within a year, the club earned a notch in brand reputation and quality membership.
He reintroduced the Business and Diplomatic Lecture series. At one such event themed “Lagos, My Lagos” to mark Lagos State at 50, Tajudeen Akande made a remarkable connection of the diversity of Lagos with Lagos Country Club: “…Let me note that there are many clubs in Nigeria, but there is only one Country Club; there are many clubs in Lagos, but there is just one Lagos Country Club. I am therefore inclined to affirm that this great club and our iconic state are both defined by diversity of people and strong values.”
When the broth had steamed and it was time to clink glasses for the club’s 70th anniversary in 2019, it wasn’t difficult for TJ to command the largest gathering of political, business and diplomatic leaders in the club’s history, including the then Vice-President Yemi Osibajo, several governors and first class traditional rulers. He said of the legacy he wanted to leave behind: “If people could acknowledge true service which I rendered when I was president, not about any razzmatazz of office, I will feel fulfilled. When the records are read in the future and my name is mentioned, I want people to say that is the guy that changed the face of Lagos Country Club. It is not just in the physical infrastructure, but the totality of the lifestyle; our conduct, the way we do things, obedience to rules, the way we conduct ourselves. Even when I am dead, I will be resting in peace, I will be happy.”
Hardly had Tajudeen stepped out of office that he was “conscripted” into the presidency of Business Club Ikeja: same magic wand, same transformational leadership. A dying BCI got a reprieve and an elevation with infrastructural renewal, membership drive and regular business lectures.
Before plunging into the world of business and service, he has had good education to his name. He studied Accounting at the University of Benin, had Master Degree in Finance from the University of Leicester, UK; certificates at the Lagos Business School and the Harvard Business School, US.
His warmth and rapport cut across divides, making team building easy to achieve. What do you expect of a man whose father was a staunch islamic scholar, his mother was a general overseer of a modest church, his wife is a devout christian; went to both islamic and christian elementary schools; breaks fast during Ramadan and attends evening gatherings at Christians’ lenten seasons with bags of food stuff?
At 60, he is a fulfilled man, having spent time serving people. But what drives him? Service? Commitment to a noble course? A Pearl Awards letter appreciates his work: “selfless service to the nation and the resultant positive effect on the Nigerian economy and by extension the Capital Market over the years.” The PKF Team that he has led for decades penned words of acclamation: “Thank you for your years of service, your leadership, and the positive impact you’ve made.”
Even his leadership is service to humanity. “Good leadership is about integrity,” he says. “People who want others to follow them must have integrity.”
A goodwill message to him by PKF captures this leadership: “You have been the driving force behind the successful integration and transformation of the firm, inspiring, empowering, and guiding us with strategic insights and commitment to excellence. Your vision, guidance, and strength have turned challenges into opportunities, making you a remarkable boss.”
Expressive wits are engrained in his personality. Soft-spoken, yet humorous, often deploying this creative arsenal to diffuse tension at critical management or board sessions. Needless to say you hardly see a frown on his face in bad or treacherous moments.
He is a workaholic with high-octane social life and a generous giver of repute.
Today, let’s give Sixty Garlands to this Great Achiever.