Ronke Onadeko is the Principal Consultant of DRNL Consult Limited, UK and Manager of Delt-R Company Limited. The former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State tells ALEXANDER OKERE about her childhood, business career and journey to motherhood
Your professional and business experience spans over 30 years. What are the major highpoints of that experience, looking back at what you have achieved?
I love passing on information because I was blessed in many ways. The oil and gas business I ended up in was a relatively new business in Nigeria. The persons who knew a bit about it took me under their wings. They sent me for training, exposed me and allowed me to sit for meetings. So, I learnt a lot in an apprenticeship type of way.
When I came back to the county as a food technologist, I served with UNILEVER (formerly Lever Brothers) before I went into the oil industry after my National Youth Service Corps programme. That mentoring really set me on the foundation and principles that I live by. So, I take anybody who comes in contact with me and wants to gain knowledge under my wings. It’s not just about going for a course. The small intricate parts of a business are the things that make a difference. So, I do a lot of mentoring and sponsoring of women formally and informally. That is what is important to me.
As a seasoned entrepreneur, what worries you about the fate of young entrepreneurs in Nigeria, in view of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic?
A lot of people ventured into entrepreneurship because they didn’t find jobs. It was not their first choice. They really would have wanted oil company jobs, but a lot of people found themselves on their own. I’m not sure that when there are challenges and not a lot of opportunities, people will survive because you have to be dogged, dedicated and passionate to engage in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is not the alternate option when you don’t find a job. I tend to see that many successful entrepreneurs that have worked in entrepreneurial space have acquired the structure of discipline, financial prudence and literacy. Working in a manufacturing company in the human resources unit, on the factory floor, attending formal meetings and understanding the hierarchy of an organisation are some of the skills brought into entrepreneurship. But if a person is fresh out of school, has a degree based on theory, can’t find a job and sets up a business, there is a chance that they will succeed.
However, somebody who has gone through the rigours of a structured environment is more likely to succeed and flourish in entrepreneurship. They would understand financial management, money cycle, sourcing materials, marketing, people management, team-building, technology, innovation and balancing all the things involved in a business. So, in this COVID-19 period, a lot of entrepreneurial ventures are going to fold up. However, there will be a new crop of entrepreneurs that already exist that are going to do fantastically well, and I will tell you why they will.
They are the kind of entrepreneurs who understand how to manage a database so they would know who their customers are and their preference. So, what they would do is to pivot. For instance, if you are a manufacturer of school uniforms for schoolchildren, and obviously, most schools may not resume until maybe September or January, what will you do? You should quickly channel that same business into the production of personal protective equipment. So, for such entrepreneurs, this COVID-19 pandemic will just cause a change of direction temporarily or even permanently. I think there will be a crop of entrepreneurs that will take up the challenge and reinvent themselves.
Do you think small and medium scale business owners are getting the needed financial support to sustain their businesses?
No, they are not. They have never got that and have always been on their own. Because they are so small and not clustered in any formal organisation, they don’t have a voice as a people. An entrepreneur, whether young or old, combines human resources, marketing and management. When will they have the time to join the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria for meetings? For those reasons, entrepreneurs have always been highly disadvantaged. So while the Federal Government was talking about interventions, no provision was made for SMEs. So, they are supposed to go out there and struggle for interventions with big companies that have the capacity to provide what the banks are asking for.
What is supposed to be the standard?
In most countries, there would be tiers of interventions for different groups. The Central Bank of Nigeria luckily had something for small and micro enterprises. But if you see the list of the criteria that make you qualify, like having landed property and all kinds of things, you would just give up because it is not just workable. When you want to provide interventions for small businesses, they should be given grants. The most important reason why they should be doing this is because the bottom of the pyramid of society is the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of job losses.
There are concerns that the pandemic may result in food scarcity. Do you think so?
There will be food scarcity, not necessarily because we don’t have enough food but because we have never taken the time to make sure Nigeria is a food-sufficient country. A higher percentage of food is lost through wastage and we are losing so much. Logistics is very poor and the routes are very bad. It’s time to go back to the drawing board. If we want to be self-sufficient by 2025, there are certain things we need to put in place – access and infrastructure. In this country, we import milk, cheese, potato chips, rice and frozen vegetable for salad. Why can’t we produce any of those things? We can. It is because people who want to do it can’t get the loan.
Your dad was a civil servant. What kind of childhood did you have?
I’m from Remo North in Ogun State and I spent my childhood in Lagos State. We’re six children (five girls and one boy). My father was a career civil servant who worked in Lagos and Ogun. He was a resident engineer for the Sagamu-Benin Road when it was first constructed. When I was in primary school, he was posted to the old Bendel State as the comptroller for works. He lived in Benin, Edo State, and during the holiday, we spent time with him there.
He later moved to Abuja when it was made the Federal Capital Territory. He was a resident engineer in Niger State at that time, so we lived Minna. So, I had a colourful living arrangement as a young child. My father enjoyed travelling and all of us acquired the love for travelling and we used to make a picnic out of it. My knowledge of the geography of the South-West is from personal experience. I knew what kind of food was in what area and heard different dialects. As an engineer on site visits, we used to travel with him. So, I know the length and breadth of Edo and Delta states. I am a chronic traveller. I think I have been to 32 countries.
Did your parents allow you to have the kind of freedom you wanted when you were growing up or were they strict?
My father was an ex-military person. He had a lot of rules but once you complied with them, he was easy-going. He knew what he wanted and what he didn’t want.
You had your first degree in Food Science and Technology. Was it your original plan?
I completed my O level at the Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu, and went to England for my A level in mathematics, chemistry, biology and home economics. I stopped taking mathematics because it was too hard and my capability was not good enough for A level maths. So, I dropped it and had only chemistry, biology and home economics. In chemistry, the specialisation at that time was food science, so I had a natural love for it. I wasn’t studious; I just made it by a whisker and went to the United States of America for my university education and was specific that I wanted to study Food Science and Technology since I had a flair for the food part of chemistry. I got into the University of Rhode Island, US.
How did your exposure outside Nigeria influence your decision to start your own business?
My first job was in an entrepreneurial firm. I got to work in a two-man business. However, America is entrepreneurial; for some reason, it exposes you to a one-man business and it is part of the fabric of the American society. I experienced this and just decided I wanted to run my own business.
What were the major challenges you faced as a young female entrepreneur?
The challenges included finance. I also didn’t know how to come up with a board to manage the business, so it cost me a lot of money, time and market share. But, eventually, I was able to find a niche in the market. I also own a farm.
In 2015, you spoke about having your first child at 50. What were the trials you had to face and overcome from family and friends?
I was very career-focused, so I guess I didn’t get married early. My first marriage didn’t work. But I knew I really wanted children; I love kids. But in-between all of these, I was very busy with work. I had tried so many things from food science to oil and gas, manufacturing and went back into oil and gas consulting. So, time went by quickly. Everybody knew I wanted children and I was open to medical intervention. The only thing I was not keen on was adoption because it didn’t appeal to me naturally. I knew I was going to have children but I just didn’t know when.
Were you criticised for placing your career or business above family life when you didn’t have a child?
I’m a very tough person. So, I’m sure people didn’t want to (criticise me) because they didn’t want my trouble. People were talking about it. I remember an event about ‘waiting on the Lord for the fruit of the womb’ that I attended. Someone told me outright that I couldn’t want children because I wasn’t married. In my mind, I said it is God that gives children and if God chooses to bless me with children, nobody can stop it.
How many kids do you have now?
To God be the glory, I had my first child at 50 and I had a set of twins (both girls) last year. So, in two years, I had three children.
Why didn’t your previous marriage work?
I don’t know. Some things work and some things don’t work probably due to personality clashes on both sides. Sometimes, it might just be the timing of the circumstances. Everybody wants to be in a marriage that works. So when people’s marriages don’t work, it’s not good to start pointing a finger at who did what. Both parties would have wanted the marriage to work but just didn’t have the ability to keep it together.
How did you meet your husband with whom you have your children?
We are not married and were in a partnership. There was a traditional family ceremony to formalised the relationship. He is the father of all the three children and supports his children.
But how did you meet him?
I think somebody had mentioned me to him in passing and he did some homework, and somehow, we got introduced by another person. That was how our relationship started.
What are you grateful for about him?
He is a vehicle through which God blessed me with the three miraculous children. I know it was not by accident that God chose him to be the father of my children. I make sure our children are well cared for and he is especially happy about this. These children are our legacy. I am dedicated to making sure our children are wholesome and God-fearing. He attests to the fact that a lasting legacy through our children makes him happy.
It’s not something I wish to put in the public space.
As a busy person, what do you do when you are not working?
I do a lot of things. I am a very avid gardener. I am a very good cook when I choose to cook. I used to cycle long distances, but because of the kids, I can’t do that. But I run an average of five to 10 kilometres daily. I also mentor a lot of young adults. I find time for a lot of things. I am very involved in a lot of women organisations and empowerment. I love reading. But officially, I am taking the year off because I want to be with my kids.
At 53 and with three kids, do you still get advances from men?
I meet more people in the course of my professional life. I’m not very outgoing in the social scene. My family is very engaged, so most of my activities are family-based. I meet a few people now and again. But right now, I don’t want anything to distract me from my children. I even work from home. I avoid things that will take me outside my home. Having three kids in two years after turning 50 is my greatest achievement.