BREAKING BARRIERS OF RIVALRY: Igbo business tycoons Prof Obiora Okonkwo and Chief Allen Onyeama redefine friendship amidst cutthroat capitalism, showcasing the power of collaboration over competition.

By: Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu | March 20, 2024

WHAT’S UP WITH THESE TWO????

I often wonder about the relationship between these two Igbo business tycoons which can best be described as puzzling. In these times of cut throat capitalism, corporate cannibalism and cloak and dagger intrigues, this duo stand out as a shining example of the positive power of competitor friendship. Both are airline operators, Prof Obiora Okonkwo of United Nigeria Airlines, and Chief Allen Onyeama of Airpeace. These two are like Siamese twins, inseparable, even at public functions and always celebrating each other’s milestones and achievements .

The bitter truth remains that building and maintaining a good friendship with a business rival is no easy feat. It is only natural that envy and jealousy caused by competition can easily soil the relationship.

The mutually supportive friendship between these two evokes nostalgia and memories of ‘People’s Club’ of yesteryears , the premier and premium Igbo social club set up in 1971, after the end of the War which always advocated collaboration as against outright competition amongst members of the club, who were the biggest business moguls of that era. This approach in no small measure, helped the Igbos to recover a huge portion of their pre- war economic status within two years.

It goes without saying that all over the world, supporting potential business rivals goes against traditional capital thinking, and even the famous economist Adam Smith was a staunch believer in the fact that success in business entails driving out your competitors.

The cooperation between these two , with competing business interests, however, makes a strong case for stakeholder capitalism and the fact that when competitors work together, they can combine their knowledge, resources and experience to create better products or services that meet the needs of their shared customers. And most importantly, that they have the capacity to eschew bitter and brutal rivalry whilst promoting some sense of harmony in the midst of healthy competition.

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Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is the wife of Late Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain.

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