I don’t have a problem with politics or politicians, but I shudder at entrepreneurs who dabble in politics to serve or advance alternative political views.
While politics can sometimes create opportunities, the costs associated with an unstable, overly regulated, or corrupt political environment often stifle productive entrepreneurship, diverting resources and focus away from innovation and market-based value creation, and leaving the entrepreneur exposed to losses or mental torture.
Let’s take a look at the foremost Chinese businessman, Jack Ma, who symbolised China’s entrepreneurial success. A former English teacher turned tech billionaire, he founded Alibaba, which became known as China’s equivalent of Amazon and embodied innovation in the country.
But Ma’s ambitions didn’t stop with e-commerce; he went on to create Ant Group, a fintech powerhouse poised to revolutionise China’s banking landscape, boasting greater potential than both Goldman Sachs and PayPal combined.
In 2020, Ant Group was set to launch a record-breaking $35 billion IPO, the largest in history. Jack Ma was poised to capture global attention once more.
However, things took a turn at a high-profile conference in Shanghai when he openly criticised China’s financial regulators, labelling them as outdated and overly controlling. This bold move did not sit well with Beijing, and within two days, Ant’s IPO was abruptly halted, leading to billions in losses for investors who were caught off guard.
After this incident, Jack Ma vanished from the public scene, abstaining from interviews, social media, and appearances. Speculation ran wild: Was he detained, under surveillance, or warned to stay out of the spotlight?
During this time, Chinese regulators initiated a crackdown. Ant Group was forced to undergo restructuring, causing its valuation to plummet from $315 billion to under $70 billion and ultimately quashing its disruptive ambitions.
Alibaba wasn’t spared either; it faced a hefty antitrust fine of $2.8 billion, along with enhanced scrutiny and tighter government controls.
Eventually, Jack Ma reemerged, but the message was unmistakable: In China, no one, not even the wealthiest individual, surpasses the authority of the Party.
While Jack Ma’s rise was remarkable, his decline serves as a sobering reminder to Chinese entrepreneurs with visions of global influence. Success is acceptable until it begins to challenge the status quo.
Alibaba persists, as does Ant Group. Yet, the visionary who once led them is no longer at the helm.
In summary, politics adds friction without proportional rewards for most entrepreneurs. And politicians who have never created wealth will never think twice about pulling down a thriving wealth creator.
I’ve always admired Peter Obi, even long before he entered politics.
Our paths crossed several times, but I got particularly close to him at a dinner hosted by Engr. Uche Ubajaka, for him, in 2003. There, Peter shared his bold intention with a select audience to run for Governor of Anambra State.
Years earlier, during a visit to a bustling Menax market in Onitsha, where we had a sales office, Peter arrived in a modest Peugeot 505 Evolution. He stepped out and warmly exchanged pleasantries with his distributors registered under his Grepet International. I couldn’t help but reconcile the simplicity of the man who alighted from that car with his generous reputation: even as early as 1997, he was providing vehicles to his staff and distributors as performance bonus.
By then, Peter Obi’s influence was woven into countless Nigerian homes through his food distribution. If you weren’t enjoying Ovaltine, chances are you had Heinz products in your salad—like their Salad Cream, Baked Beans, or Sweet Corn. And if those didn’t catch you, the bread or cake you savoured likely included ingredients such as Saf Instant Yeast, Rayner’s Essence flavours, or Centage Crown baking powder.
At the time one of our new Sales Managers opted to join his company in 1998, Peter Obi had about 157 SKUs in the market, available in the length and breadth of Nigeria.
Peter sat on the boards of about three major banks and held substantial investments in blue-chip companies. He even launched Next Cash & Carry, a venture set to rival Shoprite with massive pavilions in Port Harcourt and Abuja. He embodied the entrepreneurial spirit every business owner aspires to.
Yet, he set aside all that promising expansion and growth to step into the unpredictable arena of politics.
Today, he is the most scrutinised politician in Nigeria. His words are subjected to a forensic audit and scrutiny, and his business empire has not grown beyond where he left it.
Peter Obi’s Next Cash & Carry (part of his Next International group) was indeed envisioned as a significant retail powerhouse in Nigeria before he dove into politics in the mid-2000s. He started it in the 1980s as a commodity trading outfit. He evolved it into a supermarket chain with ambitions to rival global players like Shoprite, focusing on affordable goods, local sourcing, and expansion across West Africa. However, by choosing politics over expanding his business interests, Next Cash & Carry hasn’t scaled as aggressively as planned.
Fidelity Bank had a chance of acquiring Diamond Bank if Peter Obi had been the bank’s Chairman at the time. That opportunity went to Access Bank, which took over Diamond Bank’s enviable retail presence in the South East. 1 out of every 3 savings account holders in the South East has an Access Bank account, courtesy of Diamond Bank.
Today, even his Fidelity Bank is witnessing a passive political interest, with underground massive acquisition of shares to dilute his shareholding in a bank he built from scratch.
SAB Miller (AB InBev) in both Anambra and Ogun State would have been Peter Obi’s private business if he had not chosen the state as the core investor instead of his company, which introduced their brands in Nigeria years before he convinced them to set up manufacturing plants in the country. Politics played a role in his decision to relinquish ownership. Today, AB InBev, through International Breweries, is the 2nd-largest Brewery in Nigeria, after Heineken.
When I look at the likes of Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, and other fast-rising entrepreneurs reshaping Nigeria’s business landscape, I feel nostalgic, knowing that Peter Obi would have been playing actively in that league if he had not gone into politics.
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