In this interview with ARUKAINO UMUKORO, Aku, one of the daughters of the late Augustine Ilodibe, founder and Executive Chairman of Ekene Dili Chukwu Group, talks about her father’s success in the transport business
Tell us about yourself?
I am Aku Ilodibe, the Chief Executive Officer of the estate/ property company known as Austin Ejikeme Ilodibe Properties Limited. While my brother is the CEO/Managing Director of Ekene Dili Chukwu Nigeria Limited (the transport division of the group).
How was it like growing up with your father?
Growing up at home with my father was the best experience any child will want to have. We didn’t see him most times when we were growing up because he was an early riser. He left home at 5am every day and the only way we knew he was leaving home was when we heard his car horn. But when he came back, he would come back with lots of goodies for us to make up for the time.
What kind of father was he?
He was very loving and caring. Despite his tight schedules, he created time for his family. We came first. He was always there for us. He valued education and ensured we were all educated.
What was his daily schedule like?
He always woke up very early at 5am and would leave for work. He was hardworking. He was very renowned for wearing only white outfits. All his life, he wore white outfits, white shoes, and white socks.
Why did he like wearing white outfits?
He liked wearing them because he just felt it was a symbol of peace, cleanliness and that was what he represented. He just loved white.
He had a personal assistant who worked with him for over 40 years…
Yes, he (my dad’s personal assistant) was here when I was born.
What does this say about your father’s personality?
It spoke volumes about his heart, his accommodating nature and his love for people. It takes a lot to have people in your service for as long as that. In our office presently, we have staff with over 42 and 45 years of service. His driver did 38 years of service. That showed you he was very accommodating. He cared about his staff. It was not like any of his employee hadn’t hurt or upset him in one way or the other before and he could have fired them at any time, but it showed his patience, which is a great virtue. It showed his energy to train and bring out the best in people. He never believed anybody was useless. He always tried to bring out the positive sides of people. That is what we do here at work. In my daily life and interactions with people, I try to give them a chance and bring out the best in them. I also try to maximise whatever opportunity I have to spend with them.
When did he establish Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport Company?
He started it in 1956. He never took a loan for his business. He started the company in his early 20s and worked hard for his money. He bought his first lorry from SCOA in 1955. He was a pioneer. He had no platform like I have now. He struggled on his own. He used to tell us that whenever he travelled to Ghana, it was on a truck that had no cover. So, when it rained, it rained on them. It was over two weeks journey then. He wasn’t a silver spoon kid. That was why he liked to give, he was a great philanthropist. Everywhere I went to people said good things about him. He had friends across different tribes, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. He touched people’s lives nationwide. He did not grow up in a wealthy home. His mum took him to the then Roman Catholic Mission, Nnewi, in Anambra State, to live with Reverend Father Louis Kettle, whom he lived with for a number of years. He was what you will call an apprentice boy; he used to clean the chapel. He told us that in those days, he would use the back of a coconut to scrub the entire church, instead of the mop or scrubbing brush like we have now. After he had lived with him for a long time, the Reverend Father paid him eight shillings, with which he started his business. He was nicknamed ‘Nwa Father’, that is, ‘Reverend Father’s child’, by many of his admirers. I’d say he was just born to do the transport business. That was what he knew and did best. He had his basic education, but he did not go to the university.
Why did he name his company ‘Ekene Dili Chukwu’?
He came from a humble background. It was a way to thank God for how much He had helped him to achieve in business. So, when it was time to name his company, looking back at everything, and what he had achieved from nothing, he thought the best thing was to say, Ekene Dili Chukwu, which, in Igbo, means ‘thanks be to God’.
Did he tell you of any of the initial challenges he faced when he first started his business?
He had so many challenges. At the time there was so much high duty on importing luxury buses, but he had a steel structure business; he was also the Mercedes Benz representative in Nigeria. Those weren’t easy tasks to accomplish. His major challenge was the bad roads; the buses had problems plying those bad roads. It hurt him so much that the roads were bad, especially Lagos to eastern roads. The wear and tear was so evident on the buses, the bumpers were knocked off and each trip required total overhauling and servicing. It would have made business much easier for him if the roads were better. He wished they were. But he believed nothing was impossible with honesty and hard work.
What were the values you learnt from him?
Dad always taught us hard work. He was humble and humility was his greatest strength. He raised us to be humble. His favourite maxim was ‘what will be, will be’. He was a very kind man. He would never see anybody lacking. Many times, after his death, I’ve met different people at the airport or at functions, who, on introducing myself, told me of how my father helped them in different ways. My dad reached out to the world. He loved peace.
Obviously, you grew up in affluence?
Yes, so to speak. My name, Aku, means ‘wealth’ in Igbo. So, there is this assumption that at the time he gave birth to me, he had come into his own full circle.
Did he lavish his wealth on you and his other children?
Yes, in his own way, he did. But, again, he was a disciplinarian. When we were growing up, once we heard the horn of his car whenever we were riding our bicycles, we would all race back into the house, because if we hadn’t finished our lessons or done our homework, we were in for it. He loved to receive gifts because few people ever gave him, because of his rich status.
How did he discipline his children?
If any of us misbehaved and our mother got to tell him, we knew we were in trouble, even from looking at his face. Then, he would sit you down and talk to you about the hard facts of life. He was very strict, but he believed in dialogue. He would then punish us by denying us some of our favourite things. I remember the time I was denied a summer trip abroad because I did something wrong.
Did he ever spank any of his children?
No, he never did.
What have you learnt from him, in terms of leadership and running a business?
Having worked with him in the company, I try to imbibe what he would have done when making decisions and in everything I do in my daily business. I’ve learnt to accommodate people. I don’t fire people on the spot. I’ve learnt to give people a chance; they could turn around for the better. I’ve also learnt to be more caring to my staff, because dad would always ask his staff about their wives and families. He knew the families of all his staff. Sometimes, they came around with their families. I’ve learnt to be more astute in business. I can say I’m a chip off the old block because I just followed his footsteps.
How was his relationship with your mum?
It was fantastic. They were from the old school. And left to my mum, my father was lord and master, his words were final. He was a loving and caring husband. She passed on two years after his death.
How old was he when he died?
He died on July 1, 2007, at the age of 74. Unfortunately, I was in America when he passed on.
How did you take the news of his death?
I was shocked and devastated. It was the worst news I ever heard, I did not know he was going to go so soon because he was very strong and upbeat and was still coming to work until his death.
Did he know he was going to die then?
No, he didn’t. We didn’t suspect it because he was not hypertensive. He did have diabetes, but we controlled it with his diet and medication. There was nothing serious that would have alerted us. We miss him dearly.
What were his hobbies?
He was a football fan. I think he supported Rangers International, Enugu. He also liked to watch traditional masquerades perform. He loved to play music. Osita Osadebe was his favourite and he invited him many times to play for him whenever we had events and parties at the family house in Nnewi.
What were some of his dislikes?
He hated lying. He would rather you told him the truth and he would deal with it. My father hated failure. Nothing was impossible to him. When he sent you on an errand or gave you a business assignment, he did not take a ‘no’ for an answer. He believed everything was possible.
How much freedom did your father give you and your siblings?
He gave us a lot of freedom to express ourselves. He believed in us and wasn’t restrictive. He allowed us to make our own decisions. He didn’t choose our path in life. He supported us in whatever we chose to do and was there for us.
How did he spend time with his children?
He took us on vacations. We would also go out to eat at restaurants. That way, he would make up for the time lost due to his tight business schedules.
What are some of your most memorable moments with him?
My most memorable moments with my father were in his old age. Then he turned everything into a joke. He joked a lot and would make you laugh. Because he was diabetic, he wasn’t allowed to eat a lot of things, but a few times, we would sneak food to him so that my mum wouldn’t know because he wanted to eat them. Sometimes, I shared my lunch with him.
What was his favourite food?
His favourite food was Chinese food, he loved Chinese cuisine.
What do you remember most about him?
I remember his love for people. His goal was to make everybody happy. My father had so many visitors in one day and he saw all of them that day. Despite being a busy man, he never turned anybody back. He made sure he touched everybody’s life that came his way.
Most people seem to know Ekene Dili Chukwu Transport Company more than they know his name. What should he be remembered for?
That he was this man who came and made a major difference in the transport business in Nigeria.
Curiously, he did not go into politics…
Yes, he didn’t. What he did was to support his friends. He was not a politician. He used to say politicians wouldn’t be straightforward. He always said things as they were. So, he wouldn’t have made a good politician.
Are your other siblings also into the transport business?
Yes, most of them are involved in the business.
What role did your father play in your choice of careers?
He allowed us to choose our path in life. But as per the transport business, that was what we knew when growing up.
Did he ever tell you about what he did during the civil war and how he felt about it?
He told us how he took his buses and travelled to Aba, Port Harcourt, where most Igbos lived, and brought most of them back home for free. That’s the part I remember. He provided free buses for Igbo people to go back home during the war. He felt bad that people had lost their lives and property. But my father never had anything tribal in his thoughts or mindset. He just raised us as Nigerians who could live anywhere or do anything, and not restrict ourselves to just Igbo. He was a true Nigerian.
What was his religious bent?
He was a Christian, Catholic to the core. He was raised by a reverend father.
Do you think he could have become a priest?
Yes, he had the tendencies. He thought about it, but he had so much zest for business in him. I believe his business instincts were instilled in him naturally, but his discipline, influence in life, morals and values probably came from living with a reverend father.
What are some of the things you learnt from your father that you would also teach your children?
I would teach my children about honesty and humility. There were no airs around him. He could dine with his driver. You couldn’t scream at or talk anyhow to the house help when my father was present, because he would tell you that that house help also has a father and mother, that you were privileged to be in that position as his child. He believed that people were all the same.
Your father’s shoes must be quite big to fill, how do you manage?
It’s a lot of challenge. We make mistakes, we fall, and we get up. We try so hard, but it is really difficult to fill his shoes.
What do you remember about him during such challenges?
Once things get difficult in the office and we have to make decisions or deal with people outside, we try to do what he would have done. He would reach out; he had a fantastic public relations skill. We try to do it his way. The first question we ask at meetings is, ‘What would chairman have done?’ So, that is what we do. And with his old staff still around, they are very good guides. They would say, oh, chairman did it this way or that way. So, we walk around it.
Do you think you can successfully build on his legacy?
Yes, we can. We, his children, can come together as a united force and make sure things are at least near to what he would have done.
How did the family manage the situation of things after his death?
What we did was that we focused on him. We didn’t want anything that would dent his image or affect his legacy because it would be difficult to rebuild. He had already built a strong brand name. So, we kept our eye on the ball. No matter what we struggled with or the challenges, we knew our limits and didn’t want anything that would dent the image of the family. That way we’ve been able to keep things going as much as we can.
Apart from white outfits, what other outfit did you ever see him wear?
We made him wear safari on one of his birthdays. I never saw my father wear jeans and t-shirts. He wore suits at a very young age. I’ve seen a picture of him in a suit.
Do you remember anything that may have shocked you about your father?
No, there was nothing at all.
Was there anything controversial about him?
There was nothing. He said it as it was. There were no grey areas with my father.