News
Leo Stan Ekeh and the Price for Success

By Adesh Kalpesh
Recently, there has been a sudden burst of corporate blackmail aimed at one of Africa’s most illustrious entrepreneurs, Leo Stan Ekeh.

Leo Stan Ekeh
Most appalling is the pettiness and clear lack of intelligence displayed by the clique of blackmailers and their hirelings.
It got me thinking about how much premium Africans place on their brightest and best, especially those who by sheer dint of hard work, tenacity, courage to dare the odds, have chiselled their way from the lowest nadir of their enterprise to the top of it.
Leo Stan, as he’s simply called, is in this class of rare African achievers. And he did it in the mentally-engaging and knowledge-demanding Information Communications Technology, ICT, turf.
I knew Leo Stan decades back in his undergraduate days at the Panjab University, Chandigarh, one of the oldest universities in India established since 1882.
At that time, there was a sizeable sprinkling of African students in India and Panjab University was no exception.
I had a good number of Africans at that time as friends and acquaintances. But young Leo Stan was special. He was gregarious, affable and outgoing.
It was easy to notice him in a crowd: rangy and endowed with gift of presence. Besides his imposing height, you could tell from the manner he got going with the cosmopolitan university community that he’s cut out for the big stage.
Most people knew him as Leo Stan; only a few knew his full name, Leonard Stanley Ekeh.
He was a man on a mission whose genial and studious disposition tells you he was not there just to add to the number.
The quest for knowledge and a burning desire for self-discovery drove him into the hallway of adventure. He soon distinguished himself both socially and academically to earn the respect of fellow Africans and recognition from the university authorities.
In no time, he was leader of the African students’ contingent in Panjab and instantly became their voice in the university community.
At that time, India had already become the breeding ground for outliers. Graduates from Indian universities got straight employment at Microsoft, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and other top corporations across the United States and Europe.
Some others got straight into entrepreneurship and made a success of it.
Such was the high profile of Indian universities noted for their lavish infusion of numerate skills into their curriculum.
It was therefore no surprise to me when many years after, the name Leo Stan became a household name in Africa ICT ecosystem.
The man I once knew as a restless, zesty African student has turned his energy to creating values, creating wealth and jobs for many.
Rather, what has come to me and perhaps others who knew him and have followed his life’s odyssey from India to United Kingdom and back to Africa, as a surprise is the desperation by his own people to pull down the man who gave Africa a voice in the global ICT space, an area where India has become a global force. India has created tech billionaires in this century.
The Shiv Nadar family, Azim Premj family, Jay Chaudhry, Byju Raveendran among others make up this list of worthy Indians. Some of these entrepreneurs just like Leo Stan and many others across the world built their businesses from the scratch. Indians can tell their story.
They praise them for their industry and stellar example. They don’t blackmail them for being successful or try to pull them down.
These tech entrepreneurs play critical roles as enablers of India economy. For this, the government and the people protect them. This is what is lacking in Africa.
Those who show capacity to create wealth through entrepreneurship are often left to the vagaries of jealous competitors and atrocious blackmail from those who are failing and even those who have failed in their businesses.
Trying to link Leo Stan and any of the companies associated with his name to unhealthy corporate governance smacks of desperation and primitive show of disrespect for a man whose collateral is integrity.
Any African who plays big in the Africa ICT marketplace knows that without integrity, you cannot have as much as a handshake with global brands like Microsoft, Apple, HP, Samsung, among others.
It’s the nature of ICT. Here, the game is not measured by the depth of your pocket.
It’s a function of trust, your capacity to make your word your bond. This must reflect on how much of technical competence you have, enough to keep your technology and service ready, functional and available.
Leo Stan had long established all this and it’s to his credit that Microsoft, Samsung, HP, Apple and others have not only established strong technical presence in Nigeria which has led to knowledge transfer to young Nigerian techies, but has also created thousands of direct and indirect jobs across different demographics and human resource cadres.
So, why blackmail such a man? Why try to pull him down just because he has succeeded where many failed?
Success is not served on a platter. For a man who has built a world-class African brand, Zinox, as a counterfoil to the dominance of exotic brands, national and continental garlands ought to be his reward, not a blizzard of unintelligent blackmail.
At the twilight of last year, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the prestigious National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) award on Leo Stan, Oba Otudeko, Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu and other distinguished Nigerians.
This is how to reward your best. India has similar reward system, a roll call of national honours.
It’s to encourage those who have helped to build the society through industry, service and philanthropy.
Shiv Nadar, for instance, holds the Padma Bhushan award for “distinguished service of a high order”. Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in India.
My long stay in Africa has exposed me to the treachery in corporate Africa. Corporate blackmail is everywhere in the world but it’s how institutions of government handle it that makes all the difference.
African governments must do more to protect their shining stars in entrepreneurship.
In spite of the rash of blackmail against Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and other mega-corporations., the US government still finds a way to protect them just so they will keep them going and protect millions of jobs allied to them.
Nigerian government must strive at all times to protect the likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Tony Elumelu, Leo Stan Ekeh, Oba Otudeko and others. These are genuine African brands who have shattered all ceilings and erased all stereotypes about the capacity of Africans to do great things.
Hilary Hinton, more popularly known as Zig Ziglar, the American inspirational author and salesman, once made a poignant statement which should be a soothing balm for successful people.
He said: “You do not pay the price of success, you enjoy the price of success.”
Leo Stan and all those who have been and are being blackmailed should ‘enjoy’ the discomfort of blackmail while it lasts. As we say in India, let the problem build you, not break you.
- Mr. Kalpesh writes from Accra, Ghana
News
FG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop

Federal government may lose $4 million from a World Bank loan after failing to get a pass mark on key audit standards in its revenue-generating agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service.
This is according to a World Bank restructuring paper dated June 2025.
The amount, which is the equivalent of around N6.2 billion with an exchange rate of N1,568 per dollar, could have helped to address one of Nigeria’s infrastructural deficits.
The fund formed part of the $103 million Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, a public financial management initiative financed through a credit facility from the International Development Association.
Accordingly, the revenue assurance audit covering the FIRS and Customs for the 2018 to 2021 financial years was assessed as not achieved because the reports submitted did not meet international auditing standards.
“Revenue assurance audit of Main Income Generating Agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service for FY 2018–2021, with an allocation of $4m.
“These Intermediate Results to be implemented by the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation were assessed as not achieved by the Independent Verification Agent because the reports submitted for verification did not meet the requisite international auditing standards.”
Also, the unsuccessful audit was one of ten performance-based conditions under the project that the government could not deliver before the closing date of June 30, 2025. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Finance formally requested the cancellation of $10.4 million in project funds.
“The FMF has requested cancellation of $0.9m of unused funds for technical assistance and $9.5m, which is the amount allocated to 10 performance-based conditions, which will not be achieved by the close of the project on June 30, 2025,” the document read.
Further analysis shows that $4.5 million was tied to the uncompleted Revenue Assurance and Billing System, while $1 million was allocated to the development of a National Budget Portal.
According to the document, the Budget Office of the Federation, which was responsible for the portal, did not submit any evidence of achievement. In addition, $0.9 million in technical assistance funding was left uncommitted and has also been cancelled.
News
CDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers

Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has warned job seekers to be wary of fraudsters circulating inappropriate recruitment information.
The warning came against the backdrop of social media publications that President Bola Tinubu has ordered massive recruitments into some government agencies.
The agencies listed in the report were the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS)..
The agencies are all under the Ministry of Interior, headed by Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
However, while responding to the reports, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) cautioned Nigerians against falling into the traps of job racketeers.
The Board acknowledged a Presidential approval for the recruitment of personnel in the four (4) Paramilitary Services under its purview, but insisted that due process would be followed on the matter.
Major Gen. Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), board secretary, said in a statement that “there are series of processes which leads to the actual recruitment exercise.”
“The Board wishes to reiterate that for all its recruitment processes, appropriate notifications would be done via adverts in the national dailies and it would be carried out in a fair and transparent process devoid of payment of any fee.
“To this effect, members of the public should be weary of the activities of recruitment racketeers who may want to take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers to rob them of their hard-earned resources”, Gen Jibrin said.
News
Concerned Nigerians Ask EFCC to Release Abiodun, CBEX Promoter

Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme, who voluntarily surrendered to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in April following a ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is still languishing in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.

Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme,
Concerned Nigerians who have been following the matter have urged the EFCC to release him unconditionally since he honoured their invitation without being arrested.
The court had approved the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain six individuals connected to the scheme, including Abiodun.
Alongside Abiodun, five other individuals—Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, Seyi Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim—were declared wanted by the EFCC for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent investment scheme, which was valued at over $1 billion.
Fadila Yusuf, EFCC’s legal counsel, had submitted evidence that led to their public declaration as wanted individuals.
After the announcement, Abiodun, who was shocked by the declaration, alongside his legal team, presented himself to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, expressing his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
Babatunde Busari, his legal counsel, explained that Abiodun’s decision to submit voluntarily was made in order to clear his name and address the media narratives circulating about the case.
Despite the return of investor funds and CBEX’s assurance that withdrawals would be allowed by June 25, Abiodun has been in detention for over a month, triggering speculation about the EFCC’s high-handedness and rights abuse.
His legal team is now advocating for his release on administrative bail, emphasizing that the ongoing detention is unwarranted under the circumstances since he submitted himself for investigation.
According to one of the family sources, “Keeping him in a cell for over one month would send a negative signal to other Nigerians who would be declared wanted by the EFCC in the future. It would discourage Nigerians who have clear cases from surrendering themselves voluntarily to security agencies if, at the end of the day, they don’t receive mutual respect for surrendering themselves.”
He added that CBEX is not a Ponzi scheme.
Reacting to the agitation by concerned Nigerians, Dele Oyewole , EFCC spokesman hinted that the agency obtained a remand order to keep him beyond 48 hours.
According to him, “Anybody that we are holding beyond 48 hours, be rest assured that we have a lawful remand order from the magistrate court to hold him beyond 48 hours.
“We are a law-abiding commission. Concerning that suspect, we are holding him on the basis of that remand order.”
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