Below are 15 facts about Mr. Tope Shonubi, Executive Director of Sahara Group gleaned from his recent interview with Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Lagos

1. He was the ‘youngest individual in President Obasanjo’s cabinet in 1999’
2. His ‘company provides electricity for 1 in every 5 Nigerian home’
3. He ‘accepts part responsibility for the state of Nigeria’s power’
4. He ‘works in more than 34 countries in Africa’
5. He believes in the paradigm that ‘his job is not done until THE job is done’
6. He thinks ‘a room is too big to host all the critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s power value chain – he prefers that the individuals be put in a wardrobe. That way they smell each other, breathe each other, touch each other and come up with THE solution’
7. He is convinced that ‘the biggest theft of electric power in Nigeria comes from areas where there is 100% metering’
8. He believes ‘nothing successful is perfect; it is a continuously developing process’
9. He recommends ‘ambidexterity – the capacity to solve current problems and plan for the future at the same time’
10. He does not believe he is a He thinks he does not have ‘the skills to lead people. What he does very well is directing people because he takes time to study what the issues are, what the problems are, then looks for people who can deliver the right messages’
11. ‘In the last three months,’ he broke a personal record, which he had not broken in the last 20 years! He ‘stayed in the same place for more than three weeks!’
12. Covid-19 has made him ‘realize how empty certain things were in his life’
13. Until recently, he never once sat in the balcony of the house he built over 18years ago
14. He didn’t ‘plan for any of the success he has today; he simply told himself he would never get complacent’
15. Long ago, it was about making money but now it is about making a difference.’