A TRIBUTE TO RALPH ALABI

WHILE HE WAS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF GUINESS NIGERIA,(1994-1996) I HAD THE PRIVILEDGE TO BE THE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO CHIEF ALABI.I NOW BRING TO YOU THIS TRIBUTE WRITTEN BY A RESPECTED AND SENIOR COLLEAGUE......WITH COMMENTARIES OF MINE FOLLOWING:
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tribute to Ralph Alabi
By Taiwo Obe
THE diary, pen - fountain and felt-tipped - and hard cover notebook were made for Ralph Adeola Alabi.
Those three items were effective tools in the hands of that wonderful human being who spent 45 years of his life in the House of Guinness, starting in March 1964 as a technician and retiring in June 2009 as the chairman, in a quasi-executive capacity - he went to the office once every week or so. He was the first (and only) Nigerian to be chairman of Guinness Nigeria plc after being Vice-Chairman/Managing Director and Chief Executive.
If you had a meeting with Alabi, a trained mechanical engineer, be sure that he would have his hard cover notebook open before him to take notes. With his pen - I am not quite sure he used any ink other than black. OK: he once used one with red ink to tick off some tasks he had given me to carry out for him. If you had to meet him again, then he would flip open his desk diary (or journal) and find a date convenient to both of you. Until very recently, finding a suitable date was a Herculean task because, hey!, this man's diary was always filled up with all sorts of appointments, which he gladly kept, once he had them booked. If you had a 10 O' clock appointment with him, you had better be there on time, because a few minutes late, you could be told that he was attending to some other person, and may not see you. Just as well, he would not come late to your event. Were methodical not in the English Language, because of Alabi, it would have been put there.
Niyi, his second son and third child, puts what he calls the dad's "organisational mentality" more graphically: "He is a man that planned his whole life ahead, with the hope that nothing happened to him by accident. He once told me that, as a man, 'you have to picture your life and set yourself targets.' His words: Divide your life path into four sections. The first path is your youth, that is, from birth till you turn 15 years old; from 15 years old till 30 years old; from 30 years old till 45 years old and from 45 years old till 60 years old. At the end of each period, carry out an assessment of your path to see if you have achieved your set goals."
Still, Alabi believed that there was a Divine programming for every (wo)man. In his review of Divine Deal, the book which Alabi released in 2004 to celebrate his 40 years in Guinness, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, a director of TaijoWonukabe Limited, of which Alabi was chairman, stated: "As a good Christian, Ralph Alabi believes that nothing in life happens by chance. Everything has been pre-determined by God, including the place of birth, the family which serves as a vessel to this world, colleagues, bosses and role models. The impact of these people, the places any man will go, the events that will shape his life, the pains and challenges of life has all been ordained by God."
Just about when he retired from Guinness on June 30, 2009, Alabi began to wind down from a lot of his secular activities. Evidence: his diary became less-clogged. He became more involved with matters spiritual, as a pastor of the Merciful God Ministry, a ministry dedicated to deliverance, word of God and prayer. Instead of his hard cover notebook, he had a blue bound book, where he wrote sermons, sermons and more sermons. By the last count, he was on the third volume.
But his diary was still there. Perhaps, now, someone else would have written this there; on the 11th of November, more like a postscript (PS), because he had an appointment on that day: "Ralph Adeola Alabi, born March 14, 1941. Signs off his Divine Deal today. Peacefully. A man who walks with God will always get to his destination. Safe path, RAA."
• Obe is the executive vice-chairman of TaijoWonukabe Limited

THANK YOU FOR READING THROUGH...... ADDITIONAL COMMENTARIES WILL FOLLOW IN THE NEXT POST.



Taiwo Ogunkoya
DreamsDreamer