I walked away from power rather than compromise my integrity —Octogenarian Eburajolo 

•Says  they called me ‘The Spoiler’ because I refused to join corruption

•Laments Nigeria ignored warnings that destroyed manufacturing

•Believes Nigeria’s greatest problem is putting personal interest above national interest

•Insists Nigeria ‘ll rise again

•Adds at 80, my greatest achievement isn’t wealth, but my reputation

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Adefolarin Adegboye

Few Nigerians have witnessed the country’s economic evolution as closely—or participated in it as actively—as Victor Eburajolo. For more than five decades, the industrial relations expert, corporate executive, manufacturing advocate and public servant occupied a front-row seat as Nigeria journeyed from an agrarian economy to industrial ambition, through the Structural Adjustment Programme, trade liberalisation, the decline of the textile industry and successive waves of economic reforms. 

Along the way, he earned a reputation for something increasingly rare in both the corporate and public sectors: an unwavering commitment to integrity.

Now, as he marks his 80th birthday, Eburajolo reflects on a lifetime of leadership, service and conviction. Speaking with the candour of a man who has little left to prove, he recounts challenging the chairman of a multinational company over the meaning of loyalty, explains why he resigned from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, rather than compromise his principles, and revisits the warnings he issued decades ago that Nigeria’s embrace of structural adjustment and global trade liberalisation, without adequate preparation, would undermine local manufacturing.

In this wide-ranging interview with Vanguard, Eburajolo offers a candid assessment of Nigeria’s economic leadership, industrial policy, labour relations,…