Accolades Pour in As he Retires at 60
Dr.Kennie Obateru clocked 60 years of age on Friday September 24,2021 thereby attaining the mandatory retirement age in the public service after putting in 29 years of service in the oil and gas industry having joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1992 as a protocol/consular officer.
One distinctive part of his NNPC odyssey is that he made history as the first thoroughbred NNPC staff to emerge as its spokesperson; all others before him had been appointed from outside the Corporation.
Needless to say, it is a thing of tremendous joy and a truly humbling and fulfilling experience to have the blessing of a spotless career trajectory and to get to the point of retirement. Most people who are so blessed are humble enough to say that it is not by their power that they made it that far. The reason is that such people understand that they have limitations, weaknesses, frailties and inadequacies which ordinarily could have prevented them from achieving the level of success.
Asked by Balance Magazine about how he feels, Obateru, a model of humility and modesty, heaps praises on his former employer- NNPC- for his successes.
“I feel so fulfilled. I thank God for the opportunity to have worked in the NNPC. I was lucky NNPC gave me a lot of exposure, a lot of training, a lot of experience that really helped one to make the modicum of of accomplishment that people are crediting to one. I feel privileged. I see myself as a privileged Nigerian to have worked with the NNPC and I feel so fulfilled retiring after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60″, says Obateru.
On his success philosophy, he lists the fear of God, the golden rule and personal PR as key values “My philosophy is to carry that God that we claim to serve as the centre of our world which means we have to show love to everyone- you have to apply the golden rule where you treat people the way you want to be treated and as long as you have the fear of God and do everything being conscious of the presence of God, that is, knowing that God sees you and knows what you are doing, you want to do everything in the fear of God knowing that he is watching.”
“Professionally, I am one of the persons who believe that you can’t be a good Public Relations person for your organisation if you don’t have personal PR. So PR practice begins with you as a person. There is a very strong craving of every human being to be perceived as good. So you see people put out a sort of façade to cover who they truly are because they want to be perceived as good which means being good is good”, says Obateru.
“So it is when you manage people, have very good relationship with them, that they perceive you as someone they can trust, someone who has empathy, who is considerate, who respects other people, that’s when you can influence them, get their support and cooperation. That is at the centre of my philosophy and that is the way I look at the world generally”, he says.
Indeed, meeting him, the vibrations you get is that of a gentle, urbane, humble personality, a confident and competent professional, a rare breed without greed in a nation whose public service is literally swarming with insatiable leeches. Yours truly had a brief meeting with him a few months back, the first and as it turns out the last in his NNPC phase of life and where some others would have seen an opportunity for enrichment, he simply said “God has been good to me” and turned down the offer.
Asked by Balance Magazine his impression of Obateru, a veteran broadcaster, Public Relations icon and former spokesperson of the Corporation, Ohi Alegbe, described him in glowing terms.
Hear Alegbe, “Obateru is a good guy, kind-hearted. He is well-heeled, a thorough-bred professional. He is as good as they come because he had a background of active practice of journalism so he brought that to bear on his work at the NNPC. I worked very well with him and he handled very well. I didn’t have any problems relating with him at NAPIMS. He was upfront, forthright and showed me due regard. He is a fantastic human being”.
Mr.Sulaimon Bello who currently presides over the London office of the Corporation having taken over from Obateru in that capacity sometime last year, describes Obateru as a destiny helper to him and to many.
In a piece in honour of the retiring Public Relations guru, Bello Sulaimon wrote among other things; “ I am still in the service of the Federal Republic, therefore, I cannot say openly the supports I received from the iconic Kenny which among others from sundry senior colleagues have positioned me where I am today. As some Christians are wont to put it succinctly in recent times: he has been one of my “destiny helper”, in my career path as a public servant.
Sulaimon Bello continues “In practical terms, he is a shrewd principal. He does not believe that things just fall on peoples’ laps. To him, success is assured when your strategy is right. He is an insightful boss at that.”
“He has an aura that made things work wherever he was”, added Bello. Perhaps his secret is his friendliness and lack of airs about him which many people including media practitioners attest to and this is in spite
As rightly observed in a similar piece by an Abuja based public commentator, Obinna Nwachi,it is rare for any occupant of the office of the spokesperson of the NNPC to leave office with so much goodwill and accolades, the way Obateru has done.
In Nwachi’s words, “The job of managing the image and reputation of a company that many love to hate and others hate to love, is no mean task.”
Nwachi quotes Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (NEITI), on Obateru’s style and professionalism, as saying that “It is with mixed feelings I learnt about Kennie’s retirement. Kennie Obateru is a very tall man, taller in ideas but tallest in competence and integrity. He’s a man of details, learns lessons from opportunities and from the ups and Bellodowns of life. We had a smooth working relationship with the NNPC during his tenure and it was all due to his style.”
Obateru, an accomplished public and media relations expert grew through the ranks in Nigeria’s oil and gas giant – NNPC – holding such key positions as Deputy Manager, Media Relations, Group Public Affairs Department; Manager, Media Relations, GPAD, Manager, Public Affairs, Port Harcourt Refinery.
He was also Manager, Public Affairs, NAPIMS-NNPC and also General Manager/Head NNPC London Office .He was promoted to the position of Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the first quarter of the year 2020.
Dr. Kennie Obateru holds a certificate in news reporting, a Bachelors degree in Performing Arts and a Masters degree from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba in Lagos, University of Ilorin, Kwara State and University of Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom respectively.He was awarded a doctorate in Management [Honoris Causa], by the Commonwealth University, Belize in 2012.
Obateru, member of the international Public Relations Association, is a senior member of the Africa Public Relations Association as well as a member of both the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Nigerian Institute of Management.
Bello goes on to offer prayers for infinite mercies, wisdom and favour for Dr. Kennie Obateru.
“As you leave the NNPC system, my prayers are that you continue to find favours from your Lord.That God in His infinite mercies continue to protect you and your loved ones and he continues to give you the wisdom to live your life happily and endow you with good health.” And I cannot but say A big Amen to that.
“Now you may rest, even if for a while having delivered as destiny helper to hundreds of your subordinates”, says Bello in his last line.
Indeed Dr. Obateru looks to me as ready to ‘refire’ not retire and he is wished the very best in this new phase of his life as reward for all his goodness.
This piece was first published in the Balance Magazine September 2021 edition.