Odunayo Sanya is the Executive Director of MTN Foundation. She shared the story of her life with SEGUN KASALI.
Was there a pattern to your upbringing?
I was raised as a child, not a girl or a boy. My parents believed in inclusivity. It was not about gender and that made a lot of difference for me. We were raised as children who were able to aspire to whatever height we wanted. And I think that has made the difference because I don’t see myself and people through the gender lens and I think that has helped me to become the best version of myself. The values my parents passed on to us, which is the belief in one Nigeria also manifested in where we schooled. We attended school virtually across the country. So, that made me see people not through the lens of where they come from but about who they are and what they are trying to achieve.
What were the traits of your parents that you inherited?
From my dad, I took the ability to be disciplined. I learnt from him that being disciplined does not mean you are wicked. It is just that you love your environment or the people you are making decisions on their behalf. I treasure family a lot and the ability to be kind. I took that from both of them. From my mum, I am easygoing. As I was saying, those values infused into me by my parents have helped me. So, yes, I owe whoever I am today to the way I was brought up.
Did these values contribute to your excellence in academics?
Yes. I remember I sat with my dad to fill out all the forms for my university application. My parents were very involved in our education; they invested in it. They realised and told us that was the only thing they could give. Number two is that it was always about doing more. So, I usually say my passion for learning cascades from the way I was brought up.
And what was your childhood ambition?
At one point, I wanted to be a diplomat. At one point, I wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to become a lot of things. But I think, for us, our parents never sat us down to say this is what you should become. They never insisted or imposed. A lot of people asked their children to become doctors, engineers or lawyers. But no, that was not my parents. They just wanted us to turn out well. So, when I went to school, I did Political Science for my first degree.
What would you say is an unforgettable experience you had while you were studying at the University of Abuja?
There is an experience I will never forget. I took a course in History and on a particular day, I went in to write a test, but I think I read the question wrongly. So, the test was about trans-Atlantic trade but I interpreted it to be trans-Saharan trade. And so, I wrote on trans-Saharan trade. But, that was not the question the history lecturer put forward. So, he called me and said this is what I did and he told me something. He said ‘I would mark your script like I gave you a question on trans-Saharan trade.’ He said this is because ‘I have observed you and I have seen your results over time. That is the only reason I am doing this’. So, that made me conclude that if you perform excellently well, people are willing to go the extra mile for you. I never created a question in my mind after that. I took my time to read all the questions. I think that left an impression on me. It helped me to always seek clarification when I am not clear about things and it makes people ask me questions whenever they are not clear about a task they are trying to achieve.
You became a banker after university…
Yes. Having studied political science, I went to serve in a village in Cross River state. When I started looking for a job, I was getting referrals to banks, not because I deliberately selected it. Good enough, I graduated with the best result in my set then. I missed the First Class honours by 0.13. I think I wrote aptitude tests for about five banks then and eventually got into Chartered Bank back then. Chartered Bank is now part of IBTC. So, it is like a consolidation. It was not deliberate, just what I got. I had the conviction that I would do well anywhere I find myself. I had the responsibility of making sure something came out of myself. So, that was how I ended up in the bank. But, I left banking in 2005. So, I will celebrate my 20 years at MTN next year.
How has it been transitioning from a Manager to Executive Director at MTN?
At MTN, we have wonderful people and practices. So, the organisation believed in me. The organisation invests in its staff. It has nothing to do with your level. We recognise that everybody has a voice and brings a lot of ideas and capabilities. So, it is a psychologically open setting environment. That helped me to be able to participate in a lot of projects. The journey has been very interesting. But I can tell you that it was because the organisation has the framework for ensuring that we excel. And so, I joined as a manager and rose to become a senior manager and now as the executive director of the foundation. But the interesting thing is that the organisation encourages us to be very dynamic and consequently gives you a helicopter view of what the business is like. The organisation is an impact one that leverages on technology.
What about the MTN Foundation as the ED?
From day one of setting up MTN Foundation, it was clear that the focus is on how our communities get better because we are there. So, that was the belief that created the MTN Foundation. Putting legs to the mission of the organisation. Social impact is a bit more than being kind. So, the foundation is about 20 years old and it is solely funded by MTN Nigeria. It takes one percent of its annual profit after tax and of course funds from partners and like-minded organisations to scale impact and create more value for our communities.
What are the foundation’s landmark projects in the last 20 years?
In 20 years, it has impacted over 30 million people directly and over 100 million people indirectly. We have been to over 500 local governments in Nigeria out of the 774 with one intervention or the other and we expect that by next year we will have touched every local government. We have touched over 3,000 communities in Nigeria. It has been to the entire 36 states and FCT. At this point, I would like to give kudos to those who came before me. It has been interventions in the areas of health, education and others. So, the result of MTN through the foundation, over the next 10 years is that our communities remain very important because we believe that whatever we achieve as a business is more tied to the communities in which we operate. So, that commitment remains sure. We will continue to focus on sustainable development. We will continue to focus on the youth. Nigeria has a massive youth population. Next year, we will unveil our learning management software in partnership with Coursera, where Nigerian youths can learn digital skills; it is fully paid for and they don’t have to pay. Of course, we will continue with our scholarships because we believe science and technology can enable us to upskill and close the gap as a nation if properly harnessed. For women, we will continue to push the narrative to get more women into entrepreneurship in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC).
How do you relax?
Being at the foundation has enabled me to know Nigeria the more. I think I like to be in the company of my family. I like to travel with my family. I have a friend as a husband so it makes life easy. I like to read books. I like to listen to music.
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