Obinna Ekezie: Walking Tall, Flying High

Not many former Nigerian sportsmen have been able to successfully make the transition from sports to business, but not Obinna Ekezie. He lived the American dream and is now creating his Nigerian dream.

As the Guardian Life team crew waited for Ekezie in his Lekki Phase One, Lagos office, I recalled the first time I heard about ‘Waka Now‘. I was in the university and the name drew me to a banner strategically placed within the varsity’s campus, but I never thought much about the brand or the man behind the brand.

Ekezie is the C.E.O of Wakanow and he has revolutionised the travel and hospitality business with dedication, speed and a level of consistency that has made him not only a pace setter in his field but a role model to some, as well as a pillar in society (no pun intended).

Prior to Wakanow, Obinna was a renowned basketball player, drafted in the NBA and playing for teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, LA Clippers, and Vancouver Grizzlies. He also had a playing stint in three European countries.

Speaking on the sport, he said: “When I was younger; when I started getting really tall at the age 14, I was always a sports person. As my height grew, I picked interest in basketball. I started playing the game at the age of 15 and I wanted to take it to the next level.”

Wakanow is the first online travel company in Nigeria and was birthed from the travails Obinna faced traveling from Nigeria to America and vice versa. But is there any pressure being a forerunner in the online travel business?

“We are just trying to create value every day just to continue to improve our services, improve our position in the market, create new products for the travellers and solve the problem the average Nigerian traveller has on a daily basis,” said Ekezie. “That is really the challenge. We don’t really feel the pressure; we just work harder every day to improve.”

We learn every day and the best thing about learning is how diverse it is. We don’t necessarily have to be in a formal setting to allow life teach us what we need to learn to be successful. Ekezie incorporated the principles of team work and having skilled team members to grow his company. And a whole lot of it came from his time on the basketball court.

“We have been able to build a very strong team,” he continued. “We have competent people in every position in the company and that comes from my experience playing basketball. That it is important, and for you to win, you need to have a very strong team and good teammates with good attitude.”

“We have built a good culture here in the company where we are always trying to improve, and a lot of that came from my basketball background.”

Ekezie played college basketball in the United States at the University of Maryland from 1995 to 1999 before making the jump to the NBA where he was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies (now known as the Memphis Grizzlies) with the 37th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft.

He then played for five NBA teams over a seven-year period before heading off to Europe, playing in Serbia, Italy and Russia.

“I came into the NBA with a knee injury. I tore my Achilles tendon in my senior year in college,” recalled Ekezie, while describing his ‘short-lived’ NBA career, that’s if a seven-year career in the world’s toughest league qualifies to be called that.

“I personally think I would have had a much better career if injuries were not a part of it. But I thank God for the experience. If I didn’t have those, especially the last injury, I probably won’t be back in Nigeria and Wakanow won’t exist. At the end of the day I am happy for my career and the opportunity it gave me for the next phase of my life.”

Launched in 2010 and, six years down the road, still a pacesetter, one can safely say Wakanow has created a space where they are champions of their field and can contend with similar companies outside the country.

Wakanow came into Nigeria in the infant years of ecommerce platforms which gave them leverage to set the pace in the industry. So, how did they maintain their drive?

“We benchmarked ourselves against the global players in terms of service delivery, the technology and being able to provide excellent customer service. These are things that, when we came into the market, didn’t exist in the travel space. We have been the pacesetter and we try to provide a level of service that anybody would expect from the major markets in the world” Obinna said.

Just like every startup, Wakanow faced challenges and road blocks. Being a new sector, nobody believed in the vision and plan they had especially in a country with a high rate of cyber-crimes. So it took Wakanow sweat, blood and a couple of losses to rise above it.

“We had to build our credibility. We made a lot of strong efforts to appease our customers,” Ekezie recollected. “Sometimes we made losses just to make them happy because we wanted to build our credibility. It was the early stages in Nigerians booking online, and using e-commerce platforms. Credibility was the main issue but we have been able to build that trust over the period.”

Being almost seven feet tall may have its uses in the world of basketball, but it does have its problems in the fashion world. So, you might wonder what influences his style choice.

“I get most of my clothes tailor-made. In a corporate setting I would wear suits, jackets, and blazers, but I’m not really one to knot a tie unless it is a special event. On casual basis, I like traditional wear sometimes when I go for a function. When I want to relax, or go to the mall, I usually wear jeans and a shirt. I believe I am visible enough; I don’t need to get too stylish,” added Ekezie, teasingly.

Conversing with Ekezie, it was only necessary to know his philosophy and words he lives by.

“Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. Very simple,” he said, with a smile, before adding: “Best commandment in the world.”

Busy as can be expected of a man in his position, we conclude the interview with his advice to young, creative entrepreneurs.

“My advice to people today…there has never been a time in the history of mankind where you have so many platforms to be able to learn from. Gone are the days where you are restricted by the traditional way of learning; having books or sitting in a class room.

“A lot of young people that sit around and wait to gain knowledge through a formal setting are wasting time. You have to use the internet; anything you want in this world you can get online. You can download books on your phone. You can really educate yourself. For me you can educate yourself without having a formal setting.

“In terms of starting a business, I studied a lot of the most successful people in the world. So I read a lot of books on how they started their business: how do you start a business? What is the process? How to write a business plan? All those things are online; you just need to put the time in and be focused and dedicated. People spend a lot of time on things that don’t give them value and it is important that people start to focus on things that create value for them,” added Ekezie, matter-of-factly.

Your ideas are dreams till you make them practical. We are all scared of disrupting different spaces because of the road blocks we have set in our heads and not because they exist. Ekezie has proved that our ideas are valid and we can achieve as far as our minds can conceive.