When Will Shell MD Mutiu Sunmonu’s Tenure End?

When Lord Acton observed that “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely…,” he also stated that “Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority…” Folks have begun to mull over Acton’s sentiments and are featuring former Shell MD Mutiu Sunmonu in their ruminations. It all ends with the question: when will the tenure of Mutiu Sunmonu end?

The last time the tidings of former Shell MD and current Chairman of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Mutiu Sunmonu, crossed from industry and finance to society, it was all about his wedding to a former colleague. That news won people’s attention because Sunmonu had lost his first wife, Funmi, to cancer a few years prior, and it was assumed that no other woman could take her place. But Sunmonu’s aforementioned former colleague did, and so folks were willing to concoct stories around the affair. And now? Why is Sunmonu’s name in the gossip columns of society news? Why are folks interested in the date of his retirement?

According to eyes in high places, Sunmonu has proved himself to be a man driven by his own interests. This is the conclusion to a saga about Sunmonu’s alleged betrayal of a friend and how the latter lost a well-thought-out plan and opportunity because he had confided in Sunmonu.

Allegedly, this colleague and friend of Sunmonu informed him of his intention to acquire more Julius Berger shares and increase his fortune. Sunmonu then reportedly invited others to do the same, snatching the fruits, as it were, from his friend. And so, unexpectedly, their friendship broke apart. And folks got wind of it. Thus, folks have cast Mutiu Sunmonu as the emissary of disloyalty and so are very interested in the end of his tenure as Chairman of Julius Berger Nigeria. (All things being equal, Sunmonu will leave the chair this year.)