Joseph Edgar has made an interesting career out of refusing to stay in one lane. The investment banker who became a theatre producer, columnist and author is perhaps just as famous for his unfiltered opinions as he is for his ambitious stage productions. Better known as the Duke of Shomolu, Edgar has brought Nigerian history to the stage through productions such as Awo, Aremu and Emotan, while using his financial background to attract corporate investment into theatre. He is outspoken, occasionally controversial and rarely short of something to say. In this conversation with Yinka Olatunbosun, he discusses his latest coffee-table book, his journey from banking to theatre, his passion for the arts and the lifestyle behind his larger-than-life personality.
Your career trajectory from investment banking to theatre producer has been quite phenomenal. Mounting ZIK and OBEY at London’s Shaw Theatre represents a major step in taking authentic Nigerian narratives to the global stage. What really motivated you into creative storytelling?
Nothing has pulled me away from Finance. I’m still a Finance man as I run a boutique advisory Firm called Barnaby & Edgar. What gives people that impression that I have left Finance is the confidential nature of advisory so the face the public sees of me is the face that promotes theatre.
Theatre is known to be largely underfunded in Nigeria. Still you had a successful run of Kashimawo in the UK. How are you able to manage with a large-scale stage production in London?
I’ve learnt some hard lessons in the spending culture of that market. The brands there would rather buy tickets than sponsor. I don’t know if it’s the general notion or it’s just my own personal experience but in my three-year sojourn, I’ve seen a lot more ticket sales than than sponsorship from that side.
It’s more than tough. We made a N12m loss this time and are still struggling to offset our debts. You can imagine paying forex debts from Naira earnings. It’s a learning curve and we are curating a new market and as such most remain patient and committed.
How do you tell stories of historical figures like Zik and cultural icons like Obey to second-generation diaspora youth and older generations in a way that blends education, entertainment with nostalgia?
For me, it is telling the stories with a lot of music and dance. Music as well as dance is the wine with which we serve the delicious meal. The songs alongside music makes digestion smooth and easy and at the end of the day, the appetite is satiated. Another thing I’ve learnt is also the level of involvement of the audience and artists. They are mostly nostalgia-driven because when we do historical plays, the audience having left these shores, are eager to see these plays to relive memories and connect with their heritage. Our December plays would be magic. We have started looking for the money. Four beautiful plays, by four beautiful female directors drawn from Kaduna, Ilorin, Asaba and Uyo. And all of them are academics with three professors and a PhD holder delivering Hafsatu, Princess Inikpi, Dein of Agbor and Makamba. It’s going to be fun this December.
Your Masterclass series tackles “Definitive Strategies in Robust Crisis & Reputational Management.” What institutional gaps do you hope to bridge with this initiative?
Strategy. Strategy is where I see these institutions failing in anticipating, engaging and muting Crisis, hence our resolve to pull people into a room to amongst others knowledge share
Drawing from your dual background in investment banking and public commentary, what is the single biggest misstep African institutions make in the first 24 hours of a public relations breakdown?
The biggest mistake they made is not anticipating it. Hence, the fire brigade approach when it happens. Serious organisations plan a crisis, prepare for it and build down and advance engagement modules to engage when it happens with no panic and these structures can also be deployed even with Crisis that blind sides the organisation. When you don’t prepare for it, it blindsides you and you find yourself running from pillar to post, worsening the case and damaging more things than even the crises.
How do you teach leaders to effectively push back against hostile public narratives without escalating reputation damage?
The International Masterclass in Crisis Management and Reputational Management was designed to provide a unique platform for robust knowledge sharing, engagement and dissection of crisis management indices by key decision takers from all sectors of human endeavour so I feel our leaders need this session at this time especially because of the way they approach crises. You see when a crisis erupts, you see various press releases, ill-trained spokesmen jumping in and worsening the case. All sorts of people jump in including family members and the person in question sweating and trying to explain. At the end of the day, Nigerians are short-changed, reputation is damaged; brand productivity and bottom line is hit. This is why we decided to pull together the richest crop of experts to assist in building an internationally accepted module of crises and reputational management.
Hosting the Masterclass across both Abuja and London bridges public governance and international strategy. How do you adapt the curriculum to suit the high-stakes environment of policy makers in Nigeria’s capital versus executives in global finance hubs?
Initially, we planned the class for our political class hence the choice of Abuja. But then, we started getting serious interests from our private sector friends then we expanded it. London is one of the international dimensions of the masterclass so that our attendees would have the beautiful luxury of comparing notes with international experts. Also, they would have practical experience through visitation and engagement with iconic international institutions and their crisis management team. The class has been designed for key decision takers in both public service, private service and governance. It is also perfect for reputation managers, brand custodians, communications experts, crisis managers and PR Specialists. What you would be leaving the session with would be a more expansive and matured approach towards anticipating a crisis, engaging it and very importantly muting it while still safeguarding reputation which is very key.
You have described Maddtimes as a mapping of power and influence built around the premise that structural power in Nigeria has failed. How does the book define “charismatic power,” and what qualified an individual for the Maddtimes Power List?
We put together a group of very prominent sector experts who contributed very powerful essays on power and influence in every conceivable aspect of Nigerian life. We got contributions from such diverse people as the Olu of Warri, Prof Koyinsola Ajayi SAN, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Gov Tunde Fashola, Atedo Peterside, Tonye Cole e.t.c
They were 50 and their 50 essays formed the first part of the book and they now chose the 100 people that they considered the very powerful and influential people in the country.
Why did you choose the lavish, coffee-table book format to deliver such a sharp critique of power dynamics in contemporary Nigeria?
The book is a compendium and hits people differently. It’s a deep knowledge trove. A reference book, a book of satirical profiles and a book of beautifully made satires; all made in the finest *craftsmanship that you can think of.
- Between staging historical drama, training corporate executives in crisis control, and documenting political influence in print, how do these seemingly disparate projects connect under your overall mission as the “Duke of Shomolu”? The thread is influence and how to deploy that towards positive impact and outcomes.
Looking ahead, how do you plan to leverage the intersection of theatre, crisis management, and publishing to build a lasting institutional platform for African storytelling and strategy?
No bigger ambitions. I’m just having fun with my life, thinking and executing these projects. It’s all fun.
