Book Review: Ray Zard: A Study in Uprightness and Humanitarianism
Posted By: Oloye October 30, 2018
Raymond Zard: A Study in Uprightness and Humanitarianism
Title: Ray of Hope: Gentleman of Honour
Author: Biola Layonu
Publisher: Media Reports Project, Ibadan, 2018.
Reviewer: Jare Ajayi
Do all the good you can
By all means you can
In all the ways you can
At all times you can
To all the people you can
As often as you can.
The above lines, originally penned by John Wesley, is a favourite quote of Chief (Dr.) Raymond Assad Zard, the Babalaje of Ibadanland and Baaloro of Ife, in whose honour, this 295 page book is written.
Chief Raymond Zard OFR
As we know, many people espouse a lot of lofty ideals but succeed only in reflecting these ideals in their conduct and interactions with other people. Going by the testimonies of those who had direct and indirect contacts with Raymond Zard however, it can be emphatically stated that the man who came to be popularly known as Ray of Hope exhibits the ideals he espouses very religiously. Indeed, his sobriquet, ‘Ray of Hope’ was slammed on him as a result of his kind gesture and humanitarian spirit which always ensure that whoever literally cries to him would have his tears dried by the time the man who is also otherwise called Mr. Philanthropy!
Indeed, a scholar and medical doctor, Olufemi A. Ogunlusi, in his tribute to Zard, says that one major lesson from Chief Raymond Zard’s life is that success is not about one’s acquisitions but rather about one’s ability to positively impact on his fellow man and his environment. To him, “If you want to learn about life, about handling success and disappointment, you may never find a better mentor”. – p254
Born on May 27, 1938 at Jericho Nursing Home, Raymond is the fourth child and the third son. He has a younger brother in a family that boasts of five children altogether.
Raymond was named after a Spanish who, although a relation of the king, won many souls to God and acted heroically. It was his efforts in this regard that earned him knighthood thus becoming Saint Raymond. He lived to the ripe age of 100 years before he died.
And although he is not yet knighted, the godly deeds of Raymond Assad Zard are so noteworthy that the head of the Catholics in the world, the Holy Father Francis ‘imparts the … Apostolic Blessing to’ him on the occasion of his (Zard’s) 80th birthday (pix) the same way His Imperial Majesty, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Olubadan of Ibadan gave him adulations, px .
Raymond’s parents, Assad Khalil and Latife Zard are both from Lebanon. But they sailed to Nigeria in pursuit of business. They started with cocoa business. Today, the business which began in Ibadan and Ile-Ife has grown into a big colossus under a group of companies known as Zard Holdings. Each of the family members, William, Nadia, Maurice, Elie and Lilly are involved in the business. But Raymond came to wield more influence, in part because the older ones moved to Lebanon and mainly because of Raymond’s acumen and geniality.
One interesting thing however is that in spite of his heading the conglomerate, Raymond always give unwavering credit to his family. He does this whenever there is the need for him to talk either about his business, family or even philanthropy. When being conferred with a Merit Award by the Oyo State Government in January, 1991 for instance, he stated that:
“I wish to put in a little explanation for whatever I do in my life (i.e. within the activities for which the State Merit Award has been given) is dictated, and in most cases, directed by domestic forces, the principal directors of which are in descending order: my beloved mother, Mrs. Zard; my brothers, William and Chief Maurice the Babalaje of Ibadanland; Elie and his beautiful wife Marie-Rose; my sisters, Mrs. Gamra and Mrs. Aboujaoude; my wife and children”.
Oyo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluseun Abimbola asserts that “you can hardly leave a meeting with him without being improved in wisdom, and understanding what it means to build relationships and a cross-generational legacy”.
A white-skinned person, Ray is always proud of his being born in Ibadan and being a Nigeria of Yoruba stock. The former by his large investments and activities and the latter in the language he speaks, his manner of dressing and the ethos of ‘Omoluabi’ which he exhibits as character rather than merely in speech. Indeed, four things always stand Raymond out in a gathering – his skin, his unique (Yoruba) dressing, his winsome smile (a sort of trademark) and generosity of spirit.
Through the sagacity of Zard brothers, the ‘small’ cocoa business started by their parents in the early 1930s, grew very large. Today, the conglomerate is in construction, agro-business, manufacturing, merchandizing, education to mention a few.
And so successful are Zard brothers that they can conveniently be described as billionaires. But it is not the richness that made them, particularly Raymond, a toast of the people. Rather, it is the milk of human kindness that oozes from their hearts. A former University of Ibadan Vice Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo describes Raymond Zard as representing “in every way the most attractive human face of capitalism”. P167
Indeed, Dr. Tony Marinho, himself a philanthropist and social critic of note, sees Raymond as the CRS face of Zard’s family or Zard’s business empire.
In a testament to the success of Zard’s businesses and more importantly, the humanity being exhibited, another contributor to this book, Dele Olubiyi writes that:
“Only a few men in history combine highly successful entrepreneurship with an unparalleled heart for developing individuals, building families and communities and devote a life-long commitment to advancing the good of humanity for nearly six decades and counting”. P257 Dele Olubiyi
The above statement is quite instructive given the tendency by human beings to prefer acquisition to giving out. A few remarkably rich men are known to also be outstanding philanthropists. A very few that readily come to mind are Mr. Bill and Mellinda Gate of Microsoft fame, Mark Zukerberg, Andrew Carnegie, Azim Premji, M.K.O. Abiola and Pricilla Chan among others.
It is a known fact that many rich people came into their wealth because of the opportunities they had but which many, millions perhaps, others do not have. It is the realization of this fact that led to the institutionalization of the concept, Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS). Under this concept, a business concern is mandated under the law to set aside a given per centage of its profit every year to service the public from where it made or is making its fortunes. There, however, are a few people who choose to render to the society those things that business establishments are expected to render under CRS. One of such is Raymond Zard as attested to by Professor Olufemi Ogunlusi . In his contribution as appear on page 254 of this book, he writes that “One tends to think of Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) as a spin-off of big businesses, but there is one man who has done far more than many businesses put together. I am personally aware of many people who are alive today only because of the intervention of Chief (Dr) Raymond Zard. In a similar vein, there are many who have escaped ruination because Chief Zard took interest in their matter.” P 254.
An indication that Raymond’s ‘goodness’ is from within could also be seen from the way he treated his employees. As depicted on pages 33, 44, 53 and 195, the group of companies he heads with a staff strength of over 5,000 enjoy a heart-warming industrial relations and good welfare – at least by Nigerian standards.
Fisan Bankale, a veteran journalist and communicator discloses that for the 26 years of his interactions with ‘Ray of Hope’ the gentleman “perched on the high ground occupied only by the morally upright.” P230.
Going by various adulations showered on Raymond, impressions could be created that he has no flaws nor experiences any negative aspect of life. As we know however, God has not created anyone without any fallibility. Raymond Assad Zard is not an exception.
For instance, he lost his father when he was just a teenager – when he has hardly known what the challenges of life are all about. With the grace of God, support of his mother his uncle Naim and the elder brother, William, Zard’s siblings got over the challenges such that in a matter of decades, at least two of them earned accolades and honours – Maurice as Babalaje of Ibadanland and Raymond as Balogun Babalaje of Ibadanland as well as Balooro of Ife. Incidentally, among the things for which Raymond is very proud is his biological attachment to Ibadan – “I am an Ibadanman through and through” he is never tired of affirming as amply indicated in chapter one among others.
In 1978, Raymond also suffered a life threatening illness. In his tribute, no less a person than Chief Tunde Oshobi discloses that “close friends believe that God spared his life then as compensation for his goodness towards humanity”. P240
Of course, there is no way some people would not have misgivings no matter what one does. Raymond has his own doses of these. But it was stated on page 189 that only the people who themselves have ulterior motive of crooked minds find him difficult.
“A life lesson I learned from Chief Raymond Zard is that success not about one’s acquisitions but rather about one’s ability to impact positively his fellow man and his environment. If you want to learn about life, about handling success and disappointment, you may never find a better mentor”. – Dr Olufemi A. Ogunlusi, a medical director p254
Part of what makes a study of Raymond Zard remarkable is that he was not in the act of humanitarianism and philanthropy for publicity sake. Again in the words of Professor Banjo “Quietly, he continues giving. You will not see his picture on the pages of newspapers; you will not see him indulging in conspicuous spending.” P167.
What lend further credence to Banjo’s disclosure can be found in Zard’s efforts at saving lives on the not-so-smooth Nigerian roads. As a Special Marshall, he joined hands with others to encourage drivers to use the roads well and contributed to reducing pains of accident victims among other deeds in this respect. So remarkable were his efforts here too that he got many laurels in acknowledgement.
A book with a very beautiful cover, this book under review have areas that need to be improved upon for the quality to really shine. Some of these are highlighted below not necessarily in order of importance. First is the narrative style. Readers get to know the subject more from tributes much more than from the prose of the writer/editor. The book would have been better served were the story told in a narrative form with views of contributors used to corroborate the facts presented. In same vein, the papers/tributes do not come sequentially just as some carry no date of their presentation. Those on pages 129, 174, 217 are cases in point. There can also be a section devoted to Tributes where those contributions can be published.
Also, the next edition of the book should take care of the omissions and spelling mistakes on pages 143, 168, 226 and 241.
Among the lessons that the life of the Zards teaches is the fact that the loss of one’s father early should not be a hindrance to becoming successful in life. As indicated on p47, Pa Khalid died in 1947. This point is worth underlining especially for some youths who usually wring their hands seemingly helplessly on the excuse that they do not have caring parents. By coming out with this book, Biola Layonu has surely enriched our bookshelf with the knowledge of someone from whom one can draw a lot of inspirations.
For the above reasons and more, this book Chief (Dr.) Raymond Assad Zard, OFR: Ray of Hope, A Gentleman of Honour is worth possessing and digested for its immense values.
