The Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye, has urged Nigerian business leaders to prioritise trust, integrity and accountability, describing them as essential to sustainable business growth and national economic development.
Olaoye, who is the Chairman of Great Place to Work Nigeria, made the call at the inaugural Trust Economy Leadership Summit 2026, where he challenged corporate leaders to build organisations that earn the confidence of employees, customers, investors and other stakeholders.
In a statement issued by Great Place to Work Nigeria on Saturday, the monarch said Nigeria had never lacked ambition, noting that entrepreneurs were building businesses, professionals pursuing excellence and investors seeking opportunities.
He, however, identified trust as a critical factor separating organisations that merely survived from those that thrived.
According to him, trust remains the foundation of enduring institutions, connecting leaders with employees, organisations with customers, and businesses with investors.
“Trust is no longer merely a virtue to be admired. It is a strategic asset to be intentionally cultivated by every organisation. And that responsibility begins with the leadership of that organisation,” Olaoye said.
The monarch noted that workplaces played a significant role in shaping the character, attitudes and capabilities of Nigerians, stressing that building great organisations was an essential part of nation-building.
He explained that organisations with strong trust cultures were better positioned to promote collaboration, innovation, employee engagement and accountability, while those with weak trust cultures risked disengagement, poor execution, rising costs and declining competitiveness.
Olaoye urged business leaders to look beyond financial performance, market share and innovation to examine the workplace cultures they were creating and the legacy they intended to leave for future generations.
“Trust begins with leaders through what they say and then what they do, what they tolerate and how consistently their actions really match what they say,” he said.
He added that employees closely observed how decisions were made, success rewarded, failure handled and accountability enforced, noting that such practices could either strengthen or weaken confidence in leadership.
The monarch said the inaugural Trust Economy Outlook 2026 was designed to encourage business leaders to examine the relationship between organisational culture, leadership credibility and long-term enterprise value.
He added that the benefits of building high-trust organisations extended beyond individual businesses to families, communities, productivity, investment and Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Earlier, the Senior Pastor of Jesus House, Washington, DC, Pastor Kayode Pitan, described the summit as a strategic partnership between the Networks Business Club and Great Place to Work Nigeria to promote responsible business leadership and national development.
Pitan said organisations did more than generate revenue, describing them as platforms for developing talent, transmitting values and building institutions capable of strengthening society.
He also described trust as an economic asset and the foundation of effective leadership, arguing that organisations with strong trust cultures were better positioned to encourage collaboration, innovation and resilience.
“Where trust is high, collaboration accelerates, innovation thrives, and organisational resilience multiplies. Where trust is absent, politics replace productivity, and even the most brilliant strategies eventually collapse,” he said.
He urged participants to see the summit as the beginning of a sustained leadership conversation and apply the lessons from the discussions to their respective organisations.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Networks Business Club, Mr Earnest Ebi, said trust had become increasingly important amid rapid technological changes, shifting workforce expectations and mounting economic pressures.
Ebi, who drew on his experience in banking and the corporate sector, said competence alone was insufficient to sustain successful organisations without character and integrity.
“Opportunities may open doors, but only trust keeps that door open,” he said.
He likened trust to a glass ball, explaining that although broken relationships could sometimes be restored, the damage caused by a breach of trust could be difficult to reverse.
Ebi said Nigeria’s competitiveness depended on the integrity and performance of its institutions, adding that a stronger culture of trust could help retain talent, improve governance and enable local businesses to compete globally.
He also announced plans to unveil the first volume of a compendium documenting lessons from executive sessions organised by the Networks Business Club.
Ebi urged business leaders to reflect on the kind of organisations they were building and whether those institutions could withstand future economic and operational challenges.