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22 | The Lion King
A
fter a Master’s degree in
Science and Technology
Accounting and Finance
from the University of Abidjan, he
started a career in banking that
has seen him work for some of
the leading banks on the conti-
nent. In August 2009, he joined
UBA Group for the establishment
of UBA Guinea and currently
holds the position of MD/CEO,
UBA Guinea.
Married to a beautiful Lady,
Malagasy and blessed with two
lovely daughters (8 and 12 years
respectively); his children are
raised in the practice of religion
because he is convinced that the
fear of God is a good basis for
education. According to him, “A
person who has the fear of God
will always behave better than
one who is only accountable to
himself”.
Drogba loves the game of
table tennis and has played it
at National level. He also loves
swimming and played basketball
during his high school and col-
lege years. He admires the game
of football and supports the
National Team of Côte d’Ivoire,
Barcelona, the Olympic Lyonnais.
He said “our generation must
be proud to have the opportu-
nity to see the skills of the best
footballer of all time; Lionel Messi.
Just like our parents talked to us
about Pele, we in turn can talk to
our children about the magical
Messi”.
Musing on his personal outlooks,
Armand Drogba appreciates
the professional or private hu-
man relationships based on
openness and honesty. He said
“Unfortunately they are often
marked with hypocrisy, malice,
manipulation, abuse of trust and
power struggle. In life it is better
to be than to seem. Nevertheless,
you can have the ambition to
become someone you admire,
but this must be done without
compromising or abusing oth-
ers”. He is also of the opinion that
if political leaders maintained
good reports, borrowing more
franchises and sincerity toward
their peers, their political oppo-
nents and their people, the world
and Africa would be far better,
the same applies to corporate
organisations.
On politics and economy, he
advocates liberalism. It is his
belief that given the level of
poverty in Africa, the continent’s
consolidated revenues must be
more wisely used not only to cre-
ate wealth but also to finance
social developmental projects.
In his words; “It is important to
first get our people out of pov-
erty through education, health,
employment, so that they will be
ready to evolve and thrive in a
truly liberal economy. Otherwise,
business opportunities and skilled
jobs that will develop our econo-
mies in a context of economic
liberalism will be for people and
investment from other parts of
the world just as it was after
independence with little or no
improvement presently”.
His gradual rise in his banking
career has been attributed to
result oriented values, his desire
to meet targets and uphold the
policies of the bank. “This type of
personality gets you noticed by
your supervisors as a key person
to think about when opportuni-
ties arise”.
Describing Guinea Conakry, its
people, landscape and culture,
Armand Drogba said that Guin-
ea has a hospitable population
with a rich culture. “Regarding
the flora and fauna, the country
is really rich”, he said “if you have
the opportunity to visit by road
you will encounter a landscape
of great beauty. In the Fouta for
example, as surprising as it can
seem, you will encounter Europe-
an climatic conditions in spring.
Guinea is blessed with abundant
natural resources such as gold,
iron, bauxite, diamond and other
Spotlight on
Armand Drogba
MD/CEO, UBA Guinea Conakry
Armand Drogba, MD/CEO, UBA Guinea; a man who likes to be described more as ‘an African’
from Ivory Coast because of the deep pan-African and Afro-optimist sentiments inherent in him,
has a strong conviction that someday, Africa will unite around a common goal and grow to
become an economic power house thereby achieving full economic and social development.
Drogba is driven by the desire to bring his modest contribution to the construction and develop-
ment of Africa in general and Guinea in particular.
by omede odekina