L-R: Former SMEDAN Director General and author, Olawale Fasanya; Katsina Deputy Governor, Farouk Lawal; Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, Hon Jabiru Tsauri and the immediate past CEO of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe during the book launch in Abuja on Thursday. Photo credit: Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis
Former Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Dr Olawale Fasanya, has revealed that many people considered him “mad” when he voluntarily left a lucrative position at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund for a significantly lower-paying job at SMEDAN.
Fasanya disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the public presentation of his autobiography, Cradle to Saddle, in which he reflected on the sacrifices and career decisions that culminated in his appointment as the agency’s chief executive.
According to him, he walked away from a monthly salary of about N1.2m, first-class travel privileges and other perks at PTDF to accept a position at SMEDAN that paid less than N300,000.
“Some people thought I was mad by leaving a job that actually paid roughly about N1.2m and went back to a job that pays less than 300,000 in SMEDAN. Then, I was in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund. Of course, you know the kind of salary they pay, and I was at the level of a general manager.
