The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, has narrated how he became a victim of alleged state-sponsored maltreatment and human rights abuse in the Republic Benin, leading to his separation from his family for six months.
According to Mr. Blewett, he was kicked out of Benin and separated from his family for six months.
In confirming the profound, negative impact of the government of Benin’s action, he said “I have had some tough moments. The period of time when I was in Benin, there was some issues happening between MTN and the government and I was the CEO and was kicked out of the country for six months.”
He shared that “I left my family behind because it was not personal, it was business but that was quite tough for us”.
It would be recalled that
MTN Group officially refuted the government’s accusations at the time.
The Group said back then that Mr. Blewett “always showed his respect for the laws of the Republic of Benin.”
Resilience, Leadership, and A Return to Benin
Despite the professional turbulence and personal toll, the new MTN Ghana CEO stressed the invaluable leadership lessons drawn from the experience.
Being forced to work away from his family for half a year in a neighbouring country taught him profound resilience.
Crucially, the matter was eventually resolved, allowing Mr. Blewett to return to Cotonou and resume his role, where he led MTN Benin—an operation serving over 5.5 million subscribers—to record double-digit revenue growth for three consecutive years before his subsequent move to head MTN Cameroon in 2020.
The ultimate testament to the restoration of relations and his commitment to the nation is his current status.
This journey of conflict, separation, successful negotiation, and eventual naturalisation paints a vivid picture of the complex environment for multinational business leaders operating across the West African sub-region.
Source:Africa Publicity
