From setback to purpose: How my ESG journey opened unexpected paths

At the peak of my tenure as acting managing director, I was jolted by a sudden transfer, a move that felt more like a professional demotion than mere reshuffling.

My new assignment? Setting up a corporate governance, risk, and compliance system, entirely from scratch and alone. At that moment, I couldn’t help but see this as a relegation to unfamiliar territory.

I had spent years mastering audit and controls, accounting and finance, and business process reengineering, not the world of governance.

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I had built teams, balanced books, delivered results, and reshaped business operations narratives. Corporate governance therefore sounded abstract, and compliance conjured endless paperwork and a box-ticking exercise.

Embracing the unfamiliar
The first days stung with disappointment and doubt. Would this be my legacy, a solitary, thankless desk?

However, life rarely rewards brooding. Instead, I made a deliberate choice: e
Since every closed door has something to teach, I attended trainings, invested in self-study, and found mentors who had done this before.

I asked questions, learned the language, and exposed my vulnerabilities.

I soon discovered that humility is not a liability but a strength. Admitting what I did not know became the engine of my growth.

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Transforming setback into strength

Gradually, the haze lifted. I delved into understanding how to build governance and compliance frameworks and improved my risk modeling skills.

My finance background became an asset and analytical thinking turned out to be the rubicon that helped build robust systems.

Credibility in audit, business reengineering processes, controls, and transparency reassured boards and stakeholders. I learned that governance is not bureaucratic red tape; it is, simply put, the spine of institutional integrity.

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Strong risk management is not about dodging blame; it empowers leaders to navigate ambiguity.

Compliance, when properly understood, is not a checklist but a way to weave trust and endurance into the organizational culture.

Welcoming tomorrow’s challenges –ESG before its prime

My lone post soon became a platform. building governance and compliance systems made me a quiet pioneer, introducing practices that would evolve into the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) revolution years later.

I found myself drafting policies, guiding board discussions, and mentoring emerging leaders in areas that, at the time, were still seen as peripheral to business strategy.

Suddenly, being ‘sent to the sidelines’ positioned me to help organisations embrace sustainability, long before it was fashionable. The setback became the launchpad for my quiet impact. What lasts, is what we learn further in my career.

My greatest professional disappointment became my most formative chapter. The lessons learned while setting up governance and compliance systems extended well beyond my comfort zone and expertise. That solitary role unlocked a new perspective, showing me how growth is shaped not only by technical skills but by resilience, humility, and an openness to change.

Unexpected turns may never be welcome, but they are nearly always instructive. For every leader facing a setback, the invitation is the same: Treat each new door as an opportunity to learn. In doing so, the chapters once defined by doubt or discomfort may well become the ones remembered as the foundations of lasting impact.

Uade Ahimie is a chartered accountant with over 30 years experience, and pioneered ESG and corporate governance frameworks within Nigeria’s power sector and fintech ecosystem.