I have continued to be intrigued by the sheer relentless capacity and survival instincts of the entity called OANDO, navigating boisterous corporate waters where others of its ilk merely quivered and withered.
OANDO has meant different things to different people, starting with its name, to what it represents. These varying perspectives have straddled its landscape over time, with rising consternation. The more you look, the more you have to look!
A daring and audacious entity that it is, OANDO has unsettled all known nuances and removing or causing to be removed both corporate and regulatory lids that traditionally held sway in the market. I recall with tepid nostalgia how it held the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the jugular to a standstill in a bid to coast home with its own wishes culminating into legal tussles that eventually saw it having the best of the day: a case of the “Regulated regulating the Regulator” of sorts!
While the obtuse dance continued in the legal arena, calls were made for some form of amicable resolutions, which some of us then preferred, in order to protect the sanctity, or should I say the declining drift, of our market. The rest of that lives with us in our memories.
Two critical issues the Managers of OANDO need to be reminded of, whether as a Listed or “Delisted” entity are as follows: Firstly, Trust is at the heart of all relationships, and in this particular instance, Corporate Trust. A Trust deficit intuitively comes with huge and crippling costs that can sometimes be without recovery.
It appears to me that the market today remains largely uncertain about the level of trust to ascribe or attribute to OANDO, and this calls for grave concern, as was hitherto identified and highlighted by some of us.
Secondly, the Company should do all that is necessary to ramp up its image in the market place beyond their internal view of themselves!
I was musing over my private notes recently, and I came across a personal commentary I had scribbled in my diary, following a visit by the Company (OANDO) to the Exchange for Facts Behind the Figures, long before SEC came hard on it, suspending its Board of Directors and appointing an Interim Board.
This is what I found, & is hereby transcribed verbatim : ” a company in perpetual metamorphosis – on the one side, it does appear positive in terms of response to stimulus, while on the other side, and indeed, the weightier one for that matter, the level of exhilaration seems to reside only in the bellies of the Board and Management of the enterprise called OANDO, but non other”.
These are the issues at the heart of an average Investor in OANDO!
As we painstakingly await the Court’s decision on October 10th, 2023 (providing there be no further adjournment) on its Scheme of Arrangement, the rule of thumb needs be applied. It is my considered opinion that we remain hopeful for the best outcomes, but it is equally incumbent on all to remain circumspect.
The Elephant in the Room must of neccesity cease to operate like a Masquerade in the Village Square and awaken its sleepy beauty to the nostalgic beholding, not only by its insiders but all close and distant bystanders. Our Mantra still calls on all participants in the Market to not only dance, but be prepared to “dance naked” in the Marketplace!
Andrew Tsaku
Kapital Care Securities Ltd
