Nigerian industrialist Dr. Cosmas Maduka has encouraged entrepreneur Dr. Stephen Akintayo to remain resilient amid the controversy involving former staff of his GText businesses, drawing on his own experiences with business crises, legal challenges and reputational difficulties.
In a message shared about his conversations with Akintayo, the founder of Coscharis Group said he had experienced serious challenges throughout his business journey, including allegations against him and legal troubles arising from the actions of an employee. He said these experiences had helped him understand the pressure entrepreneurs face when business difficulties become public. “Challenges are the food of champions as they say,” Maduka stated, expressing confidence that Akintayo could emerge stronger from the current situation. Source
Cosmas Maduka Shares His Business Challenges With Stephen Akintayo
Maduka said Akintayo had shared many of his business decisions and challenges with him. According to the industrialist, he responded to the current staff controversy by reminding the entrepreneur that difficult experiences can form part of the realities of building a business. Reflecting on his own past, Maduka said he had previously faced accusations relating to the importation of money and a case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) before he turned 35. He said he engaged a lawyer, fought the case and won.
He also recalled being detained at the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Enugu after an employee allegedly defrauded 56 traders. Maduka said he was sued under the legal principle of vicarious liability, which can, in certain circumstances, make an employer legally responsible for an employee’s actions. “I was the one who suffered for what my staff created,” he said, describing the personal and reputational consequences of the incident. These accounts are Maduka’s recollections of past events; the specific details of the legal cases were not independently verified for this report.
Maduka Says Business Crises Can Become Turning Points
The businessman said his journey had included recurring periods of crisis, which he described as occurring approximately every seven years. According to him, the company emerged bigger and better after those difficult periods. Maduka also said the public attention surrounding his earlier troubles was different because social media was not as prominent at the time. He recalled that newspapers reported the incidents, which he said caused embarrassment.
He used the experience to encourage Akintayo to look beyond the immediate pressure of public criticism and concentrate on how he could address the challenges facing his businesses. Maduka’s central message was that a crisis does not necessarily determine the final outcome of an entrepreneur’s journey. He argued that resilience and the ability to recover can shape a business’s long-term direction.
What Cosmas Maduka Said About the GText Staff Controversy
The encouragement comes amid public complaints by former GText employees concerning outstanding salaries, alleged workplace treatment and other employment-related issues. A Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) report published on October 6, 2026, documented allegations from former employees, including claims concerning unpaid salaries and pension deductions. GText, in a response reproduced in the report, disputed allegations made against the company and characterised the online complaints as misleading.
Akintayo subsequently addressed the controversy during an Instagram Live discussion with business coach Dr. Olumide Emmanuel, where he apologised to people who felt hurt and discussed the dispute. A report by Africentra published on October 11 covered the exchange. The allegations and the company’s response remain distinct claims, and Maduka’s message does not independently establish whether every outstanding employment or pension issue has been resolved.
Against this backdrop, Maduka’s message focuses on the pressure of managing a business when employee disputes and public criticism threaten to overshadow its wider operations.
“This One Will Only Make Him Bigger and Better”
Maduka expressed confidence that Akintayo could overcome the current difficulties, comparing the situation with the crises he said he had experienced in his own business career. “Even this one will only make him bigger and better just like I have been,” he said. He also offered a pointed observation about public perceptions of success, suggesting that some people who criticise successful entrepreneurs may later celebrate them after their difficulties have passed. “What people call success is people trying to kill you and after they failed, they come back to celebrate you,” Maduka stated.
His remarks frame business resilience as the ability to withstand pressure, learn from setbacks and continue building despite criticism. However, the statement represents his personal perspective on entrepreneurship and public scrutiny rather than a verified assessment of every criticism directed at Akintayo.
Coscharis Group Founder Draws on Decades of Entrepreneurship
Maduka founded Coscharis Motors in 1977, initially focusing on automobile spare parts before the business expanded into a diversified Nigerian conglomerate with interests across several sectors. The company’s official profile describes its operations as spanning areas including automobiles, information technology, agriculture, medical products and food and beverages.
The long-running business provides context for Maduka’s emphasis on endurance and recovery. His message to Akintayo draws on his experience building an enterprise through difficult periods and his belief that setbacks do not have to be the end of a business story. For entrepreneurs watching the GText controversy, the episode also highlights the challenges of managing employees, responding to public complaints and protecting business credibility during a dispute. Ultimately, Maduka’s message to Akintayo is one of encouragement: business crises can be painful, but he believes an entrepreneur’s response to adversity can influence what comes next.
