Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN's interim executive chairman, is unlikely to meet Nigerian authorities over the company's $5.2-billion (about R72-billion) regulatory fine without having calculated all the angles. Those closest to him describe him as the quintessential dealmaker. And after taking the lead in addressing the Nigeria question after this week's surprise departure of CEO Sifiso Dabengwa, those skills will be needed.A former senior manager who worked closely with Nhleko during his tenure as CEO between 2002 and 2011 remembers when MTN did the transformational deal to acquire Investcom's 10 operations in 2006.The Benin government had concerns about the arrangement, making the negotiations more challenging.story_article_left1"He was able to showcase what the investment means ... and paint a picture of what the MTN investment could look like and what the impact on that economy could be."Resolving this issue needs a Phuthuma-type personality, one who is not averse to engaging proactively to mitigate a bigger impact ... Sifiso was the best chief operating officer because you don't have the burden to carry the vision ."Analysts have described MTN as a monolithic business that needed a visionary leader and not necessarily an operational person.Long-term friend Pitika Ntuli, professor extraordinaire at Tshwane University of Technology, said Nhleko was the most alert brain he had met and the type of person who delivered his words not by number but by weight."He is a quantum person. He's got a renaissance mind and is able to balance contradictory things and find synergies where other people see chaos."He's not a golf-language type of a person. He is somebody you'd find at home analysing Obama, analysing Clinton ... analysing anything to the background of jazz, particularly deep jazz."story_article_right2As the MTN issue gives pause to those doing business in Africa, EY Business Centre leader Michael Lalor said political risk factors were always top of mind when people spoke about barriers to investment, but "the perception of political risk is much more acute for people who have not yet made the investment or are not yet doing business on the continent. Stitching together individual African markets into some kind of coherent set of markets that have critical mass is probably the single biggest macro challenge."When "doing business in and across the continent, one of the critical success factors is patience. It's a long-term game", Lalor said.MTN entered Nigeria in 2001 with Nhleko as chairman. The move was not welcomed by the investment community, with many highlighting the risks in a Nigeria fresh from dictatorship.Lalor said successful companies understood local dynamics."They've been around the block. More often than not they are trusted brands. They don't only have a long-term view, they reinvest in the local economy."speckmana@sundaytimes.co.za..