By Williams Orji
It is yet another April 29, when the galaxy and firmaments of heavens open to usher in the birthday remembrance of one of Nigeria’s best.
The tales that come with the life and time of Dr. Mike Adenuga, have been an evolving one; one that defines logic from a man whose destiny was predestined to be great and equally imbedded in enshrined platter of hard work, strategic business thinking, boardroom maneuvering skills, with cumulative positive results that go with them.
While some call him The Guru of our time, others homily refer to him as The Bull, even as many corporate watchers placed him well ahead of the list of billionaires as played up by Forbes Magazine in their billionaires list, Dr. Mike Adenuga is in a class of his own and therefore, it is inconceivable to actually put him in the same sentence or list as any of the others. He is without doubt, Africa’s richest man till date.
Arriving on this is as simple as ABC. Adenuga, unlike many so-called Forbes billionaires, has an intimidating wealth that is in the realm of speculations, and privately-owned; making him to stand out as a man who can beat his chest any day, anytime, that his companies are truly his, wholesomely. Also many of his companies are not quoted on the stock exchange, making it hard to estimate his true worth.
A visionary Leader who consistently demonstrated a unique blend of vision, leadership, and innovation, Mike Adenuga’s humility, pedigree, magnanimity, wealth that anchors on portfolio of investments, have remained the path to his many breakthroughs in business and boardroom acquisitions.
Climbing the ladder to the top wasn’t for the faint-hearted in a world where the wolves eat the wolves to remain relevant. But Adenuga’s match to success started in earnest when he finished his studies in the United States. He returned to Nigeria to join his mother’s business. It was under his mother’s tutelage that he learnt the basic business skills from the family’s trading outlets like the saw mill factory. He later went into car stereos business.
However, his magic touch and perhaps his overseas sojourn in America helped in honing his business skills, as the family business began to take a lead in the importation of saw mill equipment.
He later hit it big in the then Nigeria business environment when he veered into the importation of beer and lace materials. By the time he turned 26 years, Mike Adenuga Jr. had already become a millionaire in all standards.
As he grew older with more financial muscle, he decided to streamline his operations and look for investments in key sectors of the economy to concentrate on. That was how he began to structure the Mike Adenuga Group where he is Chairman.
And such opportunity came during the regime of General Ibahim Babangida, the former military President of Nigeria, who, during his regime, decided to break the monopoly of foreigners in the oil industry and encouraged Nigerians to participate. The ever strategic Adenuga saw the opportunity and took a shot at it through his company, the Consolidated Oil, of which the company was granted some oil blocs. As risky as the business venture was then, Adenuga spent over $100 million on evaluation, interpretation and drilling of the new oil wells. Luckily, the risk he took then paid off, despite his mother’s advice, as Consolidated Oil became the first Nigerian company to explore, discover and produce oil in large commercial quantities.
Consolidated Oil started consolidating on many fronts by acquiring the moribund National Oil and Chemicals Company (NOLCHEM) in 2000, when it took over the Federal Government’s majority shares.
The acquisition propelled him to inject fresh funds into NOLCHEM, and eventually, he renamed it Conoil Plc. Till date, Conoil Plc has become a market leader in petroleum products marketing including aviation fuels in Africa, with over 500 retail outlets all over Nigeria, earning acknowledgment as a leader of development in modern retail outlets such as mega stations and non-space pumps in new retail outlets.
Consolidated Oil has equally metamorphosed into a leading indigenous oil and gas exploration and producing company.
His foray into telecommunication turf was another stamping edge that shows that Adenuga is truly on a class of his own when it comes to finding water in a wilderness of the unknown as far as new business exploration is concerned.
With the coming of his telecommunication company, Globacom, and with a goal of giving Nigerians and Africans world class telecommunication services, Adenuga’s entry strategy was to be innovative and aggressive, therefore, he began by pioneering a new price regime that revolutionized the industry.
When he came on board in the telecomm business, he had a mission to ensure that Nigerians benefit from telecom services in a way that does not eat deep into their pockets. So, while starting on a pinnacle of waging a price war with other established telecom companies who had hitherto been taking advantage of monopoly to suck Nigerians dry, Adenuga consolidated the fight on the price war, and Nigerian began to enjoy what is now known as Per-second-billing system in the telecommunication market. This led to other goodies that followed in the industry, like democratizing and demystifying other telephone services. This ultimate service to the people and the country has taken Globacom from the nadir to the zenith of the industry.
Apart from launching operations on per-second-billing, which ensured that subscribers only pay for actual time spent on a call instead of the practice of billing customers N50 per minute even when the call cuts off at just 2 seconds, It also crashed the cost of SIM cards from N30,000 to N6,999 and later N100, thereby making it possible for low income earners, students and artisans to own GSM lines.
The African giant, Glo, was the only operator in Africa to launch its operations on the superior 2.5G network which enabled the convergence of voice, data and multimedia technologies.
The network currently has a vast network of already laid fibre crisscrossing all parts of the country which goes a long way in ensuring that the Federal Government’s desire for broadband penetration is achieved.
The Globacom network comprehensively covers most communities, all the 36 states, including FCT and all major highways.
With the lunch of Glo 1 – the only solely-owned high capacity international submarine cable with connection to the USA and running from the UK through African and European countries – it has been and continues to be a huge commercial success at the heart of the socio-economic development of Nigeria and the sub-region as it has provided the much needed internet bandwidth.
The idea for Glo 1 stemmed from a business trip to France by Dr Adenuga, who found out while there, that telephone calls to Nigeria were epileptic unlike the connection between France and other parts of Europe. Upon enquiries, he was informed that solution lies with the laying of an international submarine cable from Europe to Africa through the Atlantic Ocean. There and then, Dr Adenuga decided to build Glo 1.
Today, Adenuga in all his business outlets, has continued to build a team of talented professionals who share his passion for excellence, as he goes fostering strategic partnerships that drive growth and expansion. This has made Globacom, and indeed other of his businesses, to remain undoubtedly most recognizable brands in Nigeria and across the continent.
Adenuga’s commitment to excellence in building and overseeing his companies is second to none. He sets high standards and inspires others to strive for greatness.
Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. also has vast holdings in the banking, real estate and infrastructure sectors of Nigeria, Africa and Europe. For instance, he is a major shareholder in First Bank and construction giants Julius Berger.
Despite his mega success in life, Adenuga believes business must have a human face, it must add value, it must have an impact and ultimately, be socially responsible. These are some of the core values that he considers before throwing his money into any investment.
Born on April 29, 1953, to Oloye Michael Adenuga Sr and Chief (Mrs) Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga, the Yeyeoba of Ijebuland, Otun Gbadebo of Ikija and Iyalaje of Ijebu-Igbo, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr was not born as a silver spoon child. But his parents were not poor either.
He is an indigene of Oru, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State. He had is early education at Ibadan, where he attended the famous Ibadan Grammar School. After his secondary education, Adenuga Jr. proceeded to United States of America where he majored in Business administration with emphasis on Marketing. While in school, he had to augment the allowance sent by his parents by working as a taxi driver, putting in many hours of work a week. It was hard work, perseverance that saw him through in his studies in America, virtues that prepared him for the mounting task in Nigeria business environment.
Dr Mike Adenuga Jr is married to Mrs Titi Adenuga (nee Adewale), who provides the comfort and stability that such an incredibly busy man requires at home. His children are Oyin, Babajide (Bobo), Paddy, Bella, Eniola, Bimbo, Sade and ‘Niyi Jnr He also has grandchildren.
Chief Dr Mike Adenuga Jr. will always stand out as a true leader, a pacesetter and innovator in oil, telecommunication, banking and other numerous businesses, where his legacy will continue to inspire and motivate future generations of business leaders.
Williams Orji, a journalist, writes from Abuja
