Tag: Otunba Mike Adenuga

• By Dan Aibangbe

If he looks big, thinks big, does big, sounds big, then, smells big, he must be the Big Bull, Otunba Mike Adenuga, GCON. This enigmatic business tycoon of our time is someone who has enjoyed wide coverage, especially on the occasions of his birthday anniversaries. This is in spite of his rather reclusive personal positioning.

 If you see the dailies and tabloids blown up in volumes, do not be alarmed. Rather, check the date and you will find it is April the 29th! You will find that people are commemorating the birth of Dr Adenuga!

From the foregoing, it is a big risk writing about such a personality. The risk of obsolescence of your content, the risk of obscurity of your placement, are all enough to deter any pedestrian writer. But on the occasion of this year’s event, I have determined to take a look at this phenomenal gentleman’s birthday from a slightly different perspective. My approach is to dissect this personality, to bring out his notable virtues, with the hope that our teaming youthful population will be presented with viable options for role modelling, mentorship and prosperous followership. All the  yahoo-yahoos, the get-rich-quick-or-die-trying mentality must be countered with virtues that are traceable, sustainable and on the right side of the law!

The Yoruba pride themselves in the Omoluabi code, which embodies courage, hard work, humility and respect. An omoluabi is a person of honor who believes in hard work and gives to the community in deeds and in action. Above all, an Omoluwabi is a person of integrity and intelligence. Africa’s non-lettered’ elders are repositories of valuable primary knowledge. As can be observed from this analysis, an Omoluabi is not necessarily exclusively a Yoruba stuff, but rather a persona of all who embodies these sterling qualities.

On this occasion, I strive to collate the attributes of this celebrated icon of success fondly called The Bull and juxtapose his persona alongside the Omoluabi code, to measure the level of fitness as a suitable role model. This is to liberate the present and future generations from degenerative attitudes currently threatening the future of our nation.

Otunba Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr GCON, CSG, born April 29, 1953 remains one of the richest Yoruba men, dead or alive, home and away! His company, Globacom is one of Nigeria’s largest telecom operators, with presence in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Republique du Benin.

He owns majority stake in publicly quoted oil and gas company, Conoil in addition to stakes in Sterling Holding Company, the publicly quoted holding company for Sterling Bank and its subsidiaries. His business interests also extend to real estate, construction and other enterprises.

Read Also: Wale Adenuga shares vast experience at cartoon workshop

In all the spheres of his business life, Adenuga has demonstrated doggedness, audacity, focus, hard work, innovation and acuity, among other sterling qualities which have been the driving forces behind his resounding success.

To the uninitiated, that famous picture of Otunba Adenuga Jr brimming with smiles and contentment, may portray effortless success, but as the sages say ‘the water duck coasting smoothly on the water surface, is actually extra-busy paddling below surface with its feet!’ The Mike Adenuga dynasty has had to contend with many challenges along the line. For instance, the Globacomm Telecoms came with initial setback that would ordinarily truncate most other entrepreneurs of less sterner stuff. The Licence fee was paid but bungled through adverse timing differences, leading to the forfeiture of the initial deposit and loss of office to the then First Bank CEO, who mediated the deal. This singular issue exemplifies the magnitude of challenges that successful men face along the tracks of their success stories.

The journey to prosperity by Otunba Adenuga started from relatively humble beginnings. His father, Oloye Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr, was a school teacher and his mother, Omoba Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga (née Onashile, of Okesopin, Ijebu Igbo), a businesswoman of royal Ijebu descent.

Adenuga received his secondary school education at Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria and Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, for his Higher School Certificate, HSC. He did not have the privilege of attending the bespoke private schools that children of the affluent today take for granted. He worked as a taxi driver to help fund his university education, just as many ‘Japarians’ of today have to contend with. He graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Pace University, New York, with degrees in Business Administration. 

Regardless of these humble onsets, the virtues needed for success were engrained in his DNA right from time. Someone suggested that his business acumen and industry must have resulted from his early life participation in his mother’s businesses – at a point he supervised her sawmill enterprise!

Adenuga made his first million in 1979, at 26, selling lace and distributing soft drinks. He delved into commodity trading. His big breaks came in 1990, when he received a drilling licence.

In 1991, his Consolidated Oil Company struck oil in the shallow waters of Southwestern Ondo State, making his the first indigenous oil company to do so in commercial quantity. He was issued a conditional GSM licence in 1999.

After it was revoked, he received a second one when the government held another auction in 2003. He subsequently was named African Entrepreneur of The Year at the first African Telecoms Awards (ATA) in August 2007.

As recognition for his industry, national development and employment generation, Mike Adenuga has been honoured at the highest levels by countries such as Nigeria way back in 2012 (Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, GCON); Ghana (Companion of the Star of Ghana, CSG) and in 2018, he was decorated with the insignia of a Commander of the Legion of Honour by President Emmanuel Macron of France for his role in promoting Nigerian – French relations through the establishment of the iconic Allianz Francais Centre at the prime location in Victoria Island.

Regardless of these extensive laurels and performance indicators, The Bull has not relented is his pursuit of excellence. In fact, he often leaves his many mentees and team members gasping for breath with his go-getter, workaholic, resilient, innovative, mobile-solution workshop and what-to-do-next attitudes. Adenuga remains discipline, futuristic and consistent, as he strives to be consistently Numero Uno, always on top and ahead of his game. Regardless of this, be assured, Dr Mike also celebrates equally hard. Stories abound about how he instantly favour-bombs those on hand whenever he receives good news of successes and breakthroughs!

Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian patriot par excellence! This is a virtue abysmally lacking in the character of most Nigerians of today (even including captains of industry). He is widely travelled with detailed knowledge of Nigeria. He is well-embedded in the economic, social, cultural development. I guess it is this drive that compelled Mike Adenuga to enter the telecoms ecosystem with the ground-breaking per-second billing and crash in cost of SIMs, which the industry vehemently swore was unattainable! Even thereafter, the Glo Network has persistently churned out mega ‘berekete’ promos to placate the purse of the entire Nigerian subscribers.

The personal lifestyle of Mike Adenuga is loudly low-profile and un-obstructive. He loves his privacy and family to the extent that he eschews partisan politics and non-essential socializing. He is deeply devout of his close-knit family. To this extent, he is a complete enigma and close to reclusive.

In spite of deliberate efforts to remain very private, the many acts of Dr. Mike Adenuga’s philanthropies are too big to be hushed. For instance, how can you hide the fact that an individual is committed to granting annual scholarships to the tune of some $32 million dollars per annum? Through his group of companies, he has donated professorial chairs for research and development.

Through Globacom, he has immensely supported and promoted art, artistes, sports, music and the whole artistry chain in Nigeria and Africa. He is, perhaps, the biggest votary of Nigeria’s Nollywood and music festivals. The company’s Ambassadorial Program has been a veritable Launchpad for many practitioners into the world of corporate endorsements which require character conformity to the brand values. This may often be the first real character moulding for many of these artistes. Chief Adenuga, unassuming and modest, continues to support the arts in Nigeria without seeking personal recognition or credit. He has become a Launchpad of sorts to the creative industry in Nigeria with neither furore nor fanfare. In his recreational preference for listening to indigenous African music of the masters, you will also find glimmers of his patriotic mien.

Having taken the rigour to dissect this iconic colossus of our time, I hope the blind can see and the deaf will hear how to be a billionaire, from these snippets. There is a straight and narrow but assured path to success, which parents, leaders and governments should deliberately begin to inculcate is our youths and future leaders, if truly ‘the labours of our heroes past, shall never be in vain!’ Nigeria must begin to deliberately identify, codify and inculcate the effigies of heroes such as Otunda Mike Adenuga into our community spaces, living spaces and social media, in place of the get-rich-quick-or-die-trying ones that litter our public domains.

As Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr marks his 71st birthday, his influence and impact loom large in Nigerian and global economy. In telecommunication, oil and gas, banking, construction and real estate among others, the billionaire businessman has carved a unique niche of deploying successful business acumen to serve the public good. The following reports illustrate the track record of successes that set Adenuga apart

• Adenuga as a national treasure

• By Adekunle Ijagbemi

I have known Dr Mike Adenuga Jr – the owner and founder of Globacom, since I left school. That was when he boldly upset the apple cart of telecom business with his liberation effort and came out successful.

However, it was not until last month that I began to see the real value of the Ijebu-born investor and outstanding businessman when his investment effort paid off for the entire country.

Nearly all the telecoms networks were down and so also a lot of other ancillary services that depended on the internet or data to survive.The rhetorical question on the minds of many Nigerians for days was: “What if Globacom didn’t exist”?

Yes! For it was Globacom that became a lifeline for me and millions of other Nigerians who found ourselves suddenly shut out by fibre cuts along the West African coast. The cuts affected not only Nigeria but also several other countries.

But I am more concerned about Nigeria and the fate that would have been the lot of our people if Adenuga’s Globacom did not exist or, more appropriately, did not invest in an international sub-sea cable system, Glo 1, which became the game saviour?

Glo 1, as I learnt, is about the only individually owned undersea cable system linking Europe and Africa. Every other such system is owned by several groups of investors. One can only imagine what spurred Dr Mike Adenuga to embark on the humongous project way back when he did. Some must have seen it as an ego trip while others might have thought it was a wasteful venture.

More than the hordes of customers that Glo 1 services and continues to service in and outside Nigeria, the event of March has proven Adenuga right. He saw what many could not see and put his money where many wouldn’t dare. That is the hallmark of the life of this great and illustrious son of Africa and a proud ambassador of Nigeria.

Many people still recall his all-consuming risk to prospect for oil where angels of the business had fallen by the wayside. Only the foreign companies with heavy financial war chests would have dared to persevere like he did in the search for oil. His Consolidated Oil struck the black gold just when it would have become bankrupt if it didn’t.

Those with a strong sense of history will never forget his liberating effort when he launched Globacom and started billing customers on a per second basis, going against the run of the early operators who told Nigerians that per second billing was not feasible at the time. It was more like attempting suicide on behalf of a whole country. But because his motive was more nationalistic than pecuniary, he succeeded in forcing the shylocks to eat their words and embrace per second billing.

He had the option of joining those who were charging N50 even for a three seconds dropped call, but he chose instead to place Nigerians first.

This is why Dr Mike Adenuga is more of a national treasure than  a businessman. He is like an angel God sent to play a central and strategic role, intervening where necessary to ensure a better  life for humanity. He has committed his life to making life better for others. This is the stuff angels are made of.

Adenuga continues to demonstrate his nationalist and patriotic disposition in all his investments, creating and expanding prospects for employment and empowering the growing number of young Nigerians.

It is said that out of sheer passion, he had personally voiced some of Globacom’s advertisements on TV, especially those that encouraged young people to take the risk and put their best foot forward in order to achieve whatever they envision in life. No doubt, even his Globacom has always focused on empowering businesses with revolutionary telecoms and digital tools.

While other operators were busy targeting the pockets of Nigerians, Adenuga’s Globacom was more focused on introducing tools for business success. It was Globacom that first introduced Blackberry in Nigeria in 2006, enabling businesses and individuals to take their offices with them anywhere they went.

Despite starting off two years after the first market entrants, Globacom also recorded a series of other firsts in the telecoms space. These included rolling out services on 2.5G when the industry standard was 2G, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) Text-to-email, Magic Plus, Vehicle Tracking, M-Banking and several others.

Read Also: Wale Adenuga shares vast experience at cartoon workshop

Of course, competition introduced similar services thereafter, but many Nigerians could discern who was after their pocket more than helping them to solve communication and business challenges.

Back to Glo 1. It was the same guiding spirit of putting Nigeria first that spurred the business mogul to think up the noble idea of single-handedly constructing a dedicated submarine optic fibre cable system running from Europe to Nigeria to solve the problems of reliable bandwidth and empower the country to be in constant touch with the rest of the world.

Last month, that cable did the most important work for which it was ever constructed. It made a huge difference in a situation where others suddenly went down. Glo 1 made all the difference, thanks to Adenuga’s vision and foresight.

A parliamentarian in Ghana, which also suffered the internet outage, berated the country’s telecom regulator for lacking the vision to embrace Adenuga’s Glo 1 due to selfish considerations. He argued that the country would have been less impacted by the cable cuts of other operators if Glo 1 had been well received by the Ghanaian regulator.

It has pleased God to preserve this humble businessman with a Midas touch to mark another glorious year, and the prayer of everyone who has benefitted from his business decisions is that he will, for several decades to come, continue to play the role that it has pleased God to put in his hands, which is to be a blessing to Nigeria and to humanity.