Chigozie Amadi
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” -John Quincy Adams
“Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.”-Seth Godin
Africa’s foremost philanthropist, exceptional business mogul, industrialist and the Chairman of the telecommunications giant Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr, is one man that have continued to ensure his actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more in life.
As Otunba Mike Adenuga Jr marks his 71st birthday today April 29 , 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 BULL as popularly known has really paid his dues as an astute businessman, whose impacts resonate beyond the confine of the boardroom. He has really given many people many platforms for them to spread ideas that work.
Just last year when he clocked 70, the Nigerian print media was awash with compliments in honour of the foremost entrepreneur, serial investor, audacious administrator, and boardroom maestro, whose life journey has been that of great contentment, fulfillment, great service to humanity and his Creator .
Likewise in 2023, his company GLO , which is one of Nigeria’s foremost digital services company, celebrated its 20 years of innovative and excellent service delivery and extended its heartfelt gratitude to Nigerians for their unalloyed support for the past two decades that the company rolled out services.
For Adenuga, whose business interests span sectors like oil and gas, telecoms, aviation, construction, banking, and real estate, all is a celebration of success and optimism in business, uncommon management skills, and philanthropy.
To others, the billionaire businessman signifies the accomplishment of homegrown entrepreneurship having demonstrated the capacity to match and sometimes surpass foreign players in business management. Each of his businesses in these sectors plays outstanding roles, helping to set the pace and contributing to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
A man who does not allow excuses to stop him from his goal, Adenuga is committed to all the businesses he has an interest. As the chairman of Conoil, he holds a majority (74.4 per cent) stake in the oil marketing business. And apart from his status as one of the largest shareholders in Nigeria’s leading commercial bank, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adenuga, Africa’s sixth richest man and Nigeria’s third by Forbes rating, owns 25 per cent of Sterling Bank’s outstanding shares equivalent to 7.2 billion units, held through Silverware Investments Limited.
Also, he holds 25.1 per cent (401,834,494) ordinary shares of construction giant, Julius Berger. The shares were acquired through Goldstones Estates Limited. Apart from being the single largest majority shareholder in the company, his daughter Mrs Belinda Ajoke Disu is also on the company’s board of directors as a non-executive director and was in 2012 awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by the federal government.
Adenuga’s entrepreneurial skills did not start with Globacom. He began to etch his name in the consciousness of Nigerians in 1990 when he responded to the challenge of the then military administration to open the nation’s oil industry to indigenous operators to participate in a discretionary oil licence bid round. The exercise produced 11 Nigerian businessmen, including Adenuga with oil licences.
One year after the licence round, Mike Adenuga’s Consolidated Oil (now known as Conoil) was first among the 11 to hit oil and in commercial quantities. Conoil quickly validated the Federal Government’s thinking that Nigerians could play big in the oil and gas industry if given the opportunity.
For many reasons, Adenuga’s stake in Conoil Plc has witnessed a surge in the market value in the first four months of the year as the company’s impressive financial performance sent its shares flying on the Nigerian Exchange. Conoil is a leading petroleum marketing firm that offers a range of products, including diesel, kerosene, low-pour fuel, aviation fuel, and gasoline. The company also produces and markets lubricants under the “Quatro” brand name.
However, in his telecom business, Glo prides that “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.’ No doubt, the company has continued to record unprecedented growth and dominance since its establishment despite the challenges the sector has faced in harsh operating environment.
With two decades of innovative and groundbreaking operations already achieved, and with over 61 million subscribers across board, the digital solutions provider has set marvels on more cutting-edge and futuristic packages to ease corporate and individual lives.
As a matter of fact, this ranges from digital packages to promote big corporate entities and grow the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), personal entertainment, including the GLO TV with over 50 live channels and exclusive Glo original movies premiering, to the more advanced and futuristic (in-Nigeria) driverless cars on the digital terrain. It is already with us, given the network’s penchant for smashing competitors’ world of impossibilities – like crashing their price of SIM card from N25,000 to N200, and pioneering per second billing five years since the frontrunners started ripping off the entire nation with their N50 per minute (most often per second with the incessant dropped calls) billing.
In the past, Glo had pioneered many innovations in Nigeria, including Blackberry, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Magic Plus, Glo Direct, Glo Fonepals, Africhat, Glo Mobile Internet, GloFleetmanager, M-Banking and Glo Mobile Office.
Obviously Glo has continued to drive transformational innovation and digitalization in the telecommunications space. It has also restated its commitment to continuous delivery of innovative products and services and greater benefits to its subscribers and business partners all over Africa.
The company gained its reputation of being a pace setter by continuous innovation in Nigeria/Africa telecommunications industry and has been able to distinguish itself from other mobile phone service operators by being the first to introduce new products and services to its customers.
Proudly Nigerian and distinctly pro-people, Glo was first to extend Free Access lines to government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). It was the first operator to launch 3G Plus services which in addition to giving customers high- speed mobile internet access, allowed them to do video calls and video streaming on their 3G mobile handset.
In 20 years of operation in the country , Glo has emerged the biggest promoter of African football. For many years, it sponsored the Super Eagles and the NFF as well as other national teams, the Supporters Club, Glo CAF Awards and Glo Soccer Academy among others. With a well-defined brand strategy of supporting cultural festivals and initiatives, Glo has emerged the biggest corporate supporter of Nigerian arts and culture with its sponsorship of the Ojude Oba, Lisabi, Ofala festivals, amongst others.
Under Adenuga’s watch, his flagship company, Globacom was able to launch a payment service bank unit, MoneyMaster PSB, to foster financial inclusion. The telecommunication firm said the launch aimed to empower Nigerians by providing them with unlimited opportunities.
MoneyMaster was granted a payment service bank licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2020.
Globacom said the PSB is expected to facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept deposits from individuals and small businesses as well as issue debit and prepaid cards. The company added that MoneyMaster would also operate electronic wallets, and inbound remittances and carry out other services in line with CBN regulations.
To show for his uncommon leadership, Globacom was announced as the Most Popular Brand in the country for the year 2022. This announcement was made at the public presentation of the 2022 brand evaluation by Top 50 Brands Nigeria.
Respectfully, Dr.Mike Adenuga Jr, a man of vast fortune, who turned 71 this year, was said to have built his fortune in telecommunications and oil production according to Forbes latest ranking. However, his Real Time Net Worth stands at $6.8billion as of April 28, 2024 . He remains Nigeria’s second richest man, fifth richest person in Africa, number 409 in the Billionaires 2024 list in the world
For this great African with a heart of gold , Adenuga has impacted the lives of many people in positive ways. Stories of his kindheartedness are all over the media. He is rarely seen in public. He doesn’t dabble in politics, even his act of philanthropy is devoid of fanfare. However, beneficiaries of his kind gesture said Adenuga’s name is written in gold in their hearts.
Also his love for sports was underscored by the unveiling of the current African, Commonwealth, and World 100m hurdles Champion, Tobi Amusan, as Globacom’s latest Brand Ambassador. The company explained that its decision to make Amusan its ambassador was not just to reward her for her sterling accomplishments, but also to promote the growth of sports in Nigeria and encourage the country’s teeming youths to aspire toward realising their dreams by looking up to the new ambassador as a mentor.
In entertainment, it has also provided massive platforms for Nigerian and African entertainers to ply their trade through direct sponsorship of concerts such as Glo Campus Storm, Glo Rock ‘n’ Rule’; Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce; Glo Laffta Fest; Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, Dance with Peter, Glo X-Factor, Glo Naija Sings and the popular sit-com, Professor Johnbull. The Glo Battle of the Year Nigeria is the world’s biggest dance reality television show brought to Nigeria by Globacom.
Born 29 April 1953 to Oloye Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr, who was a school teacher and Omoba (Princess) Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga (née Onashile, of Okesopin, Ijebu Igbo), in Ogun State, a businesswoman of royal Ijebu descent, Adenuga attended Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, in Oyo State and Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, in Ogun State for his Higher School Certificate (HSC).
He proceeded to Northwestern Oklahoma State University, and Pace University, both in the US, to bag degrees in Business Administration.
As Otunba Mike Adenuga jr, turns 71, he deserves esoteric mention and unadulterated panegyrics. Today we join hands with all his friends and associates all over the globe to celebrate an uncommon, rare breed and innovative man who has shattered numerous glass ceilings. Indeed the quotes of Marcus Aurelius depicts his philosophy “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
