Last year, precisely on April 29, 2023, Dr. Mike Adeniyi Adenuga Jr. GCON, marked his landmark 70th birthday to the glory of God. That same God has preserved Dr. Adenuga as family and friends roll out the drums once more to celebrate a great business mogul at 71.
No doubt, the celebrations will not just be done by his family and friends but by all Nigerians because Dr. Adenuga is a National Icon. He has touched the lives of millions of Nigerians in several ways that space may not allow me to enumerate in this brief piece. There is hardly any family in Nigeria today that does not have one of her members using a Glo line. Many others are under the direct employment of this great visionary and entrepreneur par excellence.
Perhaps, several million others are indirectly benefitting from his chains of businesses in Nigeria and in other countries. Only few Nigerians are in this class like Chief Adenuga, creating wealth and employment thereby making significant contributions to national economic growth and development.
His story is better felt than told, better expressed than imagined, well known but hardly seen. Some call him The Guru, others refer to him as The Bull or most recently, the Spirit of Africa, one thing is sure, Adenuga is like the proverbial Iroko tree who is unlike any other. In terms of humility, pedigree, magnanimity, wealth and portfolio of investments, he is one of a kind. In any area of business that he plays, he almost always makes significant impact and the facts are there for all to see.
A look at his family background showed that he imbibed the culture of hardwork and excellence from them. His father, Oloye Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr, was a school teacher while his mother, Omoba Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga was a businesswoman of royal Ijebu descent. Adenuga received his secondary school education at Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, and Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, for his Higher School Certificate (HSC). He worked as a taxi driver to help fund his university education. He graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Pace University, New York, with degrees in Business Administration, a feat that also prepared him for greatness in the business world.
Adenuga made his first million in 1979, at age 26, selling lace and distributing soft drinks. In 1990, he received a drilling license and in 1991, his Consolidated Oil struck oil in the shallow waters of Southwestern Ondo State, making him the first indigenous oil company to do so in commercial quantity.
He was issued a conditional GSM license in 1999. After it was revoked, he received a second one when the government held another auction in 2003. Today, he sits as the Chairman of one of the largest telecommunications firms in the world – Globacom. His company, Globacom is the Second National Operator in the country. The first is the government-owned NITEL It is obvious that with Globacom, Adenuga is not interested in short-term profit, he is there for the long haul and of course, his desire is to give Nigerians and Africans world class telecommunication services. When he launched the network, he was two years behind the other players in the industry. Adenuga’s entry strategy was to be innovative and aggressive. He waged a price war, democratized and demystified telephone services.Today, the ultimate risk taker has taken Globacom from the nadir to the zenith of the industry.
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.
But more importantly, it launched operations on Per Second Billing, thus ensuring 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 card from N30,000 to N6,999 and later N100, thereby making it possible for low income earners, students and artisans to own GSM lines today. It is now one of the most recognizable brands across the continent.
The network currently has over 60 million subscribers, and is the most preferred network in Nigeria, with a vast network of already laid fibre crisscrossing all parts of the country.
He was named African Entrepreneur of The Year at the first African Telecoms Awards (ATA) in August 2007.
Despite his successes, 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. That is not all, he also firmly believes that the world is a field of battle and you must prepare to win, not some time but all the time. He is a mountain climber like the Tibetan Monk, who believes that you must survive all odds to get to the top.
Incredible tales have been told about his amazing capacity for work. He is known to sleep very little when there is work to be done and he expects his staff to imbibe the same work ethic. Though generous, he is said to have zero tolerance for incompetence or sloppiness. With him, you must be on your toes every time. It is therefore no surprise that his targeted investments and the grace of God Almighty have placed him well ahead of the authentic list of billionaires. His never-give-up spirit is well known and it is this force that has driven him to achieve feats many mortals will think are impossible. In the entire continent of Africa, 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 any shadow of doubt, Africa’s hidden treasure.
The reason is simple: Unlike many others whose worth can be calculated via their listed companies and assets, Adenuga’s intimidating wealth is usually in the realm of speculations, they are mostly privately-owned- which is reason he is usually given any position that meets the fancy of the publications.
There is nothing more to add when it comes to philanthropy, Adenuga is in a class of his own! Indeed generosity is in his DNA!
All year round he splashes generous gifts on extended family, friends, associates, staff and the less privileged. He has a long list of beneficiaries he touches with life-transforming gifts. He is detailed and exquisitely tasteful, not only in the quality of gifts but also the manner the gifts are presented.
Also during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adenuga was the first to donate N1.5 billion to fight the dreaded coronavirus scourge He set the stage for other Nigerians to contribute to the management of the scourge. That is typical of the Guru, he leads, others follow. According to Adenuga “How much money can one individual or his family enjoy? You must spread it and touch lives that is what brings true happiness and joy. What’s the point if your friend is wealthy and it doesn’t show on his friends”. Only few rich men in Nigeria actually think like this!
As the world celebrates this business colossus and philanthropist, I want to join millions of his fans to release 71 “Gbosas” to a man who came, saw, and conquered fear to get to the top.
Congratulations to Dr. Mike Adeniyi Adenuga at 71.
Charles Olewezi, a Public Commentator, wrote in from Abuja