How do you begin a book about one of Nigeria’s best known serial entrepreneurs and one of the richest men on the continent? Do you begin from when he was born or from a dramatic moment of outstanding achievement?
Mike Adenuga or Niyi as his friends call him or The Bull as admirers, rivals and traducers hail him defies easy categorisation or classification. He is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum.
To commemorate his 72nd birthday, I have begun cataloguing attributes that not only define Chief Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr CSG GCON, the founder of Globacom, and the moving spirit behind Conoil but which can also be seen as business primer for those wishing to follow in his prodigious footsteps.
Strive to be the primus inter pares: In 1990 after the FG granted discretionary licences to 11 Nigerian businessmen to play in the oil and gas space, Mike Adenuga’s Consolidated oil (now Conoil) was the first to strike oil making him the first amongst equals. It wasn’t happenstance or luck, it was thanks to a planned, intentional and deliberate business strategy which has not flagged with Conoil still leading the pack decades after and even after more indigenous players have joined the fray.
You must learn to eat adversity for breakfast: Think about it. Mike Adenuga has a high adversity quotient! How so? The man wins an auction, pays $20m deposit and then has his licence revoked leading to the loss of said deposit. What does he do? He returns years later and puts down over 10 times the amount he lost to obtain another licence and once he does so he powers on to change the telecom industry in Nigeria by unveiling innovative and people-oriented solutions all the other telcos said was impossible. Never say die!
Excellence must define your game: What is excellence but the ability to excel and be the best. It speaks to greatness but not just a passing one. It speaks to greatness defined by consistency. Think about it; very few Nigerian businessmen have managed to excel in different sectors of the economy. You can probably count them on the fingers of one hand, but this is not a comment on their ability but a recognition of what it means to excel. Austin Avuru, oil man extraordinaire acknowledges this in his book, My Entreprenuership Journey where he writes – “Globacom was established by Mike Adenuga a serial participant in Nigeria’s privatisation and liberalisation efforts across four major sectors (Banking, Petroleum Downstream, Telecoms and Petroleum Downstream).”
You must have a marathoner’s mindset: To run a marathon you require speed but not just speed you need strength, persistence, and a mind focused on the long term. That is the difference between athletes like the Olympic champions – sprinter Usain Bolt and marathoner Eliud Kipchoge. The marathoner does not rush off with speed, he paces himself, conserves his energy, studies his competitors and plots his path to victory.
Make money but have a heart for people: Mike Adenuga, like every businessman, set up his businesses to make money but there is always an altruistic element and this is evident from Conoil and its pocket friendly lubes to Globacom and its mass market and people-friendly innovations and the philanthropic works he carries out, quietly and without fuss through the Mike Adenuga and Glo Foundations something that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu highlighted in his 72nd birthday tribute – “Nigerians will always appreciate Globacom’s ingenuity in disrupting the billing template in the telecommunications sector. By pioneering per-second billing, Glo expanded telephony and digital access to millions of Nigerians… Dr. Adenuga’s philanthropy, through the Mike Adenuga Foundation, has touched many lives—supporting tertiary education, healthcare, and cultural advancement across our nation.”
Learn to move in silence but with impact: Anyone of age in 1986 and who was able to read and write and listen to the radio or TV must remember the fever that gripped the world as we braced ourselves for the return of Halley’s comet which astrologers say orbits the earth once every 75 -76 years. Adenuga’s appearance in public is like the Halley’s comet, rare but heralded by pageantry and as newsworthy as can be. Mike Adenuga is the master of savvy exclusivity. We don’t see him, but we can’t stop talking about him.
It’s a job but it’s not just a job: When you go to work for Mike Adenuga, there are two things he would almost always demand from you – honesty and loyalty but not the type that sees you being dragged to Okija shrine. He just wants you to be a committed member of the team and what does he offer, not just a good salary and perks but an opportunity to become a member of his very large family. Your employees should feel seen, appreciated and part of a whole.
Be always plugged into the zeitgeist: What does Mike Adenuga do with his time since no one sees him in public? Good question. While no one has the full details of his daily itinerary, the fact is that Mike Adenuga like most business leaders keeps a finger on the pulse of the world – news, music, movies, politics, books and everything happening around him because you won’t mention the name of a musical artiste or actor or politician in his presence and get a blank stare. Nah!
Have a generous heart: There is philanthropy and then there is generosity. Both must never be conflated because while philanthropy can be a corporate strategy, generosity is personal, selfless and from the heart. The distinction is important in situating Mike Adenuga’s large heartedness. When corporate Nigeria was falling over themselves to ride upon the popularity of hot and young actors, Mike Adenuga’s Globacom went above and beyond by initiating a nostalgia project that revived the careers of stars from decades before from Amebo to Madam Kofo, Zebrudaya to Femi Jarret, Nelly Uchendu to Bright Chimezie and many others.
Be bullish, be resilient, be stable: Why is Mike Adenuga called The Bull? Is it because he is a Taurean the zodiac sign symbolised by a bull or a recognition and celebration of his masculine energy, his strength of character, his power and resilience.
Wherever it came from, it is not wide off the mark because it refers to a man who is stable, grounded, likes luxury and the loves the finer things in life. A man’s man.
Our headline says 72 things and you have just read 10. Well, wait for the book but in the meantime raise a toast to Mike Adenuga.
*Toni Kan was a former Head of PR at Globacom.
