I watch a lot of TV. Trust me when I say that my mum has tried everything from therapy to exorcism to get me off the couch on a daily basis. I just don’t understand why she would rather I focus on more trivial things like school, work and marriage. I gotta ask you, could there be anything more important than Samurai Jack or The Power Puff girls on Cartoon network or Dirty Sexy Money on series? Not to mention the hot news and gossip on E! Channel? Speaking of which, I gotta tell ya, it is absolutely absurd how some people make money and what they do with it. You just gotta love the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I mean, some people spend their whole lives slaving away working for a geezer they spend their nights dreaming of murdering. They slave away for a pay cheque so large you can only buy a pack of gum with it and still have enough change to take Keke Maruwa to work the next morning and plan for a vacation that’s in their back yard. It sucks! I know and yet, somewhere out there are beautiful, dolled up folks who spend their days showing off their millions of pounds and dollars cribs, the latest sports car they won in a gambling game and the ladies who strut their stuff around their houses half naked. Life’s just not fair is it? Now I was online, chatting with this really, really, really HOT Hispanic on Facebook (God bless you Facebook) when I came across a very harsh and passionate article. It went on and on about how the articler; pardon the English, was not impressed with how the fattest pockets in Nigeria were dispensing their cash. According to him or her, schools still needed to be built, roads still needed to be fixed, houses still needed to be developed and all that. I am guessing that this article is not so recent but I’m not gonna lie to you, it set me thinking and from thinking, I did some digging and from digging, I did some eating and from eating, I did some more eating before settling down to practice that one ancient and noblest of traditions which our wise fathers and their fathers before them practiced. That’s right… I spread like fool for infront television from all that food and snored my way to sleep… but after that, I got involved in a discussion with a few friends and associates concerning the wealth of this here country or… to put it in a more realistic way, the wealth of some of the men and women of this here country. Now before I begin with my findings, I have to ask the writer(s) of the above article this crucial question and I would like him or her to answer me truthfully and honestly. If you were the one who started out with nothing, probably flunked school and was abandoned or maybe even sold off by your parents to some one-eyed, bad breath, tattooed, devil worshipping, toothless, broke-ass mechanic in a village, outside the outskirts of Lagos who tried to trade your kidney for a bottle of beer at the last town’s fight and somehow, providence smiled down on you after so many years of enduring such horror and today you were Africa’s leading entrepreneur after years of sweat, hard work, people manipulating and feeding off your ideas and the little contact you struggled to get. Now there are billions in your account for your great-grand children to never have to work a day in their lives. Will you, in all honesty begin to put right, the society and the system that did you wrong with your own resources? Really… honestly. It’s not that simple mate. So here I was, chatting with this really hot Hispanic on facebook flirting my way into this wonderful resort in my mind when I foolishly stumbled on to the above article that stabbed at my conscience. So I took the liberty of searching a few websites to acquaint myself with the wealth of the land. Do you know how many other billionaires are laying low in Lagos state alone, not to mention the country? I watched a review on CNN a few years back about the debt alleviation the then head of States, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had proposed and this finance guru (oyinbo) said, ‘the tyrant and former Head of States of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha and his subordinates had siphoned so much money out of that country that if they wanted, they could cover the nation’s debt and still ask for change’. Further digging led me to this more exclusive and more recent list compiled by a local reputable newspaper. On this list, we have a bit of the old players, the new set and even the women who have set up businesses that have provided jobs for thousands of people. We are talking of entrepreneurs who started with simply nothing, but today sit atop huge fortunes. We are talking of owners and C.E.Os who run their own shows, who have actualized their dreams in the different sectors of the economy. Now for your amusement and envy, I have decided to put the spot light on the deepest and fattest pockets in Nigeria. I am hoping that when they see all the trouble I went through to hype them, they will use their church or mosque mind to spread the love. In today’s edition, we will be focusing on a man who has been listed and declared the fore runner of the wealthiest men and women in Nigeria. Valued at $6 billion, this entrepreneur has his hands in Telecommunications, of which his company is of the most successful, most celebrated and most patronized in its field, Banking and Oil and Gas. Ladies and Gents, I speak of Naija’s finest and let’s not forget… richest, the most pre dominant name in everyone’s list; glo-ing with pride, our very own Chief Dr. Micheal Adenuga (CEO Globacom, etb Bank, Conoil). Born on April 29, 1953, Michael Adeniyi Isola Adenuga had his secondary school education at the Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, before proceeding to the North-Western University in Oklahoma and Pace University, New York, both in the United States where he studied business administration. While in America, he worked as a taxi driver and security guard to sustain himself in school. At age 26, Adenuga had already become a millionaire with connections in high places. With his unique flair for risks and sheer tenacity of purpose, in no time he started reaping profits in billions. He owns Equitorial Trust Bank (etb) and Consolidated Oil (Conoil), which carries out crude oil drilling, refining and marketing. Dr Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Isola Adenuga’s foray into the risky world of business is a stuff of fable and fiction. He’s a very daring and adventurous man, and he has his fingers in many pies. He keeps his business strategy to his chest, and like the true disciple of Machiavelli that he is, the man believes the world is a battle field and you must prepare to win not some of the time but all the time. He’s a mountain climber, like the Tibetan Monk, who believes you must survive all odds to get to the top. He started his major business with imported commodities, and moved on heavily into investing in real estates, which today traverses many world capitals. His first shot into the consciousness of Nigerians was when his company, Consolidated Oil (Conoil) became the first indigenous company to strike crude in December 1991. He recently made foray into the telecommunications sector. With his Communications Investment Limited, CIL, he was issued a conditional license in 1999 and frequencies to operate the Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM). The license was later revoked. Again, when in 2002, the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), organized new auction for the GSM license, the CIL participated and was one of the four that won the bid. He paid the $20 million mandatory deposit. However, in the process of effecting the release of the balance payment of $265 million, the company was adjudged to have failed to pay within stipulated time. CIL lost both the license and $20 million deposit but that never weakened his will of iron. After a controversial bid, he got his fingers burnt, and lost about $20M in the process of attaining a Telecomm license, enough to render most people bankrupt, and possibly render them nuts. Rather than go home quietly to lick his wounds, Adenuga soon returned for another bid, never minding that his main competitors were already way ahead of him. He later went on to bid for the Second National Operator (SNO) license, and deposited another $20 million. This time, he was lucky. He ignored the distractions, and his detractors, and marched on like the old Roman soldier. According to a report I read in a local magazine around 1992, unknown to his critics, even his mum had warned him against investing in oil exploration which she felt was a senseless gamble. But Adenuga was ready for the Russian roulette. Like the bull (his zodiac sign is Taurus) Adenuga was relentless. Incredible tales have been told about his amazing capacity for work. He’s known to personally interview his multitude of staff, and he pays critical attention to the day to day running of his businesses. Many wonder when he finds time to sleep, and how he manages to enjoy a tiny fragment of his stupendous wealth. He’s said to be generous to a fault, and ruthless towards incompetent officers of his vast business empire. Many have complained about his inaccessibility, and insist that he over-relies on his personal staff some of whom may not be able to tell him the truth always, nor give him the actual picture of events when crucial. There is no question about Globacom chief, Dr. Mike Adenuga, being in the billionaires’ league. Indeed, some say with the telecommunications firm, it could have become so even within one month. It was a bit of an uphill task discovering this Ijebu man’s worth, especially as he rarely discusses his wealth or grants press interviews. When banking was becoming the vogue in Nigeria, and most investors did not know what to do with one license, Adenuga alone grabbed two, and started Devcom Merchant Bank and Equitorial Trust Bank. Many years down the line, as even the biggest banks struggled to raise the mandatory N25Billion recapitalization, Adenuga effortlessly stunned the industry when he simply merged his two banks and fulfilled all righteousness as demanded by our Central Bank, and his two banks became one Equitorial Trust Bank. Also, when Nigerians were allowed to bid for oil wells, Adenuga was bold enough to go for both on-shore and off-shore licenses. Characteristic of some of our people, they alleged that he had cashed in on his powerful contacts within the ruling military elite to win the best sites, and that while the voice belonged to Jacob, the hand clearly was that of Esau, as if they would have rejected such opportunities if indeed it came their way. No one was willing to consider his capabilities, or his propensity for hard work. He confounded his traducers when Consolidated Oil became one of the foremost indigenous firms to discover oil in commercial quantities; and he has maintained the lead many years after his so-called sponsors left power. We must learn to give honor to whom it is due, and seek to encourage hard work. Given the same opportunities, many would have found it difficult to excel like Adenuga. As an entrepreneur who dared where others feared, Adenuga’s wealth increases by GSM calls. His estate business and company shares traverse several countries in Western Europe, North America and the Middle-East. Son of an astute trader, the late Ma Oyinkansola Adenuga, 54-year-old Adenuga is an astute businessman, who dabbled into telecommunications at a time the industry was going through teething problems. Having gone through the thick and thin of the industry to emerge the second national carrier, his Globacom is ruling Nigeria, and perhaps the world, as its name goes, just as its owner smiles to the bank. He won the bid in August 2002 through his Globacom Limited. The SNO has a wider range of operations as Globacom has the right to operate as a national carrier, operate digital mobile lines, serve as international gateway for telecommunications in the country and operate fixed wireless access phones. Adenuga will certainly continue to rule in years to come, especially with his Conoil, Equatorial Trust Bank Plc (ETB), GLOBACOM and other investments at home and abroad. I need to thank y’all for your questions and comments, they continue to be appreciated. Keep ‘em coming on graye@goodlife.com.ng Till the next Edition… catch ya online. Toodles!