WHAT you are about to read shortly after this prefatory remark are foundational thoughts that I call appetizers. The fresh (main) meal and dessert come up in THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER, April 29, 2017. The consolidating tribute by this columnist would be unparalleled.

Let me state from the outset that, having worked as a manager in two of the companies that constitute the Mike Adenuga Group amid occasional official meetings with him, I have the privilege, responsibility and great honour to especially celebrate the chairman and principal owner of Globacom, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications company, Dr. Michael Adeniyi Ishola Adenuga Jr. (GCON), today, ahead of his 64th Birthday this Saturday, April 29, 2017.

The choice of this soar-away medium for this particularly unique commemoration is informed by its quintessential profile underscored by exclusivity of elitist professionalism among its genre of top-class journalism. His reclusiveness, humility and philanthropic humanism are unparalleled in this part of the world where obscene display of wealth and class haughtiness is the crass second nature of moneybags. Dr. Adenuga’s economic nationalism and diplomacy are enough justifications for this celebratory interlude in the life of a man who is 99 percent self-made. There is nothing in his pedigree to explain his borderless and boundless affluence in supranational measures.

A highly detribalized Nigerian going by the ethnic configuration of thousands of humanity in his global conglomerate, this boardroom guru’s passion for quintessence in all departments of life hallmarks existential fanaticism that clearly domesticates survivalist responsibility. He does not subscribe to short-cuts. An oil executive and telecoms magnate whose triumphant attitudinal disposition to life is unimaginable—he goes for the summit with superlative anchorage. No half-measures in any circumstance. He believes nothing is impossible in this world. That is his philosophy of life. All challenges are surmountable hence he does not take impossibility for an answer. To him, everything is doable as long as you put your mind to it. That is his unimpeachable resolution!

Issuing from the above is his catalytic intervention in telephony that revolutionized speech chemistry in this part of the world. Prior to the advent of Glo Mobile, MTN had obfuscated its audiences with the declaration that per-second billing was unrealistic, unfeasible and unthinkable! It took the bullishness of this businessman to halt the gargantuan rip-off. He has helped Nigerians to remove the exploitative scales on their eyes and the commercial propaganda used to blur their sight and sensibilities.

The superfluity of his philanthropy, which transcends consanguinity, is such that he does not like seeing people suffering. There have been instances where he met less-privileged members of the society in sorry situations and had to intervene with alacrity in changing their lives. He does this without any class or other extraneous considerations. This economic wizard’s generosity is breathtaking.

Nothing makes this entrepreneurial whiz-kid happy as diligence, which explains the robustness of his passion for hard work by those privileged to be associated with his vast empire. Apart from the direct human capital in his international institutions, he has fertilized and watered innumerable private initiatives of people who have come his way over the years from all walks of life. His accommodative organizational capacity is unequalled in this part of the world. The declarations you digest here are factual beneficent attestations to this astute world-class business expert who has an uncommon penchant for transforming dormant businesses.

Overall, Dr. Adenuga, an unprecedented visionary symbol, has a profundity of energy, enthusiasm and empathy running in his veins. At times, those who know him closely wonder whether he would ever retire from economic activism. I have the conviction that his beneficiaries’ prayers for him have the propensity to keep him for a long time to come. Simply put, this man has affected and continues to affect uncountable lives, many of whom I know. He enjoys offering Nigerians and non-Nigerians limitless platforms particularly through the instrumentality of Globacom.

Related News

The writer does not know, yet, if there is anyone who can be compared to this multi-billionaire in terms of attitudinal disposition, philanthropic invaluableness, generation of novelties and success inclination. It seems, somehow, that there is divine manifestation in whatever he lays his hand upon which gives rise to Midas touch in all he does. He does not compromise excellence and goes for the best in anything at stake: there is this amazing consciousness about quality. His sagacity, mind fertility and business versatility are unequalled in our time. 

Hypercritics of The Bull (Dr. Adenuga’s fond name at Ibadan Grammar School) accuse him of intellectual snobbery because he never suffers fools gladly. They allege that he carries on too confidently and depends essentially on his cerebral capability and capacity. He unapologetically believes, according to them, that nobody is superior to him, knowledge-wise. Nincompoops and fraudsters put him off. Clearly, he is a generational anchor endowed with divine blessings. He personifies entrepreneurship strewn with benevolence. A gentleman with Midas touch who has mastered his environment by conquering all the latent constituents and elemental forces against all episodic odds, this investment captain remains an embodiment of industry, a beacon and blistering light in usually impossible tunnels and difficult terrains.

As you read this, his vast business empire keeps expanding, beyond bounds. The best is yet to come from this adept innovator, revolutionary extraordinaire, gem of our time and a generational statement.

This entrepreneurial colossus was born on April 29, 1953. The last of a family of five, Dr. Adenuga attended Ibadan Grammar School, Oyo State, and was further educated at North Western University, Alva, Oklahoma and Peace University, New York.  An inspirational Adonis, highly imaginative and full of ideas, Dr. Adenuga’s sense of humour and experimental management of human capital and other productive resources are inimitable. The second most popular thing most Nigerians know about ‘The Bull’ after Globacom is his sport gestural involvements, particularly football both locally and internationally. Of course, the Nigerian and Ghanaian Premier Leagues are equally being bankrolled by Globacom. During my one-year stint in Globacom as a public relations manager before crossing over to banking, I participated in the packaging of many CSR initiatives at the instance of the man we are celebrating today in advance.

Beyond Nollywood actors and actresses and other entertainment celebrities, who are allegedly spoilt (to use a local parlance) by Dr. Adenuga, are other individuals who experience business re-engineering and transformation in all cases at the instance of this unrivalled benefactor. Many businessmen he had assisted through cash gifts and infrastructural renewal are today multi-millionaires in different fields. I know some of them country-wide having interacted with them closely in my capacity as the editor, among other managerial assignations, of our in-house magazine in his bank before Sansui Lamido Sanusi, the former maverick governor of the CBN and now Emir of Kano, ruptured everything! 

The point that needs to be underscored here is that this man has empowered—and is still uplifting—many Nigerians (and other nationals) who had the rare privilege of coming his way, strewn with unlimited potentialities. Everything, apart from resurrection, is possible with the one we fondly call ‘The Guru.’

This is my brief contribution to the anniversary of the birth of this prodigious philanthropist of our time, a multi-billionaire by British standard, who is misunderstood by the minority and immeasurably appreciated by the majority of Nigerians, most especially because of the holistic revolution he wrought in telephony in this country.

Uncle Niyi—yes, on grounds of his avuncular disposition—happy birthday, this Saturday, sir!