MEET MIKE ADENUGA
Today, we are bringing to your reading pleasure the life and lifestyle of Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr. popularly known as Mike Adenuga. I trust that p.k.a. would ring a tone now.
Mike Adenuga is one very handsome, charitable and altogether good person. He is simple by nature. He is an intellectual who has succeeded in various ventures. He is a Nigerian known generally to be a billionaire businessman and second-richest person in Africa. According to Forbes in November 2019, He was gathered to have a net-worth of 8.9billion USD.
Mike Adenuga is the first Nigerian to explore crude oil on a large commercial scale. He has a good human relationship and has helped him secure favour in his career life.
Mike Adenuga is a philanthropist who has sponsored various soccer events and awards as well as several activities and projects in Nigeria and abroad. He is also an entrepreneur who has provided jobs for various Nigerians.
Mike controls a huge business empire in Africa dealing with oil and gas, telecommunication, aviation, banking, real estate and others. He has a very soft spot for investments, a large heart for risktaking and exploration.
Early Life/Educational Background
Michael Adenuga Jr. was born on the 29th April 1953 to Oloye Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr. and Omoba Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga. Apparently, he was named after his father who was a school teacher. His mum was a businesswoman of royal Ijebu descent. His mum was the daughter of Onashile of Okesopin, Ijebu-Igbo.
Mike Adenuga had his secondary school education at Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan and Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro for his Higher School Certificate(HSC) now called West Africa Secondary School Certificate of Examination(WASSCE). As a child who grew up from a moderate background, he worked as a guard and also as a taxi driver to help fund his university education. He graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University with a degree in Business Administration and from Pace University, New York with a Masters in Business Administration.
Mike was seen to have been supportive to his parents and as such came back to Nigeria after his studies in the US and got involved at his mother’s sawmill.
Career Life
At an early stage, Mike had once sold textiles materials and at one point was a distributor of coca-cola.
Mike received an oil exploration license with the help of the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida in 1990. In 1991, he started oil production in the south-western part of Ondo state in great number.
Mike founded Equitorial Trust Bank which has become one of the largest Nigerian banks. ETB bank was founded in 1990. In 2011, Equitorial Trust Bank had almost one hundred branches in different cities all over the country. In 2006, ETB bank merged with Devcom bank.
Despite Mr Adenuga successes in the banking sector, for some time the ETB bank experienced certain difficulties which is a major characteristic of businesses. In related news, the business is booming.
Mike got his GSM license in 1991 for his telecommunication business. It soon spread across and outside Nigeria. Globacom made submarine communication cable system in order to provide an internet connection with high speed at best prices for people. In 2015, he purchased Ivorian mobile telecommunication’s operator Comium Cote d’Ivoire for 600million USD.
Personal Life
Mike Adenuga is legally married to Titi Joyce Adenuga and they have one child together. The popular Belinda(Bella). He has been involved in several relationships with a number of women and has seven children altogether including the popular Bella Dimsu.
Assets
> Globacom
Mike founded Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator which has major root in Nigeria and presence in Ghana and Benin republic.
> Conoil
Mike also founded this oil exploration firm who is fast making waves in the crude oil industry and spread across various states in Nigeria.
> Equitorial Trust Bank
Mike Adenuga is a stakeholder and an investor with the bank.
> House
Mike has a massive estate which is said to have been handled by Julius Berger and Cappa & D’Alberto contractors and comprises of 8 duplexes and an additional one for his personal residence with home office (the gold one), two watchtowers, a mosque, a church and a multipurpose hall that conveniently takes in 200 people.
It also has an indoor swimming pool, car park, helipad, yacht deck and, the land of roughly 3 hectares houses all of these.
Awards and Recognitions
Mike Adenuga in his lifetime has been privileged to receive the following awards and recognitions:
– At the first African Telecoms Awards(ATA) in August 2007, Mike Adenuga was named “African Entrepreneur of the Year”.
– The Government of Nigeria in 2012 made Mike Adenuga “Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger”.
– Mike presently holds a Yoruba tribal chieftaincy as the Otunba Apesin of the Ijebu Clan.
– Pillar of Football in Africa was conferred on him for his strong support for African Football.
– He was given the “Silverbird Man of the Year Award” in 2009.
– Special Golden Jubilee Independence Anniversary Award was also awarded to his name.
