After Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga is Nigeria’s second richest man. He amassed his fortune through telecommunications and oil production. Globacom, his mobile phone company, has 55 million subscribers and is Nigeria’s third largest operator. Conoil Producing, his oil exploration firm, operates six oil blocks in the Niger Delta. Adenuga received an MBA from Pace University in New York while supporting himself as a student by working as a cab driver. He made his first million at the age of 26 by selling lace and distributing soft drinks.
Early Life & Education
On April 29, 1953, Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr. was born. Oloye Michael Agbolade Adenuga Sr., his father, was a schoolteacher, and Omoba Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga, his mother, was a royal Ijebu Igbo entrepreneur.
Mike Adenuga attended Ibadan Grammar School in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, for secondary school and Comprehensive High School in Aiyetoro for his Higher School Certificate (HSC). He worked as a cab driver to help pay for his scholastic expenses. He obtained business administration degrees from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Pace University in New York.
Career
Mike Adenuga made his first million at the age of 26 by selling lace and distributing soft drinks. He received a drilling license in 1990, and his Consolidated Oil (now Conoil) discovered oil in the shallow seas of Southwestern Ondo State in 1991, becoming the first indigenous oil company to do so commercially.
Mike Adenuga was granted a conditional GSM license in 1999; after it was revoked, he was granted a new one in 2003 when the government held another auction.
Globacom, his telecommunications company, quickly expanded and began to compete with the MTN Group. It started in Benin in 2008 and has since extended to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, with more licenses sought in other West African countries.
He was named African Entrepreneur of the Year at the inaugural African Telecoms Awards in August 2007. (ATA). In May 2015, Adenuga launched a $600 million acquisition offer to Comium Côte d’Ivoire, an Ivorian mobile communications business. He also owns shares in the Equitorial Trust Bank.
Personal Life
Mike Adenuga has been married twice. He had six children from his first marriage and two from his second. His children’s names are Oyindamola, Babajide, Mike, Belinda, Abimbola, Eniola, Folashade, and Richard.
Honours and Titles
- Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger by the government of Nigeria.
- Otunba Apesin of the Ijebu clan.
- Commander of the Legion of Honour by President Emmanuel Macron of France.
- Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019.
Net Worth
According to Forbes, Mike Adenuga’s net worth is $6.2 billion as of May 2022, making him Nigeria’s second richest person after Aliko Dangote, who has a net worth of $13.9 billion.
