Nigeria, the acclaimed Giant of
Africa, is also reputedly the richest – at least, going by the rebasing of its
Gross National Product. A country blessed with abundant human and natural resources,
it is no wonder international business gurus, especially those who are not
averse to engaging in palm-greasing and some other cut-throat business
practices, are falling over one another to invest in Nigeria. And despite the perennial
power outages which warrant businesses to generate their own electricity to
power their machinery, the Nigerian economy is growing rapidly – in adverse
proportion to the facilities provided by government – and is the envy of many
other African countries.
Despite Nigeria’s monumental wealth,
it is clear that there are some shrewd Nigerian businessmen who can be said to
be richer than the country itself. These are astute men who, in the running of
their various business empires, avoid the pitfalls currently plaguing the
country’s economy. Rather, they strive to observe global best practices and
reap bountifully from their labour. And though they might not equal Nigeria in
terms of volume of wealth, their acumen and resourcefulness in the management
of the vast economic empires they have built provide veritable templates for the
nation’s leaders to emulate.
For the purpose of brevity, we will
just dwell on four of such business titans in this edition.
Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote is reputedly Africa’s richest person and ranks No. 67 on the World’s Billionaires List. His $14.7 billion fortune derives mostly from majority stakes in publicly traded cement, sugar and flour companies. Dangote resides on Victoria Island, a wealthy Lagos enclave on the far eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Though endowed with a non-assuming persona, it is inevitable that he lives big. His three-storey mansion has a massive black gate, bullet-proof windows, video surveillance, guards, and a blue-tiled pool. But that is where his show of opulence ends.
It is easy to mistaken the youngish-looking Dangote for a fairly-comfortable businessman. Not for him the pomp or brashness of the very wealthy. The only give-away of his 60 years on earth is his graying moustache and stubble of a beard.
Soft-spoken and always modestly attired, he comes across as the amiable uncle who cannot hurt a fly. But behind this benign exterior resides a sharp mind that chugs relentlessly, detecting opportunities and making the best use of them. Above all, this astute businessman is fiercely patriotic. Though the world is his playing field, this University of Sudan graduate has Nigeria, and Africa, as his primary focus. And he is always articulate on his convictions. “Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets,” Dangote is fond of saying. “A lot of foreigners are not investing because they’re waiting for the right time. There is no right time.”
Even with the downturn in Nigeria’s economy, Dangote’s strong belief in the country is by no means shaken. The dip, no doubt, shrunk his net worth by $10 billion, yet, he keeps on investing, and is a veritable contributor to Nigeria’s recent valuation as the largest economy in Africa, overtaking South Africa.
The vast business empire he now controls took off as a commodities trading concern, gradually delving into manufacturing and expanding to West and East Africa.
Dangote is also a philanthropist of no mean repute, donating generously to worthy causes such as rehabilitation of natural disaster victims and sponsorship of needy groups and individuals.
Otunba Mike Adenuga
Otunba Mike Adenuga, a proud son of, and a pride to, Ijebu-Ode, in Ogun State of Nigeria, is reputedly Nigeria's second-richest man. His business empire spans the telecom and petroleum sectors.
Adenuga made his initial fortune trading lace and Coca-Cola after returning from his studies in the United States of America. Making key friendships with top Nigerian military personnel, he earned lucrative state contracts along the way. He also founded two high-flying banks – Equitorial Trust Bank and Devcom Merchant Bank – which practiced best global banking practices and facilitated wholesome business opportunities to enterprising Nigerians before the banking consolidation of the mid-2000s warranted their merger with other banks.
His next business port, in the 1990s, was the petroleum sector. Adenuga is the founder of oil exploration firm Conoil Producing, which operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta; about half of which produce oil.
Petroleum may be lucrative, but the sector in which he has impacted most on the business climate in Nigeria, Africa and, indeed, globally, is Telecoms. And this has been through Globacom, a company he founded in 2003. Globacom, which has more than 30 million subscribers in Nigeria, can be rightly described as a trailblazer for many reasons.
Many Nigerians who rejoiced at the breaking of the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by the ill-performing, government-owned Nitel by the introduction of the Global System of Mobile (GSM) telecommunication services, were dismayed by the high tariffs charged by the two networks initially registered. Globacom, incidentally, was among the three independent networks that applied for the licence but due to some hiccups failed to secure the licence. So the initially registered service providers had a field day exploiting Nigerians. Not only was the SIM card overly expensive, the billing was equally high. It would be recalled that the companies, in some ways, replaced Nitel, albeit with better provision of services. Giving a plethora of reasons, they made Nigerians to understand that it would be living in a fools’ paradise to expect their tariffs to come any cheaper.
So, Nigerians persevered. That is, until Globacom’s entry to the field. The first casualty in the exploitatation was the obnoxious per-minute-billing, which Globacom’s predecessors had told Nigerians would be unrealistic until about five years of operation. Globacom started its operations by introducing the much-clamoured-for per-second-billing. It also drastically reduced the SIM card fee, which became virtually free. It also introduced low billing, thus making many more Nigerians participants in the GSM phenomenom. Globacom has also been the first to introduce many innovative features. And, though it might be rated as the Number 2 network in the country, discerning Nigerians acknowledge its world class services and give kudos to its consideration for Nigerians in terms of lower costs.
All this has translated to mega profits for Globacom and its Chairman. It is a win-win situation for Nigerians: the services are second-to-none; and it is a boost to Nigerians’ pride – that a wholly-owned Nigerian concern is rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. Little wonder, then, that it has extended its services beyond the shores of Nigeria. Globacom also serves customers in Ghana and the Republic of Benin. It is currently lodging a $600 million takeover bid for Comium Cote d’Ivoire, a company that has been grappling with debt and cash flow problems. If the deal goes through, Globacom will have succeeded in extending its brand presence in West Africa. Already, the mobile telecoms operator owns an international carrier services licence in Cote d’Ivoire, and reportedly plans to invest over $1 billion in upgrading Comium-CI’s network over three years.
Femi
Otedola
Though
he had always been enterprising in his younger days, Femi Otedola was for a
long time best known as the debonair son of the governor of Lagos State in the
short-lived Third Republic, Sir Michael Otedola, who is fondly remembered as
coining the motto: That Lagos May Excel.
But the tide has since changed. When the nonagenarian public relations guru
died last year, many Nigerians, especially the youth, could best relate to his
memory as the father of Femi.
Shrewd and forthright, Femi Otedola’s rise to wealth and fame
began when he was buying for retail, diesel from a businessman who had a firm control
of the market in Lagos. Not one to let an opportunity slip by, he quickly realised
that a lot of companies in the country actually relied on diesel to power their
machinery and embarked on supplying the commodity to cater to their needs in
that regard. His first big break came when he actually received an order from a
big transport company.
Not one to rest on his oars, Femi
approached the new management of the depot, which was worth $4 million, and
offered to buy it for $20 million. Gaining full control of the diesel supply
infrastructure with his company, Zenon
Petroleum and Gas Limited,
holding 91% share of the market, Otedola went further to set up a transport and
a shipping company, F.O. Transport and Seaforce Shipping, in line with the logistics
attached with diesel supply, effectively taking control of the entire chain. At a point Femi Otedola’s
biggest competitors were oil giants Total and Mobil.
Pushing further, in what proved a
wise move to cushion the business, Zenon bought a 28% stake in African Petroleum.
And Zenon invested aggressively across the financial sector, becoming the
largest shareholder in Zenith Bank, and largest individual shareholder at
United Bank for Africa. Zenon was very solvent and became the largest diesel
importer in Nigeria. Otedola also invested a lot of money in African Petroleum,
increasing Zenon’s shareholding from 28.7% to about 55% at a cost of $400
million.
Otedola’s popularity among Nigerians particularly soared with his
altruistic sale of kerosene at the
cost of 50 kobo per litre, before the cabal of fuel subsidy merchants seized
control of the commodity, with the resultant sky-rocketing of its price.
Patrick
Ifeanyi Ubah
Born on the 3rd day of September
1971, to the family of Mr. and Mrs Alphonsus Ubah of Umuanuka in Otolo, Nnewi, Anambra
State, both teachers, Patrick Ifeanyi and his siblings obtained proper post-primary
education before he resolved to make it big in business.
Ubah’s intimidating success profile
was not attained by sheer luck or by accident. Rather, it has been the result
of a purpose-driven life, rooted in determination, perseverance and exemplary
commitment to prevail in the face of daunting circumstances. At the age of 19 years,
Ifeanyi Ubah had carved for himself a solid
reputation as a major player in the booming tire trade, exporting the product
from Nigeria to Ghana, and supplying it to notable traders in Ghana, which
included Kings Enterprises.
His next business destinations were
Liberia and Sierra Leone. By then, he had expanded his business activities to
include auto spare parts, and his trading base to the Democratic Republic of
Congo, which served as his host nation and the primary base of his business
activities on the African continent for a reasonable length of time.
Ubah’s ultimate emergence as a
business mogul and entrepreneur par excellence with international muscle,
recognition and stature, is credited to his strategic and visionary decision to
embrace the high-risk but equally potential opportunities inherent in the Oil
and Gas sector. Establishing Capital Oil in the DRC, Ubah effectively used it
to facilitate his activities in the Oil and Gas business. His business
relationship with Ibeto Petrochemical Nigeria Limited proved to be highly
rewarding in providing the platform to procure products for supply to Capital
Oil clients in the DRC, which included Government agencies.
Ubah currently sits atop a multi-billion naira
mega business chain of strategically diversified investment portfolios which
include property and estate development, telecommunications, commodities
trading and importation, financial institutions and healthcare service
provision.
The young and astute captain of
industry sits on the board of several companies, which include Knoll &
Hachefer Engineering Co. Ltd, Hero Communications Ltd, Chevron Oronite &
Chemical Co. Ltd, First Nigeria Independent Oil Co. Ltd, Commodity Giants
Nigeria Ltd, and Capital Group Congo. Equally worthy of note, he was the
Chairman ot the Transformation Ambassadors in the immediate past Nigerian administration
of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
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