Mike Adenuga, formerly Chief Dr Michael Adeniyi Adenuga Jr GCON, is the Founder/Chairman of both Globacom Ltd and Conoil Plc and major shareholder at Sterling Bank and Julius Berger Plc. He is the second richest man in Nigeria after Dangote who is currently the richest African alive. He was born into the family of Mr and Mrs Michael Adenuga from Oyo state. Mike Adenuga is not from a wealthy family. His father was a teacher while his mother was a trader from the Ijebu Royal family. Mike is nicknamed The Bull by his friends.
Education
Mike attended Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Afterwards, he attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he got his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA at Pace University. He saw himself through university as a taxi driver.
How Mike Adenuga made his money
Mike Adenuga started as a businessman selling lace and soft drinks and made his first million at 26.
Conoil Plc
He started Consolidated Oil (CONOIL) and discovered oil in Ondo state in 1991 becoming the first indigenous oil company in Nigeria. No wonder he is referred to as the Godfather of indigenous Oil and Gas in Nigeria.
Today, Conoil boats of 6 oil blocks in Niger-delta, Nigeria.
Globacom Limited
He got his first GSM licence in 1999 and again became the first indigenous telecom company in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the license was later revoked. He got his second license in 2003 and Globacom Limited started even though his major competitors, MTN and Econet, were two years older. This wasn’t a challenge for him because he entered the telecoms industry with an outstanding strategy. He changed the shoke the telecommunications market with his per second billing plan and crashed the price of sim cards from over ₦10,000 to ₦100.
Later on he became the national carrier of data when he installed the Glo-1 submarine cable.
In 2008, Glo entered the Benin Republic and from there spread to Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and Senegal becoming a major telecom company in these countries.
He bought Comium Côte d’Ivoire for $600million in 2015 and rebranded it to Globacom. This was how Glo entered Cote d’Ivoire and took over as a major telecom company in the country.
Globacomm is currently the second largest telecommunications company in Nigeria with over 55million customers.
Family
Mike has two wives Adefolake Emilia Adenuga and Titi Joyce Adenuga with seven children; 2 boys (Michael and Tunde) and 5 girls (Adetutu, Abimbola, Folashade, Eniola, and Bella).
There are romours that Mike is the father of Skepta but this isn’t true. Skepta’s father is Joseph Adenuga.
Mike Adenuga Date of Birth and Age
Dr Adenuga was born on 29th April 1953. Adenuga Jr is currently 71 years old.
Mike Adenuga Net Worth
According to Forbes, Chief Mike Adenuga is worth $7.2billion. He made most of his money from his investment in Oil and Gas, Banking and Information Technology.
Mike Adenuga House
His house is worth talking about because Adenuga’s house is more than a mansion. It is a mini-estate that is worth ₦1billion sitting on 3 hectares.
It consists of 8 duplexes, a gold home office, a church, a mosque, a multipurpose hall and two watchtowers.
Adenuga Car and Jet
Mike Adenuga is a lover of luxury lifestyle. In his garage recides a Rolls-Royce Phantom, Armored Bentley Mulsanne, Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and a Mercedes Benz AMG C63.
In addition to these, he is one of the few with more than one private jets. Chief Dr Mike Adenuga picks between his Bombardier Global 5000 and his Dassault Falcon 7x when he wants to travel by air.
Humanitarian Activities
Chief Adenuga is a good man. Even though he loves to keep his personal life private (as he doesn’t have a social media account) good works cannot be kept mute.
Through his Mike Adenuga Foundation, he has done a lot for mankind.
Mike Adenuga, a staunch Manchester United fan, provides scholarship to talented young African footballers to join the Manchester United Football Academy. Manchester United even honoured him with a no 10 Jersey.
In 2013, he gifted the super eagles $1million for winning the AFCON competition.
He also donated ₦1.5billion to curb the spread if covid in Nigeria.
Honours
Dr Adenuga has national honours from three countries.
He was honoured Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) an honour meant for the Vice President.
Mike Adenuga is also the recipient of Ghana’s Companion of the Star of Ghana (CSG) an honour also meant for the VP.
President Macron of France awarded him with the ‘Commander of the Legion of Honour’. This award is France’s highest national award.
