Billionaire businessman, Otunba Mike Adenuga will be 70 in a few days time. And he is quite excited about it.
How will the man who they call The guru celebrate this landmark birthday? That is the question many are asking. That is the big question on the lips of all his friends and family members.
Will he celebrate it? Will he not? Those are the questions. Will he celebrate it in Nigeria? Will he go abroad?As you read this,no one knows. No one can tell.
What makes the question a lot more difficult to answer is because Mike Adenuga does not like parties. He frowns at it.He doesn’t like attention drawn to himself.He likes a life of low-profile.He likes being heard,but not seen.He has always had an agelong philosophy of keeping below the radar.And it has paid off for him.
But for his entry into Telecoms,via Glo which put his face out there,many didn’t know what he looked like.Only very few have ever met him in flesh. This is because he doesn’t go out to parties.He likes it that way.
Citypeople can authoritatively reveal that the Chairman of Globacom will mark his 70th birthday but it will not be as elaborate as expected.
He will be 70 in a few days time.
Why are many talking about Mike Adenuga?It is because he is a big player. He is one of the richest men in Nigeria, with vast investments in key sectors of the economy. Lets tell you more about this great Nigerian, who apart from Oil, plays big in Telecoms. He is the Chairman of GLOBACOM, and the Mike Adenuga Group. He is a big player in both sectors. He does not like noise. He does not like publicity of any kind. It’s a philosophy he has built over time. It is a philosophy he cherishes. It’s a Philosophy he has kept for years. By nature, he likes it easy and cool. He is a man of peace. He likes to take things easy, so easy, without drama.
Many don’t know he likes Music. He likes old-school music. He likes the music of the ’60s and ’70s. He likes Juju music. He likes the music of Evangelist Ebenezer Obey & KSA. When he wants to relax, he listens to their evergreen songs. He is close to both of them. He has direct access to them. He calls them from time to time. In the entertainment world, he loves all the old school singers & actors. He is very supportive of them in his own little way. Many of them, he made Glo Ambassadors.
But let us quickly tell you that Otunba Mike Adenuga is an enigma. He is an unconventional man, who does things in an unconventional way. He is not your regular rich man. He’s got Class & Style. He likes to be different. He likes to do things differently. He loves to live a quiet and reserved lifestyle. He does not go out. He does not go to parties. He does not even attend functions staged by his company or family members. Whenever Glo holds an event, he rarely shows up. He has trusted aides. He has competent hands. He has a lot of expatriates working for him.
His daughter, Bella, and a few of her siblings have effectively taken over the running of his group. In matters of policy, she takes all the critical decisions. They only go to him for 2nd opinion. He has great trust in her. He has properly groomed her. He made her pay her dues. Not only did she attend all the best schools, he got her involved in the day-to-day running of the family business. He made her understudy him. He personally supervised her for about a decade before letting her climb to the Penthouse where decisions are taking.
He has also trained his other children, making them play critical roles in his businesses. They have all come to understand him. For you to survive, around Otunba Mike Adenuga, you have to be smart, hardworking, and straightforward. He likes brilliant people. He likes those who can think on their feet. He likes those who think the impossible is possible. He does not take No for an answer. He does not like to hear that something is impossible. He likes people with the Can-Do spirit. He himself is like that. He works round the clock. He is always thinking of the next possible business deal. He is always looking for the next deal to close. He was one of the businessmen who saw the role Data was going to play in our lives and went for a Telecoms Licence in the ’90s. Today, the rest is history. He is now the Grandmaster of Data.
Mike Adenuga is one of the Biggest Boys in the world of business. He knows the Game. He plays the Game. He is adept at it. He knows the principles of Winning. He has set his rules. He has his own winning formula, which has worked for him over the last 50 years. Though he is from Ijebu Igbo, he was born and bred in Ibadan. He will always tell all who care to listen that he is an Ibadan Boy. He is a product of Ibadan Grammar School. He has a breathtaking house in Ibadan. That is where he often stays when he needs to relax or unwind. Many often wonder whether he relaxes or not. Yes. He does. He has his circle of friends. They are all old, old friends. When he feels like partying, he will create his own party in his Banana Island Palace, where he lives in Lagos. He can organise his party in 24 hrs. He has a drinks company he uses. He has a caterer that handles catering. He has an event planner that plans such events. And for music, he can decide to call up Commander or KSA to come and entertain him and his friends.
They are usually about 15 of them, all rich old boys, men of means. If Mike & his friends want a different kind of flavour, he will invite Demola Olota & half of his band to come and thrill them with old English tunes, like the Nat King Cole tunes, etc, while they talk about everything under the sun, from Business to Politics to Global, issues.
That is Mike Adenuga’s idea of fun and partying. He does not take chances. He does not joke with his security. You can’t sit on top of the kind of investments he is sitting on and take security lightly.
His family members and friends have come to recognise and appreciate his principles. Some of them have been forced to imbibe his principles of no party, no lavish spending. They all try to be in his good books, because of the favour and support they will often get from him, if he behaves properly. Depending on his mood, he can shower them with hig, fat, cheques in 7 digits.
He is a simple man. Mostly, he wears well-tailored Ankara. And he is smart in them. He has simple taste. His best food are still the simple Yoruba food that he grew up with. All he prays to God for is for good health and longetivity. And God has answered his prayers. He is healthy, vibrant and strong. Why God has blessed him is because he blesses others too. At the end of every month, he spends about N100 million on helping people, especially the aged. Till Baba Sala passed on, he placed the comedian on a monthly allowance. All he does is to write out cheques in the name of the recipient and you are expected to go to one specific bank, where he owns controlling shares. Once you introduce yourself as coming to lodge the Chairman’s cheque, you will be given kingly treatment. The only rule before accessing your monetary gift is that you must open an account with that particular bank. All that will be done for you while you have a drink.
City People can authoritatively reveal that though Mike Adenuga is a great Philanthropist and one of the biggest spenders when it comes to helping other people, he does not like the recipients of his largesse to tell the world whatever kind of help he has rendered. Once he touches your life, you are made forever.
But the Golden rule for you to keep getting more support from him is for you to keep mum.
What further makes him an enigma is that you cannot reach him. You can’t send him a message. You can’t drop him a letter. He operates from his house. He is the only one who can reach you. He only sees those he wants to see.
Now, you can see why he does not celebrate birthdays. You can also see why he is not the party type.
Happy birthday to The Guru…
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