Like Shakespeare wrote about
greatness in one of his classic plays,
Macbeth, “Some were born great,
while others had greatness thrust upon
them”. I am not sure where these
twenty wonderful Nigerians we have featured in this piece belong to in the
greatness chart; I leave you to figure
that out. One thing remains
unambiguous they belong to different
but are great all the same. Yes, they
are great people, great Nigerians. We have selected them from different
strata of society. Each one has
contributed immensely to influencing
Nigerians in various ways. Is it
Oluwole Akinwande, the poet whose
———-, gets you dizzy? Or Asa, the one whose African lyrics hit high notes on
the air waves of Champse de Elise in
Paris? Or Pastor Enoch Adeboye,
whose genteel manner is said to break
down the fiercest of strongholds. These are Nigerian men and women
we admire. And, as we continue to
celebrate Nigeria at 50, thinking
despondent thoughts, these great
achievers give us hope: that there is
much more to us than what people in citadels of power spew at us. Join us
to celebrate these 20 influential
Nigerians as part of the achievements
of our dear country at 50. Asa
was
born
in
1982
in Paris.
She
lived
there
for
two years
and
after
she
went to Lagos in Nigeria. Her real
name is Bukola Elemide and her nickname Asa means “little hawk”
because when she was young she
often ran away and changed directions
like a hawk.
Her mother was a shopkeeper and her
father shot video reports for weddings and that’s how she discovered music
more particularly Bob Marley and Fela
Kutti’s songs. She has got three
brothers.
She is success full thanks to her lyrics
which deal with Africa, everyday life things with lots of irony. She is the
new singer of soul, pop and reggae
music!!!! She is compared to Tracy
Chapman. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born
September 15, 1977) is a writer whose
first two novels won literary awards.
She is a native of Abba, in Njikoka
Local Government Area of Anambra
state. At the age of 19, Adichie left Nigeria and moved to the United
States for college. After studying at
Drexel University in Philadelphia, she
transferred to Eastern Connecticut
State University to live closer to her
sister, who had a medical practice in Coventry (now in Mansfield,
Connecticut). She continued studying
communications and political science.
She received a university degree from
Eastern, where she graduated summa
cum laude in 2001. In 2003, she completed a master’s
degree in creative writing at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore. In
2008, she received a Master of Arts in
African studies at Yale University.[2]
Chimamanda is a 2008 MacArthur Fellow.[3]
Adichie had her first novel published in
2003. It received excellent reviews
and won a literary award for first
books. Her second novel won the 2007
Orange Prize for fiction. In 2008, Adichie was a Visiting Writer
at Wesleyan University in Connecticut,
where she participated in Wesleyan’s
Distinguished Writers Series.
Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was
published in 2003 and won the 2005 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best
First Book.Her second novel, Half of a
Yellow Sun, named after the flag of the
short-lived Biafran nation, is set before
and during the Biafran War. It was
published by Fourth Estate in the UK and by Knopf/Anchor in 2006. It was
awarded the 2007 Orange Prize for
Fiction.
Her third book, a collection of short
stories titled The Thing Around Your
Neck, was published in April 2009 by Fourth Estate in the UK and Knopf in
the US Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (born November
21, 1960) is a former Nigerian
government anti-corruption official. He
was the pioneer Executive Chairman
of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), the government commission tasked with
countering corruption and fraud. In
April 2009, he became a visiting fellow
at the Center for Global Development.
He lived in exile until 2010 when he
returned to Nigeria and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria
under the platform of the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Ribadu studied law at Ahmadu Bello
University in Zaria, Kaduna State from
1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following a year at
the Nigerian Law School, he was
called to Bar in 1984. He also earned a
Master of Laws degree from the same
university. He is a Ted Fellow and
currently a Senior Fellow in St. Antony’s College, Oxford University,
UK. Deola Sagoe has given African fashion
in the 21st century the most radical
expression imaginable, from the
deeply rooted African fabrics to
perfectly matched accessories. Known
for constantly fabulous design o a two- time international award winner
creates designs that truly celebrate
Africa and Nigeria. Described as the
African fashion designer who is ‘’best
placed to interpret our cultural
diversity and artistry, our earthiness and mystery, our colors warmth and
passion of the African woman in her
simplicity and elegance,’’ Philip Emeagwali (born in 1954) is an Igbo
Nigerian-born engineer and computer
scientist/geologist who was one of two
winners of the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize,
a prize from the IEEE, for his use of a
Connection Machine supercomputer to help analyze petroleum fields.
Emeagwali was born in Akure, Nigeria
on 23 August 1954. He dropped out of
school in 1967 because of the
Nigerian-Biafran war. When he turned
fourteen, he was conscripted into the Biafran army. After the war he
completed a high-school equivalency
through self-study and came to the
United States to study under a
scholarship after taking a
correspondence course at the University of London.[citation needed]
He received a bachelor’s degree in
mathematics from Oregon State
University in 1977. He was also
working as a civil engineer at the
Bureau of Land Reclamation in Wyoming during this period. Chief Emeka Anyaoku served as
Commonwealth Secretary-General
from 1990 to 2000.
Born Eleazar Chukwuemeka (Emeka)
Anyaoku on 18 January 1933 in Obosi,
Nigeria, he attended the Merchants of Light School in Oba and (as a College
Scholar) the University College of
Ibadan, at the time a college of the
University of London and from which
he obtained an honours degree in
Classics. Chief Anyaoku later attended specialist courses in the United
Kingdom and France.
In 1959, Emeka Anyaoku joined the
Commonwealth Development
Corporation. Following Nigeria’s
independence, he was invited to join his country’s diplomatic service and, in
1963, was posted to Nigeria’s
Permanent Mission to the United
Nations in New York.
In 1966, shortly after the
establishment of the Commonwealth Secretariat, he was seconded to the
new organisation at the request of the
first Secretary-General, Arnold Smith
of Canada, as Assistant Director of
International Affairs, later becoming
Director and, in 1975, Assistant Secretary-General. In 1977,
Commonwealth governments elected
him Deputy Secretary-General with
responsibility for international affairs
and the Secretariat’s administration.
Nigeria’s civilian government of 1983 called on Chief Anyaoku to become the
country’s Foreign Minister. On the
overthrow of the Government by the
military, he returned to his position as
Deputy Secretary-General with the
support of the new government in Nigeria and the endorsement of all
Commonwealth governments.
At the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM) in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Chief
Anyaoku was elected the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. He
was re-elected at the 1993 CHOGM in
Limassol, Cyprus, for a second five-
year term.
Under Chief Anyaoku’s guidance, the
Secretariat also launched a variety of important initiatives in sustainable
economic and social development, and
through the Commonwealth Fund for
Technical Co-operation (CFTC), the
operational arm of the Secretariat,
reinforced the benefits of co-operation and mutual assistance among
members. Oluwole Akinwande was born in Ijebu
Isara, Nigeria. He grew up in
Abeokuta, where his father was a
schoolteacher. He was educated at
Abeokuta Grammar School and
Government College, Ibadan. He studied at University College, Ibadan
( 1952 –4 ) and then at Leeds
University ( 1954 –7 ), where he
graduated with an honours degree in
English. He has been at various times
on the academic staff of the Universities of Lagos, Ibadan, and at
Ife, where he was professor of
comparative literature and dramatic
arts. Between 1973 and 1974 he was
overseas fellow, Churchill College,
Cambridge, and visiting professor, department of English, University of
Sheffield. He was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1986 .
Soyinka’s influence and impact in
Africa is evident in drama, poetry,
fiction, and autobiography. In addition to his poetical works, he has published
two novels, two volumes of
autobiographical writing, critical
essays, and several plays. He has
also edited an impressive anthology,
Poems of Black Africa (London, 1975 ). As a consequence of his
political activities during the Nigerian
Civil War he was detained in August
1967 until October 1969 by the Federal
Military Government of Nigeria. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born June 13,
1954) was the former Finance Minister
and Foreign Minister of Nigeria,
notable for being the first woman to
hold either of those positions. She
served as finance minister from July 2003 until her appointment as foreign
minister in June 2006, and as foreign
minister until her resignation in August
2006. Okonjo-Iweala was considered
as a possible replacement for former
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. On October 4 2007 she was appointed
as Managing Director of the World
Bank by World Bank President Robert
Zoellick.
Okonjo-Iweala is an Igbo[3] from
Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State where her father Professor Chukuka Okonjo is
the Obi, or King, from the Umu Obi
Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-
Ukwu.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was
educated at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with an
A.B. in 1977, and earned her Ph.D. in
regional economics and development
from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). She is married – her
husband is from Umuahia, Abia State. Nnaji found
mainstream
Nollywood
success in
1998.
Despite her popularity
as an
actress,
she has
consistently
added accolades, such as singer, producer
and fashion designer to her name. In
2004 she became the face of Lux soap
in a highly lucrative sponsorship deal.
Among other actors and actresses,
she released her first album, titled No More, in 2005, following a one year
acting ban. Three years later in May,
Nnaji launched her clothing line St.
Genevieve which was a huge success
as the simple, yet elegant easy-wear
clothes. Oluchi Onweagba (born August 1,
1982) is a model. who grew up in the
suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria with her two
brothers and sisters. She is the
daughter of a civil servant father and
mother who was a nurse. When Onweagba was 16 years old, she won
the “Face Of Africa” contest. In August
2005, she married her longtime
companion, Italian fashion designer
Luca Orlandi. Onweagba’s first name
comes from the Igbo language and means “God’s Work”.
She was urged by a family friend to
enter into the M-Net “Face of Africa”
preliminary screening at the M-Net
office in Victoria Island, Lagos. The
agency groomed her to be one of Nigeria’s entrants for the 1998
competition (now called the Nokia
Face of Africa). This despite the fact
that, growing up, she had maintained a
relative ignorance towards fashion and
modeling, but with the support of her family and friends, she decided to
compete in the inaugural edition of the
Face of Africa in 1998. This was the
first-ever continent-wide model
competition, organized by the South
African channel M-Net in collaboration with Elite Model Management. She
won the competition. She was just
seventeen years old. Elite Model
Management awarded Onweagba a
three-year modeling contract.
After moving to New York City, where she still lives, Onweagba graced the
covers of Italian Vogue, i-D, ELLE,
Untold, and Surface; she also was
featured in Nylon, Marie Claire, Allure,
and other national editions of Vogue
around the world. She became the face of campaigns for Gianfranco
Ferré, Gap, Express, Banana
Republic, and Ann Taylor, as well as
working for Victoria’s Secret.
Onweagba’s runway experience has
been with John Galliano, Christian Dior, Costume National, Chanel, and
Giorgio Armani, amongst others, in
London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris. She
has worked with such notable
photographers as Steven Meisel, Nick
Knight, and Patrick Demarchelier. Ibiagbanidokibubo ‘Agbani’ Asenite
Darego (born December 22, 1982) is a
model, best known as the first black
African to be crowned Miss World in
2001.
Darego hails from Abonnema, Rivers, and was born into a family of eight
children. At ten, Darego was sent to
boarding school in a bid to shield her
from her mother who had breast
cancer. Darego’s mother died two
years later, and her daughter has spoken of how the loss prepared her
for the future.
As a teenager, Darego longed to be a
model. Although her conservative
father was against the idea, she
entered the M-Net Face of Africa modelling competition, but failed to
make it past the first round. She
achieved greater success when she
was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in
Nigeria in 2001. Contrary to popular
belief, Darego did not replace Valerie Peterside after the latter was
dethroned – Peterside had won Miss
Nigeria. Darego managed to divide her
time between her official duties with
her education at the University of Port
Harcourt where she was studying Computer Science, and she
represented Nigeria in the 2001 Miss
Universe competition, held in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She placed
among the top 10 semi-finalists,
finishing seventh. She was the only black semi-finalist that year – and the
only finalist to wear a maillot
swimsuit.]
In November 2001, Darego was
crowned Miss World, beating Miss
Scotland and Miss Aruba in the final round. Her victory in the pageant was
widely welcomed in her home country,
and her reign as MBGN was continued
by Ann Suinner. Her one year tenure
included goodwill trips and scheduled
appearances on behalf of the pageant. Darego left the University of Port
Harcourt after her reign as Miss World
ended in 2002, and is now studying
Psychology at the New York
University. She is signed to Next
Model Management, and is currently pursuing a modelling career in Europe.
In 2002 she was a spokesperson for
L’Oréal cosmetics. In 2006, a catwalk
model believed to be Darego posed
topless at a fashion show], causing
outrage in Nigeria. Darego has made no comment. Darego is currently
working on a fashion reality show,
soon to be aired on Nigerian television. Babatunde Raji Fashola (born June 28,
1963) is the thirteenth governor of
Lagos State, Nigeria. As a candidate
of the Action Congress party, Fashola
succeeded his predecessor, Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, in April 14, 2007,[1] and was sworn in on May 29, 2007.
Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) is a
descendant of the patriarch of the
Fashola family, Alfa Bello Fashola of
Princess Street in Isale Gangan,
Lagos. On the Fashola family tree, he is the great grandson of Bello Fashola,
a philanthropist and a very close friend
of Esugbayi Eleko, who contributed
morally and financially to the struggle
to return Esugbayi Eleko to Lagos after
the Oba’s banishment from his kingdom by the then colonial
government. Bello Fashola had 137
children with Tiamiyu Bashorun
Fashola as the eldest child. The direct
linkage is as follows: Bello Fashola
begat Tiamiyu Fashola, who begat Raji Olayinka Fashola, who begat Ademola
Fashola who begat Babatunde Raji
Fashola.
He is also linked to Isale Eko through
his paternal grandmother who is a
direct descendant of the Shomade/ Bashua family of Obun Eko and Suenu
chieftaincy family house. His paternal
great, great grandmother was Jarinatu
Okunnu from Isale Eko Onilegbe family
whilst his maternal great grandmother
is from Idumagbo Isale Eko of the Suenu Chieftaincy family.
Babatunde Raji Fashola was born in
Lagos on June 28, 1963. He attended
Birch Freeman High school Lagos and
Igbobi College Lagos. He studied Law
at the University of Benin from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws,
LL.B.(Hon), degree in 1987.
He is married to Mrs. Abimbola
Emmanuela Fashola and they have
children. Adenike ‘Nike’ Oshinowo-Soleye is a
Nigerian businesswoman and socialite,
currently reviving the Miss Nigeria
pageant.
Oshinowo was raised in Ibadan and
England, where she attended boarding school. Although she had intended to
become an air hostess or a doctor,
she studied Politics at the University of
Essex. Shortly after obtaining her
degree, Oshinowo, who was mentored
by former Miss Nigeria Helen Prest- Davies, represented Rivers at the
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant
and emerged winner.
After her reign, which saw her
compete at Miss World, Oshinowo
featured in a commercial for Venus cosmetics and hosted a fashion and
beauty show on Nigerian television.
Her business ventures included an
African restaurant and Skin Deep, a
health and beauty spa which ran for
seven years before it was sold after she decided to create her own range
of beauty products for the Nigerian
market. In January 17 2010, she
released the workout video Nike
Oshinowo: Fit, Forty and Fabulous –
the first celebrity fitness DVD produced in the country – and is
currently working on the beauty
products which will include fragrance,
skincare, and haircare.
Now in her forties, Oshinowo, who is
fluent in five languages including Japanese and French, is hailed as a
style icon in her homeland. Although
she had stated in previous interviews
that she had no plans to become a
wife, Oshinowo is now married to
medical doctor Tunde Soleye. In 2009, the couple was in the news following a
lawsuit instituted by Soleye’s ex-wife
Funmilayo, who claimed that he had
been unfaithful with Oshinowo during
their marriage.
In 2010, after a six-year attempt, Oshinowo-Soleye finally bought the
Miss Nigeria franchise from former
organisers Daily Times, and is chief
executive and creative director of the
pageant. Alhaji Aliko Dangote (born April 10,
1957) is a businessman based in
Nigeria. He is the owner of the
Dangote Group, which has operations
in Nigeria and several other countries
in West Africa. A wealthy supporter of erstwhile President Olusegun
Obasanjo and the ruling People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), Dangote
controls much of Nigeria’s
commodities trade through his
corporate and political connections. With an estimated current net worth of
around US$ 2.5 billion, he was ranked
by Forbes as one of the richest black
African citizens [3] and the third
richest person of African descent in
the world behind Mohammed Al Amoudi ($9.0 billion) and Oprah
Winfrey ($2.7 billion.) [4]
The Dangote Group, originally a small
trading firm founded in 1977, is now a
multi-trillion naira conglomerate with
operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. Dangote’s businesses
include food processing, cement
manufacturing, and freight. The
Dangote Group dominates the sugar
market in Nigeria: it is the major sugar
supplier to the country’s soft drink companies, breweries, and
confectioners. Dangote Group has
moved from being a trading company
to Nigeria’s largest industrial group,
including Dangote Sugar Refinery (the
most capitalized company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, valued at
over US$3 billion with Aliko Dangote’s
equity topping US$2 billion), Africa’s
largest Cement Production Plant:
Obajana Cement, Dangote Flour
amongst others. Nwankwo
Kanu (born
August 1,
1976 in
Owerri,
Kanu Nwankwo
is a professional football |footballer,
currently playing for West Bromwich
Albion F. C. West Bromwich Albion in
the English Premier League. He is
known for his height, which is 198 cm
(6’6″). Kanu began his career, aged fifteen, at
first division club Federation Works
before moving to Iwuanyanwu National
in 1992. After a notable performance
at the Football U-17 World
Championship|U-17 World Championships he was
signed by Ajax Amsterdam in 1993 for
$250,000. He made his Ajax debut in
1994 and went on to play 54 times for
the Netherlands|Dutch side, scoring 25
goals. In 1996, Ajax sold him to Internazionale Inter Milan for around
$4.7
million; that summer he played in the
Nigeria national football team|Nigerian
squad that won gold at the 1996
Summer Olympics Olympics. Kanu was named African Footballer of the
Year for that year.
At Inter a medical examination
revealed a serious heart defect; he
underwent surgery in November 1996
to replace an aortic valve and did not return to his club until April 1997. In
February 1999, after just twelve
games for Inter, Kanu was signed by
Arsenal F. C. Arsenal for roughly $7.5
million. Initially his career was revived
under Arsène Wenger, and he was named African Footballer of the Year
for the second time in 1999.
Kanu’s appearances for Arsenal
gradually became less frequent, and in
the 2004 offseason, after failing to get
his contract with Arsenal extended, he moved to West Bromwich Albion F. C.
West Brom on a free transfer. Kanu
played for Nigeria in the Football World
Cup 1998 and Football World Cup
2002 World Cups.
Kanu is remembered for his classic hat-trick against Chelsea F. C.
Chelsea, in which one of the goals was
scored parallel to the goal line. Biodun
Shobanjo
is the CEO
of the new
[reality tv
series, The Apprentice
Africa.
Born some
63 years
ago to a
peripatetic civil
servant,
the
Shobanjo
family’s peregrinations imbued the young man
with a cosmopolitan world view and
his early experience as a broadcaster
prepared him for life as an advertising
practitioner.
Biodun Shobanjo, who rose to the post of Deputy Managing Director of Grant
Advertising before his 30th birthday,
co-founded Insight Communications
(now Insight Grey) in 1979 and has
today grown the company from the
initial 18 man strong team into an advertising behemoth.
The Troyka Group which is the holding
company for Insight, SKG2, Optimum
Exposure, Media Perspective,
MediaCom, Quadrant and Halogen
amongst others employs over seven thousand Nigerian men and women.
Biodun Shobanjo attributes his
success to a fierce determination and
a steely can-do attitude. “I was young
when I left Grant advertising and
young people are very daring, so it didn’t cross my mind that I wouldn’t
make it. Again, without meaning to be
immodest, I really have never failed in
my life. If you’re not used to failing you
don’t even contemplate failure.”
The ever dapper and sartorially elegant man of style says there are
four essential elements for success
and he lists them as “Professionalism.
The other is honour. The third is
integrity. The fourth is passion. They
come in any order but if you have these four things, chances are that
you’re going to succeed.” A
consummate advertising and
marketing communications
practitioner, Biodun Shobanjo is a
perfect choice for the CEO of The Apprentice Africa because as a
believer in people, his business style
has favoured a mentoring ambience
which has spawned protégés who are
leading lights of the advertising and
marketing communications industry in Nigeria.
Today, the top 10 CEOs of the top 10
advertising and marketing
communications outfits in Nigeria are
proud alumni of what admirers love to
refer to as the “Insight University.” Biodun Shobanjo brings to the
Apprentice Africa almost forty years of
top-notch corporate experience,
entrepreneurial savvy, multi-
disciplinary industry experience and a
business maxim founded squarely on the belief that success is not
negotiable. As he loves to say:
“Winning is not everything. It is the
only thing!” P-Square are a Nigerian R&B duo
composed of identical twin brothers
Peter and Paul Okoye. The story of P-
Square began in St. Murumba College,
a small Catholic school in Jos, Nigeria.
Identical twins Peter and Paul joined their school music and drama club
where they began singing, dancing,
and miming songs by MC Hammer,
Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson.
They later formed an a cappella
quartet called “MMMPP” (M Clef a.k.a Itemoh, Michael, Melvin, Peter and
Paul). Drawing inspiration from their
music idol Michael Jackson, they
began break dancing, formed the
group called “Smooth Criminals” in
1997. They droped M Clef from the group “MMMPP” which later was
changed to “MMPP”. Their artistic
talent and precise dance routine soon
made them household names in the
city of Jos, where they performed at
school functions and other occasions. Later in 1999, Peter and Paul returned
to music school to develop their skills
on keyboard, drums, bass and rhythm
guitar. Their work includes the
soundtracks for a number of films like
Tobi, Mama Sunday, Moment of Bitterness and Evas River.
Later in 1999, they applied to the
University of Abuja to study Business
Administration. The Smooth Criminals
disbanded when its members left to
various other universities. Subsequently Peter and Paul formed
their own group, variously called
“Double P”, “P&P”, and “Da Pees”, until
they eventually settled on “P Square”.
They are managed by Bayo Odusami
aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the CEO of Adrot Nigeria
Limited.
In 2001, “P-Square” won the “Grab Da
Mic” competition, and hence Benson &
Hedges sponsored their debut album,
titled Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. P-Square
was also nominated as “Most
Promising African Group” in the Kora
Awards three months after the release
of their debut album. They eventually
won the 2003 Amen Award for “Best R&B Group”.
In 2005, P Square released their
second album, Get Squared under
their own label, Square Records. This
album was marketed nationwide by
TJoe Enterprises, although they were still managed by Howie T of Adrot
Nigeria Limited. The video for the
second album held the #1 position on
the MTV Base chart for four straight
weeks.
They have an ever growing fan base across South Africa with a particular
stronghold of die-hard fans in Cape
Town.
The group has performed alongside
the following international artists like
Ginuwine, Sean Paul, Akon and Busola Keshiro. The members of P Square
are now located in Lagos.
Late in 2007, they released their best
selling album so far, Game Over. It
has sold 8 million copies worldwide.
In 2009, P-Square released their fourth studio album, Danger. The album
features collaborations with 2face
Idibia, J Martins and Frenzy. The first
single called “Danger” is a hip hop
song with cutting synths and a frog
bass baseline similar to an Eminem song. The video affirms this with the
presence of clowns and staggered
movements in front of the camera
reminiscent of comical videos by
Eminem. They are also known for the
close resemblance which the twins have to American R&B Superstar,
Usher Raymond.
On 4 April 2010, P-Square was named
the Artist of the Year[citation needed]
at the KORA All Africa Music Awards
in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso while they were in London for a Concert at
the Troxy, and they will receive a
whopping sum of $1 Million Dollars as
the Award Winners, in Ebebiyin City. CHIEF MICHAEL ADENUGA –
Chairman Chief Executive Officer of
Globacom.
Adenuga’s rise to wealth and
accompanying fame is an interesting
story. His resolve to succeed against all odds started when, while in
America, he worked as a taxi driver
and security guard to sustain himself
in school.
Born on April 29, 1953, Michael
Adeniyi Isola Adenuga had his secondary school education at the
Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo
State, before proceeding to the North-
Western University in Oklahoma and
Pace University, New York, both in the
United States where he studied business administration.
At age 26, Adenuga had already
become a millionaire with connections
in high places. With his unique flair for
risks and sheer tenacity of purpose, in
no time he started reaping profits in billions. He owns Equitorial Trust Bank
and Consolidated Oil, which carries
out crude oil drilling, refining and
marketing.
He won the bid in August 2002 through
his Globacom Limited. The SNO has a wider range of operations as
Globacom has the right to operate as a
national carrier, operate digital mobile
lines, serve as international gateway
for telecommunications in the country
and operate fixed wireless access phones.
Adenuga’s estate business and
company shares traverse several
countries in Western Europe, North
America and the Middle-East.
have four children Enoch Adejare Adeboye is a Pastor
from Nigeria and General Overseer of
The Redeemed Christian Church of
God (RCCG)
Before joining the pentecostal church
Adeboye was a mathematics lecturer, and worked at the universities of
Lagos and Ilorin; He has a PhD in
applied mathematics from the
University of Lagos, hitting a
successful career in the academic
world. After he joined The Redeemed Christian Church Of God he began
working to translate the sermons of its
then Pastor and founder, Rev. Josiah
Olufemi Akindayomi, from Yoruba into
English.
In 1981 by Divine Providence Adeboye became the General Overseer of The
Redeemed Christian Church Of God,
making him leader of the Church after
the death of Papa Akindayomi the
previous year. For three years he filled
the role part-time, still lecturing at Ilorin, until giving up his university
position to preach full-time.
The Church, which was not well
known before Adeboye took charge,
now claims branches in over a
hundred countries, including more than 14,000 in Nigeria. Adeboye has stated
that his aim is to put a church within
five minutes of every person on Earth.
In 2008 Newsweek magazine named
Adeboye one of the fifty most powerful
people in the world. He is married to Foluke Adeboye, also a pastor, with
whom he has children.
