By Olabode Opeseitan
He is one of Africa’s rarest and most exceptional business icons of the last 2 decades. Dr. Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga is a colossus. Blessed with the gift of business clairvoyance, the resilience of a bull and the intellectual depth of a sage to turn the ordinary to extraordinary, Dr. Adenuga can foresee hidden treasures thousands of miles beneath the sea level or in the underbelly of the earth. If you reckon with the yet-to-be tapped humongous resources at his disposal, which I’m fully aware of, his may be the story of the undisputed richest man in Africa the world may never unearth. A part of him does not even want to be so called. He believes the revulsion, jealousy and distractions that will come with the rosette will lionise his adversaries and sap his energy.
Like the ageless philosopher-musician, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey once waxed lyrical about the divinity of the mission of Adenuga (whom he called Aneyetoto), the business grandee has often showed that he is a blessing to Nigeria, Africa and the world. GOD in HIS infinite mercy has blessed him beyond what the eyes can see. Sometimes, his generosity upended legendary charities. Quietly on his unofficial payroll are traditional rulers, retired military Generals, professionals of all hues, friends, associates and individuals totally unknown to him who have been mauled by the vicissitudes of existentialism.
Mr. Chairman, as you celebrate your special day in the quietude of your ultra-luxurious Villa, please remember that conversation we had in late December 2018. We cannot count up to 5 people in a continent of 1.3 billion people who GOD has blessed the way he showed you HIS grace and mercy. It is time to deepen your legacy. You have deployed decades of hard work and devotion to duty to build an inimitable empire. This is the time for the Mike Adenuga Foundation to kick in robustly and continue the good work of alleviating the plight of the less privileged in a way that will touch millions of more lives.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, it is time for you to draw strength from your fallibility. As you mark your 68th birthday on April 29, please remember the Lord’s prayer. Forgive those who trespassed against you and make peace with those you may have hurt within and without.
Happy birthday, the Great Guru.
