Wale Tinubu’s Midas Touch
The story of Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc., a sub-Saharan African indigenous integrated energy group, would make a compelling read any time and any day. Indeed, if anyone could undertake to produce his biopic too, such a person can be assured that he or she would make return on his or her investment. Such is the interesting and inspiring lifestyle of this young man who today is a big player in the oil and gas sector.
At the outset of his business, he faced a lot of daunting challenges. But his uncommon daring spirit and survival instinct made him overcome the teething challenges. Popularly called the King of African Oil, the Lagos State- born oil magnate started out with a small oil firm, Ocean and Oil Services, but with resilience and focus, he has been able to grow the business.
It will be recalled that Tinubu led Oando as the African company to achieve a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and achieved another milestone with the completion of the Canadian oil & Gas firms, Exile Resource, which gave birth to Oando Energy Resources (OER). Among other things, he is also recognised for turning a mono-product called Oando Marketing into an energy giant with investments across the energy chain. Besides, his driving force has helped him maintain the top position in the very stiff sector among his competitors. He is an incurable optimist and always strives to attain results even when it seems nothing is going as planned. He seems to share the same philosophy as former American president, Calvin Coolidge, who said: ‘‘Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
With a strong conviction that education is the best legacy, he set up the now popular Oando Foundation, which focuses primarily on developing Nigeria’s educational system. So far, the Foundation has rehabilitated 48 schools across 20 states and plans to adopt 100 schools before the end of this year. It also offers over 100,000 students access to quality primary education, while broadening the capacity of over 4,000 teachers. It has also offered over 2,560 pupils scholarships, in addition to providing other amenities such as roads, boreholes, hospitals and town halls in host communities.
Tinubu obtained a degree in Law from the University of Liverpool, England, after a three-year preuniversity study at Framingham College, Suffolk, United Kingdom. He later bagged a Master’s degree in Law, specialising in International Finance and Shipping from London School of Economics in 1989. He began his career with the family law firm, K. O. Tinubu and Co., where he was responsible for corporate and petroleum law. He, however, dumped law for oil and gas, when he partnered some of his few friends some years ago.
Tinubu, who was honoured as Young Global Leader (Business) in 2007 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), was a member of the Global Agenda Council for the future of Africa in 2008 also by the WEF. He was named one of the Top 10 CEOs in the world by ASKMEN magazine. In 2010, he won the Africa’s ‘Business Leader of the Year’ award by the African Business Magazine and the Commonwealth Business Council on the basis of his contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry. Also, in 2011, he was awarded the African Business Leader of the Year by Africa Investor. University and Stanford University, USA. She worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and Apple Incorporated as a financial analyst.
The much- talked about wedding, it was gathered, will be witnessed by top government officials as well as members of the Diplomatic corps, among other eminent personalities.
Hakeem Adeyemi, one of the sons of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, is popular and loved by many for his infectious humility, brilliance and philanthropy.
Over the years, his abiding personal philosophy is: be your brothers’ keeper and do unto others what you want others to do unto you.
Indeed, apart from being a blue blood, his lifestyle and human relation seem to be the magic wand for his enviable success story today. He has been able to worm his way into the hearts of so many around him so much that he is regarded as a man of the people.
Little wonder, when the lightcomplexioned Prince and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress