SOME OF THOSE WHO DEFINED THE LAST DECADE IN BUSINESS
Board of Advisors for the US-Africa Business Center. The mission of the US-Africa Business Center is to build lasting prosperity for Africans and Americans through job creation and entrepreneurial spirit, something that Mr. Peters has been active in on the continent for many years.
Welcoming Mr. Peters to the Board of Advisors, Chairman of the U.S.-Africa Business Centre, Scott Eisner, remarks: “We value and appreciate the insights from companies such as yours as they not only benefit the Center but also play a pivotal role in strengthening the ties between the United States and countries throughout Africa.”
No doubt the last decade was significantly defined by Mr. Peters’ tenacity and sheer audacity to dream and dream big.
When the trio of Tope Shonubi, Ade Odunsi, and Tonye Cole founded Sahara Group in 1996, little did Africa know that an energy conglomerate with prospects for global dominance had been established.
They would be joined by the trio of Wale Ajibade, Kola Adesina and Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka as well as a collection of over 4000 unique professionals to transform Sahara into what it is today - an energy giant with operations in over 38 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Today, Sahara Group is a foremost player in Africa’s upstream, midstream, downstream, power and infrastructure sectors and operates one of the largest privately run power generation (Egbin Power); and distribution companies (Ikeja Electric) in Africa. Sahara Group continues to promote good governance through its membership of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). Sahara Group also supports sustainable development goals (SDGs) via Sahara Foundation’s partnership with the United Nations and other stakeholders.
Sahara’s Upstream division is one of Africa’s leading independent exploration and production players with a diverse portfolio of nine oil and gas assets (as of 2017) in prolific basins across Africa. These assets are at various stages of development ranging from exploratory fields to mature producing fields with huge potential for positive returns. The company currently has a capacity to produce at least 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) with plans to boost production to at least 100,000 bpd over the next five years.
In recent times, the company traded over 100 million barrels of crude and 4 million MT of refined products, annually, through strategic partnerships and investments. Sahara trades with a highly diverse group of international players, with its key client base being national oil companies, refineries and other major players in the energy industry. Sahara is a key shareholder in some African refineries. The West Africa Gas Limited (WAGL), a joint venture company of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Sahara, has since acquired two 38,000 CBM LPG vessels, MT Africa Gas and MT Sahara Gas that are ensuring stability in the supply of LPG to the African/European region. The unique design of the vessels enables berthing at any LPG terminal facility globally.
With over 20 years of experience, Sahara’s downstream expertise covers product procurement, bulk sales and distribution of petroleum products across the globe. Sahara Group has storage terminals across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe with a combined capacity in excess of 380 million litres for a range of refined petroleum products. Recently, the group expanded operations in Eastern Africa with a focus on enhancing the availability of refined products around the region.
Sahara currently owns/operates retail stations across West Africa. Sahara has an additional capacity of 180 million litres of bulk storage in Antwerp and Malta. At the heart of Sahara’s business objectives, lies an unwavering commitment to promoting good corporate citizenship across the globe. This is achieved through the Sahara Foundation – the vehicle for the Group’s Personal and Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) initiatives. The activities of the Sahara Foundation are aimed at empowering the communities where the Group operates in a sustainable, transparent and efficient manner. Sahara Foundation has so far touched the lives of over 2,000,000 beneficiaries across its locations.
Sahara Group’s executive director, Tope Shonubi argues that unified standards would de-fragment African markets resulting in favourable economies of scale in intra-regional trade, regional harmonization of taxes and excise duties, reduction in smuggling and adulteration of products, improved local refining capacity, reduced landing costs of petroleum products, joint infrastructure projects as well as export diversification and access to a larger customer base.
Shonubi said Africa must accord the prospects of intra-regional trade the urgency it deserves to ensure accelerated economic development.
He said, “In line with the vision of a harmonized Africa, Sahara Group is building an integrated energy business across Middle Africa to harness the potential of intra-regional trade. We are delighted to be one of the first African companies to carry out full-cycle crude and product trade transactions using only African resources within the continent. All transactions were carried out by Africans for Africans using African resources. The future of our business depends on how well we can work together across Africa.”
According to Shonubi, Sahara Group’s ascendancy in the global energy business has its roots in the company’s indomitable entrepreneurial spirit and a firm resolve to demystify the impossible.
“We are humbled by the successes we have recorded over the years and are delighted that Sahara Group has become a leading African energy conglomerate that competes globally and serves as a source of inspiration for other African businesses, especially in the area of good governance and corporate citizenship where Sahara continues to give wings to the aspirations of individuals, communities, and businesses,” he explained. engineering, ship drydocking and repair services, marine logistics as well as exploration and production. The impressive footprints across the entire value chain of the Oil and Gas industry has earned the Nestoil Group, the enviable reputation of the Face of Local Content in the Oil and Gas industry.
Over the years the Nestoil Group has built over 300 kilometres of pipelines across different parts of the Niger Delta and other parts of the country – thus contributing to the needed pipeline and other infrastructural needs in the industry. These pipelines evacuate nearly a million barrels of crude oil per day. Given that Oil is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, this is a direct contribution to economic growth and development of the country.
Beyond Oil and Gas infrastructure, the Nestoil Tower in Lagos, which is the Corporate Headquarters of the Nestoil Group is the only LEAD Certified Green Building in Nigeria – built with sustainable materials, posing no threat to the environment.
One of the ways he has impacted humanity is through the Obijackson Foundation – a not-for-profit organization that addresses the needs of the less privileged by focusing on 4 strategic pillars of engagement: Economic Empowerment, Healthcare, Education and Infrastructural Development. Hundreds of indigent persons have received financial benefits from the Foundation in the form of Bursary Awards for students and grants for small scale businesses. In his hometown Okija over a hundred kilometers of roads have been constructed with street lights adorning most of them. The Obijackson Women and Children’s Hospital which he founded is the first of its kind in the entire Eastern Nigeria.
Azudialu’s humanitarian footprints are not limited to eastern Nigeria. In Ibadan, Oyo state, Azudialu through the Obijackson Foundation has taken charge of the total upkeep of the Juvenile Correction Centre, Sango, Ibadan. The centre currently has about 200 inmates made up of abandoned and trafficked children. About 50 of these children have been fully rehabilitated and integrated into the school system. Obijackson Foundation takes care of all their bills. In Lagos, Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi through the Obijackson Foundation feeds the inmates of the Ikoyi Prison and those of the Kirikiri prison every month. The foundation also feeds over 2000 persons every week in the Government Rehabilitation Centre, Owutu, Ikorodu.
Azudialu-Obiejesi is an admirable philanthropist, serial entrepreneur and lover of humanity. As a bridge builder, Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi is a shining example and role model.