Mike Adenuga’s Most Expensive Investments in Nigeria

Mike Adenuga’s entrepreneurial prowess and strategic investments in various sectors have made significant contributions to the economic landscape of Nigeria. As a Nigerian billionaire with a real-time net worth of $5.5 billion, Adenuga built his fortune from the telecom and oil production industry. 

In this piece, we will delve into some of Mike Adenuga’s most notable and expensive investments in the country and their impact on the country’s economic development. Let’s dive in.

Glo 1 Submarine Cable

Adenuga’s Globacom is one of his most expensive investments that has largely benefited Nigerians. His company launched a higher capacity submarine cable named Glo-1 at a time when Nigeria and other West African countries were suffering a damaging internet blackout because the SAT-3 cable was faulty.

Adenuga spent a sum of $800 million to secure the Glo-1 submarine that connected Bude in the UK to Lagos in Nigeria and the rest of West Africa. It has landing points in Nigeria, London, Lisbon in Portugal, Accra in Ghana, etc. Adenuga’s Glo-1 crashed the cost of bandwidth for Nigerians and provided an alternative that guarantees high internet speeds and download rates.

Also, the multimillion-dollar mega submarine cable began to sell access to several other organisations across the land, including, PCCW Airtel Nigeria, Airtel Ghana, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Total Elf, Chevron, Agip, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Exon Mobil, United Bank for Africa, Fin Bank, Nigeria Bottling Co. PLC, P&G and media companies.

Mike Adenuga Towers

Mike Adenuga Towers is a 13-storey tower with about 11,482 square metres of office space used as the headquarters of Globacom. Completed within the space of 13 years, Adenuga’s Towers has a helicopter landing pad and a unique gold-coloured glass canopy supported by a galvanized cast iron.

The Tower which is located on Plot 1, Mike Adenuga Close, Off Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria, has a gold-plated bull sculpture in front. The bull is the personal totem of Adenuga.

Oil Exploration License for Consolidated Oil (Conoil)

Adenuga made history by becoming the first Nigerian to find oil in large quantities in an unusual place. This came after he received an oil exploration license in 1990. A year after the acquisition of the license, Adenuga’s company, Consolidate Oil spotted an oil well in an unusual place, 50 to 60 kilometres northeast of Okitipupa in Ondo State.

Reports say oil experts had written off the location but Adenuga thought otherwise. He said, “It takes God to strike oil. The man who knows never tells you where the oil and gas are. Even God doesn’t tell you. You must make the effort to find it. That is the challenge. You must look for it. God has put it there but you must use technology, you must use everything you can to get it. When you get it, you are lucky. If you don’t get it, you go back and you sharpen your pencil again. In oil and gas, you never say die.”

Today, Consolidated Oil Nigeria Limited, now named Conoil Producing Limited, operates six highly prospective blocks in the Niger Delta.

Banana Island Estate

The Nigerian billionaire also has an estate on Banana Island in the city of Lagos. The estate which roughly occupies 3 hectares consists of nine opulent duplexes. With an estimated cost of N8 billion, Adenuga’s Banana Island estate is fondly called “Bellisma on the Waterfront.”

Built by Julius Berger and Cappa &D’Alberto, the estate features a mosque and church for worship, a 200-capacity multi-purpose hall for events, a spacious car park for his luxurious cars, a private berth for yachts and boats, two watchtowers for high security, etc. The Nigerian oil mogul reportedly entertains a large number of guests in his estate.

Disney Vault 

Another real estate investment Adenuga has in Nigeria is the Disney vault.  Reports say he spent a whooping sum of N200 million to secure the space at Upscale Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi. The private burial chamber possesses a lush lawn, a balcony and a garden.