By It is not news that an average Nigerian uses every gap seen in the society as a way to start up a business which in turn covers the gap. Many Nigerians in different sectors have continued to create a niche for themselves.
BlackBox Nigeria brings you The Top 10 Most Successful Business Men in Nigeria, a list that showcases prominent Nigerian men who have been successful with their line of business, which cuts across various sectors in the economy of the country.
See the best ten business men in Nigeria in no particular order below…
Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote GCON needs little introduction as he has been featured in several business tabloid around the world. The Kano State born business man has been thriving in business since his days in Primary School when he started selling sweets, something that grew his passion for business after doing it for a long time.
He is the Chairman of Dangote Group, a conglomerate that has interests in Cement, Energy, Food Processing, Cement Manufacturing, Logistics, among others. He started the Group as a small firm in 1977 but has now expanded it to other African countries such as Ghana, Rep of Benin and Togo.
Mike Adenuga Jr
Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga CON is a business tycoon with major interests in telecommunications as he owns the Globacom, the country’s second largest telecoms operator. His other interests include banking industry (with major shares in Equatorial Trust Bank {now Sterling Bank}) and Oil & Gas industry, ConOil.
He started his business empire in 1990 after he obtained a drilling license as consolidated Oil and started operations in shallow waters of Ondo State. His company became the first indigenous oil company to do so in commercial quantity.
His telecoms company started off in 1999 when he was issued his first license. He has since driven the company from Nigeria to other African countries such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire (when he purchased Comium for $600m).
Tony Elumelu
Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu MFR, CON is a banker of repute, an economist and philanthropist. His activities in the Nigerian economy over the years have earned him two National Honours; Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.
He is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He has also been recognised as one of Africa’s 20 Most Powerful People by Forbes Magazine on 2012.
His career started in the banking sector many years ago, but came into limelight when he acquired Standard Trust Bank which he turned around to be a major bank in the country. He later acquired the United Bank for Africa in 2005 and transformed it from a single-country bank to a pan-African banking institution. The bank now boasts of several millions of customers in over 19 African countries. In 2010, he retired as MD/CEO of UBA and founded Heirs Holdings, a firm that has interests in financial services, agribusiness, real estate, hospitality, energy and also in healthcare sector.
Samad Rabiu (Bua)
AbdulSamad Isyaku Rabiu is a businessman whose father, Khalifah Isyaku was a foremost industrialist in the 1970s. He is the Chairman of BUA Group, a conglomerate with interests in Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Agriculture. He is also the Chairman of Nigerian Bank of Industry.
His business career started in 1988 when he established the BUA International Limited for the sole purpose of commodity trading. The company later ventured onto steel, billets and iron ore importation. It also imported rolling mills in large quantity into the country.
After many years of operations, BUA acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in the country. It later went into cement production which saw it constructing a $900m cement plant commissioned in early 2015 in Edo State.
Oba Otudeko
Oba Otudeko CFR is a Chartered Banker, Chartered Accountant and Chartered Secretary, businessman with domestic and foreign interests in diverse sector of the economy.
He is the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Airtel Nigeria, Fan Milk of Nigeria Plc and First Bank of Nigeria (retired from Board). He has also served on Boards of Central Bank of Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. He was also the Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2006 till 2009.
He was first honoured as Member of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2000, later upgraded to Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2002 and now a Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (2011).
Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola is a businessman with major interests in importation of oil products. He also has interests in other areas of business across shipping, finance, real estate and recently in power generation sector.
His company, Forte Oil, formerly Zenon Oil has over the years invested several billions of dollars in the importation of oil and in banking industry, where he has several shares. In 1994, Otedola established CentreForce Limited, a company that specialises in finance, investment and trading. He also owns Swift Insurance, an insurance company.
He owns the SeaForce Shipping Company Limited, a firm that makes him the largest ship owner in Nigeria. One of his ship, a flat bottomed bunker vessel which boasts of a storage capacity of 16,000 metric tons, a first of its kind in Africa. He is also a major investor in the real estate industry in the country.
Chukwuma Innoson
Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma is the Chairman of Innoson Group, major dealers in motorcycles, vehicles and spare parts. The Nnewi indigene started off as a trader before growing and moving into manufacturing.
Innoson Group, a known brand in the spare parts industry now has interests in manufacturing of plastics and household items with stronghold in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The plastic factory is the largest of its type in the whole of Africa and it produces over 150 different items which range from vehicle parts to office and household necessities.
Chief Innocent’s success story dates back to 1979 when his elder brother gave him N3,000 to start his own business after he made up his mind to become a businessman, he started his business under the name, Gabros International. Under two years, his firm outshined the company of his senior brother as he made profits that were ten times greater than the medicine store that gave him capital.
The boost he recorded after two years of trading in spare parts spurred him to launch two companies, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) and Innoson Tech and Industries, Enugu; firms that have since shot him to limelight.
His main dream is manufacturing affordable cars which will push second-hand (tokunbo) vehicles out of the market. In an interview, he revealed the plants plans to manufacture vehicles that will be sold for N1m, and even lesser as time goes on.
Orji Uzo Kalu
Orji Uzo Kalu is a Nigerian politician and businessman. He was former Governor of his home State, Abia, South-East Nigeria. He is the Chairman of Slok Holding, Daily Sun, New Telegraph and First International Bank Limited.
One of his firms, Slok Holding is a Nigerian conglomerate of companies with interests in wide array or operations spread across West Africa. It operates in all sectors of the economic namely; manufacturing, trading, insurance, tourism, real estate, media, finance, oil and gas, banking and Financial services. One of its companies, Slok Nigeria is the leading indigenous player in the upstream sector of oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The firm is so big that it manages its own fleet, which is in compliance with Nigerian Cabotage Law and registered with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Pascal G Dozie
Pascal G Dozie, here is a Nigerian business mogul that is the most silent billionaire among his contemporaries. He is the founder and Chairman of Diamond Bank and sit atop Boards of six different organisations that cuts across 7 different industries.
His career in retail banking and management helped framed him to shun in the banking industry as he took the Diamond Bank to attainable heights in the banking industry. Part of companies he sits atop their boards includes oil and gas, real estate, finance, insurance among others. His son, Uzoma Dozie has since followed his footsteps as he now manages Diamond Bank. he is a holder of National Honours, Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OON)
Nnamdi Ezeigbo
Born Nnamdi Ezeigbo, he is an indigent of Umahia, Abia State. He is a trained Computer Engineering expert. His journey into business started from a simple computer repair shop while squatting with a friend in Ikeja area of Lagos State.
His sincerity while dealing with his few customers then earned him trust as one of them started giving him printers to sell, with this he made the needed capital and he kick started his empire from there. From a simple table of laptop repairs, he soon got himself a fitting store he used in running his mini business. The same warehouse he paid N180,000 as rent, he later purchased it out rightly for N100m.
With his passion for business and no concrete knowledge, he enrolled for a MBA programme at the Lagos Business School which he supported with other workshops and training.
His ability to read through minds of many Nigerians who were in need of a single phone that will carry a double sim spurred him to initiate a production process of dual sim phones specially for Nigerians. His offer and idea were turned down by tech giant, Nokia, a situation that made him embarked on a trip to China where he partnered with an expert and they created what we have as Tecno and Infinix, these two brands of phones are among the best selling mobile phones in Nigeria today.
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