Atiku congratulates Mike Adenuga at 7
Dear Dr Mike Adenuga Jr,
I am delighted to write and celebrate you on your attainment of the Biblical “three scores and ten years” on this planet Earth. Turning 70 years is no mean achievement, given the vicissitudes of life in our country. It means that you are one of the very few people that have reached the number of years considered by the Bible as “a full lifetime” of traditionally expected duration.
Turning 70 has a way of giving you an absolute sense of fulfilment. I have been there, so I know it. And as someone that has confronted and remarkably conquered the challenges of poverty, one can only imagine how fulfilled you now feel, having climbed up and now sitting comfortably atop the dizzying heights of business and affluence.
Comets, they say, come but once in a century. Such is your story: our own dear Dr Michael Adeniyi Agbolade lshola Adenuga Jnr, GCON, one of Africa’s most illustrious sons and guru of business, Bull of sports, quintessential philanthropist, humane and urbane gentleman and above all, a thorough-bred, authentic and loving family man.
Born into humility seven graceful decades ago in South West Nigeria, you climbed into the rostrum of wealth and fame through the dint of hard work, steadfastness, honesty and integrity. Your vision and mission, as well as your endurance and perseverance, are second to none. Given those outstanding qualities, it was no accident that you made your first million while still under age thirty, selling clothes and soda (soft drinks).
Your meteoric rise front being a one-time yellow cab driver while struggling with your studies in the United States, to being today’s Forbes’ globally listed dollar billionaire who sits atop the board of A-league corporate conglomerates such as Globacom telecom, Conoil Plc, Conoil Producing, and Cobblestones Properties is a story usually glimpsed in fairytale story books. You are not only the pride of your community and country, but Dr Adenuga Jr., you are truly the pride of the African continent.
Let me, therefore, take this special moment to doff my hat to the Otunba Apesin of Ijebuland, and to congratulate you for clocking the 70th anniversary of your birth. It is the prayers of my family and I that God will grant you peace and happiness as you straddle the Globe spreading these blessings upon the rest of humanity. May the Almighty grant you many more years to do even more for humanity. Happy 70th Birthday, my friend and brother, Chief Adenuga Jr.
Atiku Abubakar, GCON
Waziri Adamawa
Vice President of Nigeria, (1999-2007), and
2023 PDP Presidential Candidate.
