7 + 1 Lessons Learnt From The Great Guru Adenuga At 71

By Uche Nworah, Ph.D

The story of my marketing communications career will not be complete without situating the staggering influence of Otunba Dr. Michael Adenuga Jnr, GCON.

It began in 2009 when I was invited for a job interview to meet with him. As a policy, Mr Chairman as we fondly call him interviews everyone that intends to work within his Group or business empire. This is after the person must have gone through the other stages of the interview.

Lesson number one here is that as a business leader, you must know your staff and trust your hunch when making recruitment decisions. CVs alone don’t tell the whole story.

My CV had gotten the attention of one of Mr Chairman’s acclaimed global recruiters called Mr. Donny. My CV got to Mr Donny through a mutual family friend, Barrister Elvira Salleras.

As in other things within the MA Group, speed is a big factor and so the invitation to meet with Mr Chairman for the job interview came via text message. The meeting was to hold the next day at his then Oko Awo street, Victoria Island office in Lagos.

I will later learn that within the MA Group, text messages and later, WhatsApp messages, were critical means of communication. I will later adopt this having learnt an important lesson (lesson number 2) that speed is critical in decision making, and that when running a vast business empire, emergent technological and communication tools should be leveraged.

The interview finally held as scheduled around 11pm. As I filed into Mr Chairman’s expansive office, I didn’t know whether to kneel, bow, genuflect or ‘dobale’ in Yoruba style. Although I had prepared for the interview by making a few inquiries beforehand, nothing prepared me on how to greet or respond to the aura, power, simplicity and larger -than -life personae that welcomed me into the office.

There were some people seated by the table beside the Chairman including some of his children and senior HR staff. Mr Chairman immediately broke into a smile and ushered me to a seat, next he uttered ‘Uche Kedu’, as if he has known me all my life. He spoke a few other Igbo words in the course of the interview and would later disclose that he once traded in ‘abada’ fabrics with Onitsha main market traders. This was a confidence booster for me and helped to calm my nerves. As all these were going on, my CV which had been turned into a PowerPoint presentation was already displaying on the TV screen. Mr Chairman took me to task to talk about myself, my career and what I was bringing to the table.

As I was speaking, Mr Chairman was feeling in his spirit whether to say yes or no. I was later told that Mr Chairman does not make his decision based on candidates’ responses. He relies on his instinct and gut feeling in determining if a prospect will be a good hire or not. Next, was the question of my expected annual salary. This was another unique lesson I learnt (lesson 3). Within the MA Empire, you actually negotiate your pay at the point of hire. Two people might be doing similar jobs but will be on different pay scales. That’s the power of negotiation and speaks to the importance of self-worth as against desperation. If you value the skills you possess and are bringing to the table, you should be able to bargain and negotiate higher and better remuneration. Mr Chairman rewards all his staff handsomely.

I was offered the job eventually and told to resume immediately as the National Manager of Out-of-Home Advertising under terms which Globacom staff used to refer to as ‘armed robber salary’. This was in 2009. Mr Chairman is a great believer in the power of branding and marketing communications. He believes also in supporting the arts, sports, education, health and entertainment. He greatly invests in Nollywood and the music industry signing up many of the stars as brand ambassadors. Because of the nature of my job role, we held almost daily physical meetings with the Chairman then. This was a great privilege for many of us as it offered us opportunities to tap from the Guru’s great wealth of life and business experience. Severally, as we made brand presentations, Mr Chairman will cut us off and regale us with stories of his many business exploits, conquests and challenges in life.

The 4th lesson learnt here is to be hands-on as a leader. Delegate, yes, but don’t turn your back. Always keep an eye or have a helicopter view of operations.

Mr Chairman has a unique way of deploying human capital. Every staff member automatically becomes an MA Group staff. You could be working in Globacom today and the next day you will be working at Conoil or any of the other companies in Nigeria, Ghana and in other locations. Lesson number 5 here is effective and efficient deployment and utilization of available human capital.

The Guru is the most kind and greatest benefactor that I know of. He gifts, gives, and ‘dashes’ staff, friends, associates and others cash in naira and foreign currency, cars, watches, jewelries, choice drinks and other items. No wonder Dele Momodu uses the phrase ‘the spirit of Africa’ to describe him. I am a great beneficiary of his magnanimity as a staff. Not only does he pay above market salaries, he also gives staff money ‘under the table’. The special word for this is in Globacom is ‘stoning’. It is common to hear staff saying; ”Mr Chairman ‘stoned’ A & B’. When you are ‘stoned’, you are not expected to tell the other person. It is frowned at in the system to avoid unsettling those who were not ‘stoned’. Mr Chairman is famous for giving people gifts, even people he doesn’t know, but reaching him to thank him becomes impossible. He does not expect a thank you and also usually doesn’t expect any return favours. He once told us a story during a meeting, of how when he started making money newly, he started buying Rolls Royce cars and other luxury cars. He said after sometime he began to realize the vanity in such purchases, so he distributed the whole collection among traditional rulers nationwide. It is a known fact that many people have become multimillionaires just from Mr Chairman’s stoning alone.
Lesson number 6 here is to always be kind and generous in life.

My first missionary journey in Globacom lasted between 2009 and 2014. I had to leave to answer the call of public service when Governor Willie Obiano appointed me the MD/CEO of Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS). I served for 8 years from 2014 to 2022. After Obiano left government and we left with him too, I returned to Lagos to consider my next career move. It was Obi Adimora (Nnanyelugo), Mr Chairman’s bosom friend, who asked me what my plans were and if I would like to go back to Globacom. I wasn’t thinking about it then although in the 8 years that I was away in Anambra, I was still doing somethings for the brand unofficially, and that information always got back to the Chairman.

Nnanyelugo later got back to me and said that he discussed with Mr Chairman who asked him if I would like to come back. I gave him a positive response and within days, Mr Chairman’s office called me to come and meet with Mr Chairman. I met with the Great Guru inside his expansive tastefully furnished Banana Island office. The sprawling Roman -themed estate also serves as his residence. That afternoon’s meeting wasn’t so much an interview. Mr Chairman said he would love to have me come back to the Group since I had acquired leadership and other skills additionally from my public service in Anambra. He created a special role for me which hadn’t previously existed in the MA Group. As Head, Special Projects in the Marketing Communications Department, I will oversee Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and other assigned roles. I was privileged to be given an office in Mr Chairman’s office and another one in the Marketing Communications department. The compensation was out of this world and no one would have resisted such an offer. I stayed on this role for a year before the desire for national public service led to my resigning to take up an offer in the federal civil service in Abuja.

Lesson number seven here is the power of networking, of not burning bridges, to always leave indelible marks, and footprints in the sand wherever we work or pass through in life. Let people always remember you for your hardwork and professionalism.

Otunba Michael Adenuga, GCON, has through his business enterprises and philanthropic activities created hundreds of thousands of jobs, empowered millions across Africa, uplifted families and the society. There will never be one like him and i am personally grateful that I found favour with him.

I do not take lessons learnt during our nightly ZOOM meetings with the great Guru for granted. He is a tireless, detribalized, patriotic, and hardworking family man. Mr Chairman expects people who work with him to have a ‘can do’ spirit. The Great Guru doesn’t believe that there is anything that one can’t achieve if one believes in himself or herself. That’s why the brand’s tagline for over a decade – Glo Unlimited, continues to resonate. With the Great Guru, nothing is impossible.

Many of us who were privileged and still are, to attend the Great Guru’s meetings regard ourselves as Alumni of Oke Awo Business School & Bellisimo On The Waterfront Business School. I belong to the Class of 2009 – 2014 & 2022-2023.

The last lesson to learn here is the importance of living a life of legacy. Mr Chairman has led such a life all his life.
Here is wishing The Great Guru happy 71st birthday which fell on Monday, 29th April, 2024.