The 2006 arrest and questioning of Mike Adenuga, chairman of telecommunication giants Globacom and oil company ConOil, caught many Nigerians by surprise, owing to his closeness to those in the corridors of power at that time.
He had a long friendship with both the president then Olusegun Obasanjo and his vice president Atiku Abubakar. But this triangle was sorely tested when Mike Adenuga was quizzed by the EFCC.
An excerpt from the autobiography of a foremost traditional ruler, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebu, has disclosed why it was so – it was simply because Obasanjo was miffed by Adenuga’s close ties to Atiku, with whom he was embroiled in a bitter fight that threatened to capsize his presidency. And as analysts of Nigerian politics will tell you, that fracas has stifled Atiku’s political career till date.
In a lengthy excerpt that has now gone viral, Oba Adetona writes:
‘The EFCC in Lagos had come calling brusquely on Mike Adenuga (Jnr), Chairman Globacom on 9 July, 2006. They broke his gate, swarmed into his house and kept him under ‘arrest’. When I heard about the arrest, I called the legal firms, of Ayanlaja SAN & Adesanya SAN as well as Professor Biodun Adesanya SAN to take up the matter and secure Mike’s release. They swung into action and gave indication that they would take the matter to court…
‘Mike read between the lines and proceeded to the UK on exile. When I visited the UK, Mike came to see me and wanted me to facilitate a meeting with Obasanjo so that he could present his side of the case. The allegations against him were as follows:
a. That Abubakar Atiku, the Vice-President, gave Mike Adenuga money from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) which were invested in Mike’s bank, Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB), and that the funds were used in paying for the Globacom license.
b. That as a result of the connection in (a) Atiku was a major shareholder in Globacom. And Atiku used his clout to ensure that PTDF money got into ETB.
c. That General Ibrahim Babangida, the former Head of State, was also a major shareholder in Globacom.
‘It was not enough for Mike to merely present his case to EFCC, for it seemed the EFCC was under some remote control. The Presidency was after Atiku. Atiku at some point was the Chairman of the PTDF; an attempt was being made to indict him for alleged illegal and unauthorized channeling of PTDF money into Globacom. All sorts of rumors were flying around, and the Presidency wanted to pin down the case against Atiku. If Ibrahim Babangida also fell into the trap, so much the better.’
He continues:
‘While Mike was in exile, we shared a moment of relaxation together. We took a holiday together in the south of France with some members of our families. I had with me my wife Olori Kemi, my daughter, Ronke and Oba Adekoya, the Dagburewe of Idowa. Mike came along with his two daughters and his niece.
‘While on this holiday, the President of France, Jacques Chirac, was going to be holding a conference with African Heads of State in Nice. Coincidentally, we got to know that Obasanjo was booked to stay in the same hotel where we were staying. Later, we learned he had changed his mind and would not be attending the conference. Then not long afterward, we were told he had decided to attend after all. By the time he finally decided to attend, all the rooms in the hotel were fully booked, and he was now booked into another, Embassy Hotel, which was a stone’s throw from when we were. I got to know that he would check in at 8.00am on the day of the conference. At 8.330am, I went to his hotel and took Mike along with me. From the reception, I spoke to him on the phone. When he asked from where I was speaking, I told him I was downstairs in the lobby of his hotel! He said he would send someone down immediately to lead me up to his suite, and he did so. I left Mike behind in the hotel lobby. When I got to his suite, there were already a number of people in the corridor, in his living room and the dining room waiting to see him. His ADC took me straight to see him in his bedroom. I had hardly settled down when he started talking to me about his deputy, Abubakar Atiku. He was at daggers drawn with Atiku…
‘I told Obasanjo that Mike Adenuga was in Cannes and that I had brought him with me. He was waiting in the foyer downstairs. I told him that the reason I brought Mike along was that it was not unlikely that Obasanjo would hear that Mike was in Cannes while he was in town and would deem it discourteous if Mike did not show up to pay his respect. Now that I had told him, that Mike was downstairs, it was now up to him, if he wanted to see Mike, to send someone to bring him up. Obasanjo objected to Mike coming to see him in his suite. Instead, he said he would see Mike downstairs on his way to the conference. At this point, I volunteered to go downstairs and wait with Mike. Obasanjo again objected, insisting that he and I should go down together. Soon after, his ADC came into the room to remind him about the time. He went into his bathroom, got ready, and we went to the lift with his Foreign Minister.
‘When we got down, Mike came forward to greet him. ‘I have nothing against you, it is a matter of principle’ Obasanjo told Mike. Mike, in turn, said, ‘Your Excellency, I understand. Thank you.’ That was all the exchange they had.
‘Mike remained in exile in London, and nothing much was heard again or raised by the EFCC about him. Later in 2007, I called Mike in London and told him I wanted to know why he had refused to return home. Since he had no skeleton in his cupboard, then he should return home. I explained to him that the purpose of the wealth with which he had been divinely endowed was to care for his needs, and his interests. It was also for use to defend his honor and integrity. For these reasons, I urged him to return home.
‘Thereafter, Mike returned home. Nobody touched him, and no institution has prosecuted him because there was no genuine reason from the onset for anybody to touch him…’
At 82 years old and after a 56-year reign, Oba Adetona seems keen to speak openly on a subject that, thus far, has been enigmatic.
Mike Adenuga has since returned to his thriving empire; former president Obasanjo has had a falling out with his beloved PDP.