Ola Barnabas

CHIEF MICHEAL ISHOLA ADENUGA The name Mike Adenuga rings a bell. It is synonymous to Globacom – a telecommunications giant in Africa. The lessons to be learnt from the life of this colossus in the African business climate are enormous. You may wonder why the inclusion of Mike Adenuga in this small business book. Of course, his’ occupies an upper class in the big business league. I believe to become big, you must learn from the really big. That’s the simple reason for his inclusion. As it stands today, Mike Adenuga is arguably Nigeria’s richest man. Although Forbes magazinbe may not acknowledge this because their estimates are based on stock prices, exchange rates and ownership of shares of companies. On that basis, only one of Adenuga’s numerous investments may be considered – Consolidated oil (Conoil). Meanwhile his various investments include among others, Equatorial Trust Bank, Globacom, Real estates in Nigeria, Europe, Asia, US, etc. One of his interests – Glo r...

BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM By every standard, Jimoh Ibrahim is not a small business owner, but the reason for his inclusion in this piece is obvious. His success story can provide a great motivation for those interested in growing their own business. As a graduating student from OAU Ife, Jimoh Ibrahim seta goal for himself with respect to what he would have attained at a defined period. The key strengths that Jimoh Ibrahim has unclude creative mind which has been seen in his turnaround strategies, and boldness with which he faces all odds and high risk projects. It is these same strengths a that have brought him enviable success. As a youth corper, Jimoh Ibrahim was said to have developed a tax idea which he ‘sold’ to the government at that time. He went on all across the country implementing this idea. That brought him wealth. His ability to stay true to his promises to banks that guarantee him money for his businesses brought him fame and acceptance with them. Jimoh...

ISAAC DUROJAIYE (OTUNBA GADDAFI) Otunba Gaddafi at work This is the heroic story of Otunba Gaddafi as told in my book: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS (BIG your small business). Enjoy. The name Isaac Durojaiye sure doesn’t ring a bell in the ear of so many people, but not so his statements. Clichés such as “shit money no dey smell,” “shit business is good business,” “you call it shit, we call it money” are more popular than the personality behind them. Otunba Gaddafi, as he was popularly called, worked in the securities department of the American Express when he was in the states. And that exposed him to many things in the course of his duty and sojourn in that land. He came back to Nigeria, and became the bodyguard to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. At the time Chief’s son was to get married, Otunba was asked to take care of the security for the event. He was discharging his duty when he noticed that, there were only about two toilets at the planned programme venue. For the t...

INTRODUCTION TO THE ONION-BULB I once read a story about a teacher and his students. The teacher asked the students to bring a bulb of onion to class the next day. When they got to the class, the teacher asked each of the students to peel the onions layer after layer. In other words, they were to remove the rings one after the other. When the students were through with the assignment (need I tell you with tears-laden eyes?) the teacher asked them what they saw. The students chorused “nothing.” The teacher insisted on them to look again at what was left at the end of the peeling, and asked them again, “what do you see?” Again came the answer louder, “NOTHING.” “Nothing” is a reasonable answer, but that is the problem with that word. It is reasonable but not absolute. Because after we have exhausted all we know or seem to know, there is always still a lot that we do not yet know. There is much more to us, to the innate abilities and potentials inside us, and to the many ...

QUOTES ON MONEY/FINANCE/RICHES In addition to all the quotes I have posted several times on this blog, find here quotes on money that must shape your attitude to money everyday: -          A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses. – Luke 12:15, The Holy Bible -          Money: everyone seems to have different attitudes to it. – Ola Barnabas -          Neither poverty nor wealth is in the wallet. They are all in the mind. – Ola Barnabas -          Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich. – A.P. Gouthey -          The wretchedness of being rich is that you live with rich people. – Logan Pearsall Smith -          ‘Enough’ is not in the volume of money owned...

Here is the preface from my book: The Onion-Bulb Principle (Getting Everything You Can Out of Everything You Have) Enjoy.  At the end of one of the several seminars that I facilitated, someone walked up to me and asked, “What exactly do you do?” To that question, I responded: “I do three things for a living: I talk, I write and I build businesses, and each of these have their onion bulbs.” I knew I answered the man’s question, but the last phrase? Well, I think I ended up confusing the man. There was no way I would have been able to count the over 15 different activities that have manifested from my primary three tasks. I would practically have left him in a quandary while looking like a confused person myself. A few months before that particular seminar, I had got caught up in studying the onion bulb, deducing lessons from it that I could apply to my life and business, and of course share with everyone who would learn from it. During the period of my study, I mad...

This is in continuation of my promise to list 150 small-scale business you can consider to invest in in Nigeria. Find below 30 more in addition to the 100 I listed earlier Freelance book writing Block/Brick making and sales Cement sales Medical laboratory services Freelance musician/ instrumentalist Rental services of chairs, tables, carpets, etc Candle production Courier services Animal/ Fish feed production Nursery and Primary school Holiday school for children Raw meat delivery/ Frozen food sales Ice block making and sales Adult education Bulk SMS services/ reselling Waste disposal/management Glass building/windows cleaning Servicing/ Nursing the aged Street cleaning Column design for buildings Suspended ceiling/ POP fixing Interior design/Stage decoration Nylon cutting and sales Professional/Executive demeanor and carriage training ...

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? As soon as I came into the house, I knew there was something going on nobody was willing to talk about. You would always want to be a carrier of good news right? Or maybe if the news isn’t that bad, you could manage to divulge, but, how do you tell someone that “We just found your husband’s body mangled under a truck?” They had been married for 7 years straight years, against the husband’s family will. They were of different dialects of the Yoruba nation, the husband of the Kabba extraction while the wife was from Otan Ayegbaju in Osun state. The wife was not even welcomed into the husband’s family house. They might manage to welcome her if the husband came along, but she dare not go there alone. Time heals wounds they say right? But 7 years down the line and yet they would not bulge. Their treatment of her in the 7th year of her marriage was not any different from the first year she was introduced to the family. If you are re...

50 More Businesses You Could Start in Africa: 150 Business… Part II I did post earlier the first part of the 150 business you could start in Africa, today you are reading the list of the next 50, and there will be one more such post after this. My emphasis is on small-scale businesses that you require little, very minimal capital to start. I would probably consider posting businesses that require a little more than little capital later but for now, enjoy and explore the possibility of any of these: 1.        Video Coverage services 2.        Computer graphic designs 3.        Website design and hosting 4.        Internet marketing 5.        Forex trading 6.        Nasdaq and Fixed Odds trading 7.        Clothes selling 8.      ...