Adewale Tinubu

Early life

Adewale Tinubu had his primary education in Lagos state and later obtained the West Africa School Certificate in 1983 from the Federal Government College of Odogbolu. The son of a successful legal practitioner, Wale left Nigeria to study law at the University of Liverpool, England. Even as a student, he was always on the look-out for new ways to make money. Using his school fees as working capital, he would travel to Europe to purchase luxury German cars, and then would drive the car back to London, while trying to sell it off for a profit on the way. He repeated this operation about four to five times, and each time he netted a profit of about $5,000. He was only 21, but he was building the foundation for a future in deal making.

Wale went on to pursue a Masters in Law from the prestigious London School of Economics, returning home to Nigeria at the age of 22 to attend Law school, a prerequisite for any Nigerian lawyer. After law school he started working as a lawyer at his father’s firm, but not for long.

Career

Adewale Tinubu began his career with his family law firm, K. O. Tinubu and Co, where he specialised in corporate and petroleum law. In 1994, Adewale Tinubu co-founded Ocean and Oil Limited, an oil company located in Nigeria.

The Birth of Oando

A friend of his, Jite Okoloko approached Wale with a problem. Okoloko, who had extensive contacts at the federal government had been contracted by Unipetrol, a government-owned oil company to transport diesel from the Port Harcourt refinery in Niger Delta to fill up a few fishing trawlers in Lagos. Okoloko was desperately in need of a vessel to transport the fuel.

Wale had a close friend, Omamofe Boyo, who as a lawyer at FRA Williams Chambers- one of Nigeria’s most senior law firms, represented an oil service firm, which owned a weather-beaten 1945 World War II tanker called The Carolina. Excited and realising that The Carolina could fulfil Unipetrol’s requirements; Wale immediately contacted Mofe and informed him of the opportunity.

Mofe led Wale to inspect the ship, which was docked at Bonny Island, at the south-south region of Nigeria, and Wale realized the ship was just what he needed. He immediately chartered the tanker, informing Okoloko that he now had a ship to transport the fuel. This was the genesis of his foray into oil business.

With time, Wale acquired The Carolina from its initial owners and transcended from selling fuels to mere fishing trawlers to independently selling to indigenous oil companies. His oil trading company, which he called Ocean and Oil, earned a reputation for effective delivery of service and soon became a favorite among the indigenous oil firms. His two friends, Mofe Boyo and Jite Okoloko, joined him at the company and together they subsequently increased their fleet from one ship to seven. By the time he was 30, Ocean and Oil had become the market leader in the supply and trading of fuel products.

In 2000, Ocean and Oil acquired Unipetrol during the Federal Government of Nigeria’s privatisation exercise and just two years later, Wale led the largest ever acquisition of a quoted Nigerian company, with the purchase of Agip by Unipetrol. The group was re-branded Oando PLC and has grown to become the leading Oil and Gas retailer in Nigeria, ensuring one in five cars on Nigerian roads drive on its fuel.

Oando subsequently refocused its business model to become an integrated energy solutions provider encompassing downstream, midstream and upstream operations.

In 2014, against all odds, he successfully led Oando PLC to the landmark US$1.7 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria’s business operations. A first for a Nigerian indigenous company, transforming Oando Energy Resources into the country’s largest indigenous oil and gas producer with seven producing oil with an average production of 48kboepd, 2P reserves of 420Mmboe and several other blocks in various developmental or exploration stages. This time, there was no “Eaglet” talk as Wale had already become the colossus in the industry.

It has been sixteen years since Wale and his team took over the oil company and the company has successfully cemented its position as Nigeria’s foremost-integrated energy service provider. It is the only Nigerian energy company that is actively involved in all sectors of the petroleum economy as well as being the first African company to have a cross-border inward listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Oando Marketing, the group’s downstream subsidiary, is the largest marketer and distributor of refined petroleum products with over 320 service stations strategically positioned all across Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Sierra-Leone, among other West African countries. The group also has stakes in deep offshore exploration assets and producing assets, with a net production capacity of ~47,000bpd. It’s Oando Gas and Power business has is the leading indigenous gas and power company in Nigeria and has 134km of Gas Pipeline Networks in Lagos and South Eastern Nigeria, with 2 Independent Power Plants (22.55MW Capacity) .

Even in this challenging times, Wale has recently championed the significant inflow of capital (~USD 300million) into the country via the formation of reputable partnerships in the downstream and gas businesses, a new phase in the company’s strategic roadmap while still having extensive trading operations.

A member of the Nigerian Bar Association, he sits on the board of several blue-chip companies and NGOs as Chairman or Director including the board of Victims Trust Fund for Internally Displaced Persons.

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Adewale Tinubu is the nephew of chief Bola Tinubu, a Nigerian politician and former governor of Lagos State, and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress.