At 72, Mike Adenuga’s legacy continues to shape Nigeria’s entertainment landscape

The Nigerian entertainment industry has undergone significant changes over the years, with Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. playing a pivotal role in its development. That’s why every year, drums are rolled out to celebrate the man and his enormous contributions to the development of the country’s showbiz industry.And this year is no exception.

Adenuga turned 72 on Tuesday. As usual, his admirers and beneficiaries of his many gestures are popping champagne to celebrate the life of a man who transformed the industry, enabling Nigerian entertainers to focus on their craft, while earning a living.

Adenuga has continued to shape Nigeria’s entertainment landscape. Before his intervention, the country’s entertainers struggled to reap financial rewards from their crafts, despite their popularity. But the story changed when Adenuga established his company, Globacom, which provided unwavering support to the enterainters,fostering growth and prosperity in the industry.

Every year, while the Bull, as he is fondly called, marks his birthday, memories of his big heart are relived. His love for the entertainment industry is topnotch. To many, the story of the Nigerian entertainment sector wouldn’t be complete without Adenuga’s name featuring prominently as the biggest spender in the industry.

Over the years, Adenuga’s Globacom has been a frontline supporter of the limelight industry through sponsoring of programmes and corporate endorsements for practitioners of all genres.

If you were privileged to watch the popular comedy TV series,”Professor Johnbul”, which premiered on NTA Network in 2016, and sponsored by Globacom, then you would acknowledge Adenuga Jnr as one name that would continue to resonate with the Nigerian entertainers.

The comedy TV series, which were based on reviving morals in the Nigerian society had six seasons, before it went off air in 2018. But while it lasted, the hilarious series produced by Tchidi Chikere which starred some of Nollywood greats, including legendary Kanayo O. Kanayo, who played the lead role from whom it derived the name Professor Johnbull was one out of several other landmark programmes which were sponsored by Adenuga’s Globacom to boost the entertainment sector.

Industry operators are still engrossed with other entertainment events sponsored by Globacom such as Glo Campus Storm, Glo Rock ‘n’ Rule’; Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce; Glo Laffta Fest; Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, Dance with Peter, Glo X-Factor, and Glo Naija Sings.

Glo Lafta Fest’, which was regarded as the biggest music, dance, and comedy event in Nigeria, brought top-rated African comedians like Bovi, Salvador of Uganda, Basket Mouth, Gordons, I Go Dye, 2Cantok, Seyi Law among others together in one place for an evening of unlimited fun and laughter. The show was historic and resonated with the people. So also were ‘Glo Slide and Bounce’, a travel music and dance show; and the “Bovi man on Fire Lagos and Warri editions”, thanks to the generosity of the billionaire businessman.

Also, a few years back, Globacom brought the world’s biggest dance reality show, ‘Battle of the Year’, to Nigeria. The winners in seven different categories went home with mega millions in cash, space wagons as well as bagged an opportunity to represent the country at the global edition of the competition.

Apart from sponsorships, Adenuga also has personal relationships with some of the entertainers. At various times, his favourite comedians like Godons Basketmouth and Bovi, who have been ambassadors for the Glo brand, had benefited immensely from their personal relationships with the man with a large heart.

Despite his predilection for shunning the limelight, Adenuga reportedly drove himself to the album launch of Paul Play Dairo, a phenomenon in the Nigerian music scene in the late 90s and early 2000s, to the surprise of guests. He was equally there for the veteran musician who took ill in 2009 and had a long break to seek medical attention. Paul Play confessed that he didn’t publicly raise funds because “People like Dr Mike Adenuga were there for me.”

It was the same story when Juju music maestro Ebenezer Obey, who had retired from secular music decades earlier to concentrate on evangelism, needed to undergo eye surgery many years back. Adenuga bankrolled his medical bills abroad. That gesture helped to restore Obey’s health and returned him to musical reckoning. That’s not all, the Globacom boss also blessed the Miliki Exponent with an Escalade SUV.

According to industry sources, when it comes to appreciating movies, Adenuga is always one of the first to have a movie exclusively screened for him and his family in his expansive home cinema. Kunle Afolayan, one of Nigeria’s foremost filmmakers and former Globacom ambassador, had screened a number of his movies for Adenuga in the comfort of his home.

Adenuga’s sustained passion for the showbiz sector didn’t start today. It dated back to 2003, when he established Globacom, and since then, the Bull hasn’t stopped churning out millionaires among the Nigerian entertainers. His belief is that by actively engaging these key entertainment drivers, they in turn can positively impact thousands of others who are working with them and by doing so, help to grow the sector and the economy at large.

For more than two decades, Adenuga has opened his wallet to transform many lives in the entertainment sector. No one has given more than Adenuga as far as the limelight industry is concerned in Nigeria. His contributions to the country’s entertainment sector have been transformative. Adenugua’s commitment to the industry has not only elevated individual careers, but also contributed significantly to the overall development of the sector.