Tony Elumelu has got to be the smoothest billionaire in Nigeria. Nowhere else has this been more typified than the recent video making the rounds on social media where a trim, corporate kitted Tony in his trade mark red socks over black shiny shoes, vibes to MI Abaga’s “soft Life”.
Tony’s swag came through in the viral video where he is seen in designer casuals sitting snug in a private Jet, ostensibly operated by Execujet, sipping on premium coffee. Then there is the transition to his meetings and exercising in a high-rise glass building in a place that could possibly be the UAE going by the scenery when the camera pans out to the ambience outside that is graced with the Emirate’s unmistakable palm trees.
He is further seen entering and then emerging from what looks like a Maybach luxury car with a few staff scrambling to kotow. Indeed, like the accompanying song, if you are soft like Tony, “your mess go nice”.
Reactions to the video
Nigerians on social media reacted to the video that has garnered over 70 thousand views and almost 3,000 comments on Instagram, most to the effect that they want ‘the soft life’.
ken_gram110 said, “The life many want to live, but only a few actually achieve. Time to double the effort”
jessica_ngozi said, “You better recognize. it’s soft life or nothing”
Juliet268 wrote, “Dear God Please I need a very soft life. That is the reason for the daily hustle”
Evechinyere wrote, “Soft life sweet o, me too I want, when will my own hard work pay nau”.
Rhoney: “This is the actual ‘living’
Dfortunepescontrol: “Everything smells nice just like Tony”
Oilcartelmusic, referring to the private jet conveying Tony, said “this PJ na better one o. No be those ones wey person gets bend to waka inside”.
How to be like Tony
But Tony, who was worth $700 million in 2015, according to Forbes didn’t get to the top by doing the ordinary. Like most successful people, he went through the grind. “Normally soft life no be free”, the theme song reiterates, it involves waking up early and facing the grind. It involves plenty of hard work and sacrifice. And has Tony faced the grind?
His hard work has been amply rewarded as he has gone on to become one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists. According to his personal website, tonyelumelu.com, he is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Chairman of a pan-African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which operates in 20 countries across Africa, the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, and is the only African bank with a commercial deposit-taking presence in the United States. He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the leading producers of electricity in Nigeria and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand. He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Oil & Gas, an upstream oil and gas company, whose assets include Nigerian oil block OML17, with a current production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 2P reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with an additional 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources of further exploration potential. Heirs Oil & Gas is committed to creating resource-based added value on the African continent.
Be courageous
Tony is filled with courage as seen in his audacious move in 1997 to rescue a Nigerian bank that was on the verge of collapse, aiming to reverse its fortunes and create significant value. Their mission, though capitalist in nature, had an unexpected but important social effect: the democratisation of the banking sector in Nigeria and across Africa. That Bank is now the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which operates in 20 African countries—with presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, linking Africa’s economies to each other and the world.
Follow the TOE way
Tony has developed a set of principles over the years that can serve as a shortcut for you to realise your dreams even quicker than he did. It is called the Tony Elumelu Way, TOE.
Always persevere
For my first job in banking, the application requested for only First Class and Second-class upper graduates. But because I was relentless and determined to join the bank, I applied despite having a second-class lower grade, and wrote a cover letter explaining why I deserved a chance. The good news is that I got in. We give up too early sometimes. Nothing is impossible. It is only impossible in your brain. Open your mind!
No sentiment in leadership
The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold sense of conviction and course of action — even when the rest of the world does not see what you see. This mindset is what influenced my trajectory from a young analyst to becoming the CEO of pan-African financial services group, UBA.
Keep your competition on the radar
There is nothing like a good competition to push you even further. Having turned around and watched the growth and struggles of a number of businesses across various sectors, having good competition was a part of what inspired us to go further than we would have imagined without it. Embrace competition — you might surprise yourself!
Take the difficult path
There are no accidents; we’re all leaders – if we’re willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid of uncertainties. Having been born and raised in Africa, I have had my share of challenges and obstacles. Your belief in yourself and your abilities is critical to your success.
Define your purpose
Being clear on what you want out of life is the first step to a life that is 100% yours. Be daring, be different, and do not be afraid to be imaginative.
You may well be on your way to living the soft life if you follow in the paths of Tony so that like MI pointed out, when you are among peers, “your life go jolly, you sleep go sweet and your jokes go funny”.
What else you should know about Tony
- Tony Elumelu was born on March 22 1963 in Jos Plateau State. He studied Economics at Bendel State University (now Ambrose Ali University) where he got a BSc and a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Lagos.
- Tony owns a controlling interest in Transcorp, which is a publicly traded conglomerate with interests in hospitality, agriculture, oil production and power generation. He came into the limelight in 1997 when he led a small group of investors to take over a small, floundering commercial bank in Lagos.
- He turned it around and made it profitable within a few years and in 2005 he merged it with the United Bank for Africa. That banking group now has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and in the U.S and U.K. He also owns extensive real estate across Nigeria and a minority stake in mobile telecom firm MTN Nigeria, among other assets.
- He also set up the Tony Elumelu Foundation to nurture and fund young African entrepreneurs.
