The book, Wale Adenuga: A Pencil in the Hand of the Creator authored by Atim Nkese Nkpure, a communication expert and Niran Adedokun, a journalist and lawyer is indeed an unusual biography.
For one, it captures the life of Wale Adenuga (MFR), Nigeria’s pioneer humour merchant cum publisher both in private and public. Two, it mirrors his private pains even while churning out tonnes and tonnes of humour to his legion of fans across the country and beyond. Three, it reveals his enduring and endearing spirit as an entrepreneur of no mean repute.
Perhaps the entrepreneurial nuggets imbibed from his late father, Chief Joseph Adesanya Adenuga, a teacher turned-businessman made Wale the roaring success he is today. Indeed, like a man with the Midas touch, whatever business Wale touched became money-spinner and instant success against all odds.
According to Wale, starting off in business, Pa Adenuga offered him these winsome words: “Honesty is the best policy. It pays to be transparent in business dealings either in the short or long term. Treat your employees well. Pay salaries as at when due. And pay disengaged workers’ entitlements and gratuities promptly.”
Another winning nugget from the sage’s arsenal to his young son is to eschew the get rich quick route, because it leads to perdition. And just like the modern day brand maker, protect your reputation because a good name is better than gold. For no legacy is so rich as honesty.
Pa Adenuga stated these emphatically as contained in the eye opening and inspiring biography, which is more like a modern day Bible on entrepreneurship for established and aspiring business people.
Wale’s dad, Pa Adenuga, was a teacher turned-businessman, who traded under the name, J. A Adenuga & Sons Limited. He started his business life in Gbongan before moving to Ile-Ife, Osun State. Although, originally from Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, Pa Adenuga migrated to Osun State to start a new life as an entrepreneur having quit his teaching job.
As a venture, Adenuga dealt in fast moving consumer goods, petroleum products and real estate, and became successful in all. In its reigning days, his venture spread from Gbongan to different towns in the old Western region.
Like her husband, Wale’s mother, Mrs. Lydia Adeyanju Adenuga also imbibed the entrepreneurship spirit by playing active role in the family business. So, the enterprise spirit was in Wale’s DNA. Little wonder, after graduating from the University of Lagos in the mid-1970s, rather than pick plum jobs from multinationals like UAC, UTC, Leventis, PZ, Oil and Gas companies or even the civil service, which guaranteed comfort and certainty, Wale chose the uncertain terrain of entrepreneurship.
And guess what his first venture was? Ikebe Super, a comic magazine, which he birthed in 1976. And when he started, Wale combined his publishing business with a full time job at his father’s company where he was a manager.
Starting Ikebe wasn’t a tea party. A printer who was supposed to print the first edition duped wale. Combining several roles, he was the writer, editor, cartoonist and marketer of the comic.
Notable characters in Ikebe were Baba Ajasco, Ajasco, Boy Alinco, Mama Ajasco and Pa Jimoh, and later Pa James and Miss Pepeye. Against all odds, Ikebe Super became a bestseller selling not less than 500,000 copies monthly.
With the success of Ikebe Super, Wale quit his full time job in the family business and relocated to Lagos with his darling wife, Ehimwenma. But Pa Adenuga was against the move. He thought his son was nut, and would regret the move. But like most dream makers, Wale held on to his dream and surpassed his father in business.
However, upon settling down in Lagos, the young publisher extended his brand by publishing Super Story, a drama magazine on real life issues. Super Story’s success surprised even Wale by outselling Ikebe Super. Every edition of the magazine sold not less than 650,000 copies. From those halcyon days of publishing, today, Wale’s business empire spans diverse sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
This unusual biography captures Wale’s life trajectory right from birth, education, career and entrepreneurship. Just as the human and humane sides of Wale as a romantic, student activist and family man are painted in lucid, vivid prose by Niran and Atim, the 20-chapter book is also filled with philosophical and humourous quotes about life and living, spiced with funny cartoons from Wale’s rich archive.
I recommend the book, Wale Adenuga: A Pencil in the Hand of the Creator to every entrepreneur and student of entrepreneurship. A bible of business it is!