Ten successful Nigerian entrepreneurs who never finished school

Many people today wonder what the correlation between being successful and having a degree is. We hope this post can gives some clarity.

TopNaija.ng carried out a research to uncover successful people who despite building large enterprises and trade never saw the four walls of a university/school (or saw and never graduated).

Let me clarify – the main aim of putting this post out is to clarify that success is not necessarily the product of a certificate but of smart and hard work coupled with a lot more personal attributes and principles that we found to be leveraged by each of these entrepreneurs.

Disclaimer though: No one is saying as a student you should not go to school but what is important is not to depend on that degree or on the government before you take giant strides in your field hereby making your life worth living.

We find the quote by Razak Okoya very apt for this:
“I have nothing against education. But at times, education gives people false confidence. It makes people relax, trusting in the power of their certificates rather than in working hard.”

Whilst we are sure the list of wealthy people that fall in this category is boundless, we narrowed it down to just 10 and in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Olorogun Michael Ibru was patriarch of one of Nigeria’s foremost business dynasties- the Ibru Organization. Though he attended Igbobi College where he obtained a school leaving certificate, immediately after, he went on to work in United African Company (now UACN), as manager-in-training- one of the few fresh school leavers to hold such position.

1. Rasaq Okoya is a billionaire industrialist and Aare of Lagos. He is the owner and founder of Eleganza group of companies, which has a market spanning Western Africa. He had his only formal education at Ansar-un-deen Primary School, Oke popo, Lagos. Little wonder he said: “In school, I could see my teacher in worn and often shabby clothes and at the same time, I could see the well-dressed businessmen of Dosunmu Street, the heart of business in Lagos then. It was easy for me to choose business life.”

3. Sir Tony Ezenna is an industrialist and business mogul, he is the CEO of Orange Drugs.

4. Mrs Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire fashion-designer and Executive Director at FAMFA Oil, an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company. She is one of the richest African women and also one of the richest black women in the world. She did not attend a university.

1. Cosmos Maduka is the founder of Coscharis Group (sole distributors of BMW vehicles in West Africa). He dropped out of elementary school following the death of his father at a tender age of 4.

1. Orji Uzor Kalu is the Chairman of SLOK Holding and the Daily Sun Newspaper. An international entrepreneur, he served as the governor of Abia state in Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He was rusticated from university for his participation in a student protest. Though he was later granted Amnesty by the school authority, he rejected it and chose to become an entrepreneur.

1. Cletus Madubugwu Ibeto is the founder of the Ibeto Group. On January 22, 1966, Ibeto’s father took a fateful deci­sion on the future of 13-year-old Cletus Madubugwu Ibeto, who was ready to en­ter Crusader Secondary School, Isingwu Amachala, Umuahia, following in the footsteps of his two elder brothers, Cyril and Louis Ibeto. His father stopped this on account that Ibeto’s two brothers were already in secondary school and that young Ibeto should proceed to learn a trade. He ended up earning an Accountancy degree from University of Ni­geria at age 54.

1. Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma is the founder of Innoson Group, manufacturers of IVM motors and Innoson Plastics. In 1978 after he was done with his secondary school education, Innocent Chukwuma applied to study Engineering at the university. He waited for a while to get his admission results before resorting to work at his elder brother’s (Gabriel) medicine store. When his university application results were finally out, he didn’t make the cut, and so couldn’t get in that year.

8. Michael Collins Ajereh, better known as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur He co-founded the now defunct record label Mo’ Hits Records in 2004. Following the closure of the aforementioned record label, Don Jazzy set up Mavin Records on May 8, 2012. Even though he enrolled in business management studies at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo state, he opted out after his first year.

9. Vincent Obianodo is the founder and chairman of the Young Shall Grow Motors, a parent company with many subsidiaries spanning from hospitality, to real estate, oil & gas, dredging & quarry, and transportation.

10. Chief Bode Akindele is the chairman of Mondola Group, one of the largest Nigerian-owned conglomerates which interests spread across agriculture, beverages, food processing, maritime, real estate and transportation.

This goes to show that whatever condition you are in or job you’re doing, doesn’t define who you are. They are only a means to an end. As long as you keep changing your course at the right time coupled with smart work, pure perseverance, consistency and a grand vision, you’d keep getting closer to your goal.

Rags to riches stories shouldn’t just amaze you, but should be a major motivating factor to get you off your feet and out into the markets, looking for great opportunities to make the most of.

Did this motivate you then please share with your friends. Is there anyone you expected to see on the list and you didn’t, please drop a comment with that name.