He is known as the Gas King. The Billionaire Gas entrepreneur is floating the largest indigenous floating LNG in Africa
His UTM has already secured investments from the NNPCL and the Delta State Government who holds 3% of its stake
Valued at more than $1b, the investment would be a serious game changer globally. It would drive revenue, create jobs and further push Nigeria towards green energy while stamping its authority as a major economic regional power.
Julius is angry with me this morning. The appointment was for 8.30 and it was for breakfast.
I got there past 9am and he was ticked. Edgar, Nigeria can change if we all keep to time. I said, yes not wanting him to change his mind on the Signature Suite breakfast that he was yearning for
Julius is a study of contradiction. Often underestimated as not being too deep but carrying one of the deepest business and philosophical minds around
Or how do you explain investing as much as $100m of personal funds in a venture that should come on stream in 2030
For him, it is not the quick turnaround money schemes of Nigeria’s business elites.
Edgar, my business will not take me where I want to be.
Where do you want to be? I ask in between mouthloads of sweet Basmati rice
I want to be one of the richest men in the world, so I can now take my time and impact.
At that level, it would no longer be about making money but having the huge capacity to engage and impact
This is exactly what brought me to Juius this morning
In curating power and influence, I decided to get the charismatic Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III to contribute an essay on the role of Traditional authority in evolving Nigeria
Julius is well received within the inner circles of the Olu of Warri’s Palace
His father was one of the longest-serving Chiefs and together with Football Czar, Amaju Pinnick, I got powerful access which brought the highly revered Ruler to see our Play on his grandfather – Ogiame Erejuwa II, twice
Edgar, you are a brilliant creative, but something is missing. How can you come up with such a brilliant idea and still be late for the meeting
Julius doesn’t want to leave this matter – oya sorry na
I’ll speak to His Highness, I don’t think it would be a problem.
The Olu of Warri, despite his age, have carried himself with so much panache, deepened respect for the throne and grown international respect for our traditional structures
He bestrides the three levers of power – institutional, Charismatic and Traditional with so much ease that it only just makes sense to have him join the rich plummage of contributors that include such egg heads like Prof Koyinsola Ajayi SAN, Atedo Peterside, Tonye Cole and Tunde Fashola SAN, to mention a few.
But wait, Julius, you ran into a storm recently with ex-Gov Okowa, I said making sure, I finished the last morsel of rice before asking, to avoid a push out as a result of the annoying question
EFCC pursue you na. He smiled and showed me a document that confirms a clean slate
See Edgar he tells me with a slight frown – you cant afford to mess up your integrity when you are working with multi nationals.
Our major partner is a 100years old and we have partners all over the world and once there is a ‘wanted’ sign on your head, you loose reputation and partnerships
We went in, subjected ourselves to the deepest scrutiny and came out unruffled
See we do not joke with corporate governance he continued. After this stage, we will list on the Exchange to strengthen reporting and corporate governance
Julius is very passionate about Nigeria, believing in its long-term growth and as such he asks me, ‘How do you see the landscape?
I express optimism and talk about my Love for SANWO-OLU and Ambode and my dying believe in Nigeria hence my Power Book as a redefining ideological bulwark as we seek national rebirth.
The food finished and since I didn’t want to annoy him again by asking for a second helping after coming late, we stood up and shook hands and he said – send me the request to Ogiame and I said Will do sir
As he walked away, I looked at him and shook my head and muttered, Julius will never get the appreciation he deserves for all his brilliance but then again it’s not about brilliance but the impact you make on people and in society and that’s exactly where Julius will get his accolades
Thanks for the food. Delicious
Duke of Shomolu