It’s a different kind of social contract that Gabriel has forged for himself from the one they taught us in Political Science
In the Political Science class, they taught us that there is a contract between the Governed and the Government
The people meet their civic responsibilities and the Government provides for them
That contract is in tatters in today’s Nigeria and maybe that is why people like Gabriel have forged their own Social Contract with society
I first met Gabriel on the stairs of Primrose Towers the head office of FCMB where I was suffering telling myself I was working in a Bank
I greeted him as Godrey’s husband and he greeted me back and that was it
Godfrey was my classmate at the LBS where we went to run the SMP programme
Then she was in Fidelity Bank and one day she announced she was leaving the Bank to join the family business
That family business is Rain Oil the behemoth Oil and Gas concern that has grown so phenomenally that it is being studied in some very prestigious institutions
Gabriel, in a new contract he drew up between himself and society, did not wait for any Government structure to send palliatives to him; instead, he borrowed some meagre money and supplied his first 33,000 litres of product, and from there, built one of Nigeria’s biggest indigenous conglomerates with a staff strength of about 3,500.
Today, his holdings spread through finance, oil and gas, Real Estate and major holdings in strategic listed companies
Gabriel is a major block shareholder in FBN Holdings, Globus Bank, and also has stakes in powerful investment banking franchises
It is no wonder that about 1,000 people including such big guns like Tony Elumelu, James Ibori, Emmanuel Udom, Atedo Peterside, Juluis Rone, Dakuku Peterside and many more came out to felicitate with him at his 60th last night
Sitting with an MD of a huge Investment banking Franchise who is about to secure his own banking licence, last night, I asked
Does Gabriel seem aspirational to you?
Yes. Cos his trajectory didn’t follow the usual route for the social class he belongs to
Usually, you would work in a bank or any other such institution and then peak and at retirement, you would go build your own and grow it
He didn’t do that, he started from scratch and built bottom up and now he is massive and this is why he seems aspirational to his crowd, he explained
The crowd of bankers, ex bankers, ex Governors, top media barons, the so called 1% of the 1% find Gabriel’s story unfamiliar hence their enchantment with him
As he spoke last night, they listened very carefully to his words
He spoke very glowingly of his past, his struggles and his vision
He thanked all that needed to be thanked and more and left the stage for Flavour to do the rest
Gabriel’s story is the quintessential Nigerian story- if we can copy the American dream- where through very firm dint of hard work, a refusal to be punched down by the vicissitudes of life and a raging emergence despite the challenges society throws at you, you stand tall
It is his emergence that we celebrated last night at that very cosy gathering where everything was in excess
Happy birthday bro
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: June 1, 2026
