I woke up in a good mood. My brother, the brilliant Wealth advisor, Ayo Arowolo, had just written an inspiring piece on me following the publication of my compendium, the Maddtimes power list coffee-table book.
As if that was not enough for one night, I got very good news that the Lagos State Government, the NCAA and Rain Oil were joining Providus Bank and the CSCS to send reps to my Masterclass on Crisis Management and Reputational Management coming up this October in Abuja and in March 2027 in London
I was lightheaded and lay on the bed, just reminiscing about my life
Somehow, the quip about Jim Ovia and Shina Peters came to my head, and I smiled
The story circulated a few months ago. It comes and goes
The story is that both men came to money around the same time – N20m was the figure bandied
One built Zenith Bank and the other built a House in Iju
Today, we know what came out of the two positions
Zenith is today one of Africa’s biggest Financial Institutions, making Mr Ovia one of the legends of our time
Well, for the Iju Mansion, it has remained just that- a mansion, if we can still call it that.
Jim Ovia has not made any recorded public reaction to this story, to the best of my knowledge, even as I have read a very funny reaction attributed to Shina Peters on the matter
Mr Peters, according to reports, has not found that comparison funny, and I don’t blame him, especially as the reality on the ground seems to make him look like a clown for that decision
Seriously, Shina was a musician, and Jim was a banker at the time, and each went straight with the funds to their natural proclivity – Jim, a bank; Shina, a huge, showy house
This is still happening till tomorrow – bankers are looking for seed money to build financial institutions, while Musicians like Burna and Davido are building and acquiring multi-billion Naira houses to preen and pose all over the place.
Burna was recently reported to have used a crane to lift his Lamborghini to his recently acquired penthouse somewhere in Ikoyi, while Davido is also reported to have bought a multi-billion Naira land at Eko Atlantic for his new residence
Why this story came to my head this morning, I still don’t understand and why I am even writing this and for what purpose, I also don’t know beyond the fact that the story is kinda funny, especially Mr Peters’ reaction, which made him look even more foolish.
The story of Jim is in the public domain, but what a lot of people don’t know about the story is the role the late Baba Adura and first Chairman of the Bank Aladura, Otubu, who happens to be my friend Dere Otubu’s father, played in setting up the Bank
That story, although remarkable, still does not remove the visionary hard work that Mr Ovia carried out to deliver to Nigeria one of its most quintessential brands
This story, although not very charitable to Mr Peters, also does not tell us something very critical of Shina Peters, who was the most hardworking, most driven and most engaging Musician of that time.
He bounced back from failure so many times and finally gifted Nigeria the mega-hit genre of Afro Juju, pushing him to the legendary stature which he so richly deserves today
So ask yourself, are you a Jim or are you a Shina in your approach to your financial lifestyle
I am certainly a Shina Peters, and anyone who laughs at me in the future, I will come and knock the person in his dream.
How are you this morning? I hope you slept well
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: September 19, 2026
