By Funsho Arogundade
At a point, Prince Adetokunbo Sijuwade —the eldest son of His Imperial Majesty late Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, the 50th Ooni of Ife who passed on in 2015 at age 85— was one of the most sociable men in Nigeria. With quality education, opportunities, good genes, and connections, Prince Sijuwade was one of the prominent guests on the list of many top members of the Nigerian aristocracy. The Ife Prince, with a boyish look and married to Amina Dyeris Sijuwade, the beautiful daughter of Retired Brig-Gen. Adamu Dyeris, is equally seen as a ladies’ man.
However, the passing of his revered monarch father and the pressure of assuming the headship of such a powerful Sijuwade dynasty seemed to have forced the bespectacled dark-hued legatee to lie low. Despite being off the radar and hardly seen among the corporate overlords, Prince Sijuwade, it was learnt, still influences things quietly.
Regal with a gentle mien, yet he’s a fierce businessman who is focused on achieving his goals without drawing undue attention to himself. That modest side of his personality has remained his most powerful tool to attain success in running the family business empire: Sijuwade Group founded in the 1970s by their late dad with interests spanning construction, oil and gas, real estate and hospitality. Since the monarch’s passing in 2015, the prince has further expanded the conglomerate, increasing its valuation to over $200 million.
With deeper investments in Nigeria’s energy sector and a growing construction and real estate portfolio, the Sijuwade dynasty has reinforced its standing as one of Africa’s most influential families. But Prince Sijuwade’s special interest in the energy sector is too obvious.
The group first entered the oil and gas sector in 2008 and has since been expanding, leveraging its role as a local content partner when international oil majors, including Centrica Plc and StatoilHydro ASA (now Equinor), explored plans for an LNG project in Nigeria. As part of a consortium evaluating the feasibility of LNG and petrochemical developments, Centrica and StatoilHydro each held a 37.5 per cent stake, while Consolidated Contractors Company —one of the Sijuwade Group’s interests— controlled the remaining 25 per cent. Initially, the consortium focused on developing two Oil Prospecting Leases —OPL 283 and OPL 276— however, as global energy companies streamlined their portfolios, Newcross Petroleum acquired a majority stake in both assets, while the Sijuwade Group retained a minority interest. Today, Prince Sijuwade serves on the board as a director, overseeing the family’s stake. As Nigeria seeks to boost crude output to strengthen its economy, the Sijuwade family is making a major move in the oil industry.
The Group is spearheading the development of OPL 276, an oil block in the eastern Niger Delta basin where it holds a 10 per cent stake. The block is co-owned by Newcross Petroleum and London-listed Lekoil. The first production is set to begin within the next 12 to 18 months. With drilling activity set to ramp up, the Sijuwade family is poised to further solidify its presence in Nigeria’s oil industry.