Born on August 12, 1947, Muhammadu Indimi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist who was the founder of Oriental Energy Resources Limited. His contribution to higher institutions of learning extends beyond Nigeria.
His name cannot be excluded from the list of prominent and successful Nigerians who rose from nothing to something.
Overview:
- Born: August 12, 1947
- Home Town: Maiduguri
- State: Borno
- Wives: Fatima Mustapha Haruna, Samsu Samara
- Children: 20
Indimi’s father Alhaji Mamman Kurundu was a merchant who buy hides and skins from the communities near Maiduguri and sell them to those who need them.
As a youngster, he did not receive any official education, instead, he attended solely a Quranic school.
At the age of ten, he began working with his father in the family business of selling animal hides and skins and this was how he started learning the act or trade which he expanded on to become who he is today.
Career
Mr. Indimi founded Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a private oil exploration and production firm in 1990. Even if it’s hard to imagine, Indimi didn’t become a household name immediately.
Despite his well-deserved reputation as an oil and gas tycoon, Indimi got his start in the world of small-time entrepreneurial ventures.
After learning the craft at a young age, Indimi set out on his own in 1963 at the age of 16. When he couldn’t get the money to start his own business, he started renting out bicycles. By virtue of his youth and his father’s network, Indimi quickly gained a reputation as a successful dealer in the local area.
Indimi later include the selling of ready-made garments he got from Aba and other Eastern states in Maiduguri and its environment, but when a Biafran conflict in 1967 cut off the supply of ready-made clothes to northern Nigeria, Indimi began crossing the borders to get them in Cameroon and Chad.
Indimi’s economic aptitude was established even though he was still a teenager but he already had all it takes to be successful.
How He Made His First Millions
When flour was scarce in Maiduguri in the early 1970s, he acquired 50,000 bags from the Chief Commercial Officer of the Ministry of Commerce for Sokoto state at a lower price and resold them for big profits in Maiduguri. From this single transaction, he made a fortune.
Journey to Success
When the South Chad Irrigation Project was at risk of being delayed due to a lack of water, Indimi travelled to Florida in search of industrial water pumps and delivered them to aid in the project’s successful completion.
To further his commercial interests, the first pump plant in Maiduguri was established by him.
The Birth of Oriental Energy
His first foray into the oil and gas sector began in 1990 when he founded Oriental Energy Resources, an offshore exploration and production firm.
He went ahead to acquire oil prospecting licenses (OPL) which allow him to obtain up to 1000 kilometers of seismic data and drill at least three exploratory wells in that year.
Ebok, Okwok and OML 115 are three of the three properties under development offshore Nigeria that Oriental Energy began with Block OPL224.
Production on the Ebok Field began in the second quarter of 2011, while that on the Okwok Field began in the second quarter of 2015.
On the coast of Nigeria, Oriental Energy has built an offshore production hub centred on the Ebok Terminal, which is used to store and ship crude oil to and from refineries and other locations.
Muhammadu Indimi Other Investment
- He is the Chairman of M & W Pump Nigeria Limited
- Board member of Arab Contractors, O.A.O Nigeria,
- International University of Africa in Khartoum, Sudan.
Humanitarian Activities
Indimi is a well-known philanthropist who has had a significant influence in the fields of education, health, housing, and social welfare, among other areas.
As part of his humanitarian efforts, he established the Muhammadu Indimi Foundation. He has also carried out CSR initiatives in Akwa Ibom State and other locales.
In Enwang, the seat of Akwa Ibom State’s Mbo Local Government Area, Oriental Energy unveiled a N700 million contemporary residential complex with 100 apartments.
A 100-unit N600 million housing complex, food and clothes, schools and clinics for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno state have all been built by his foundation, MIF, for those afflicted by the Boko Haram conflict.
The Lynn University International Business Centre, named after Indimi, was a result of a multi-million-dollar gift from him to the university.
In addition, over 470 scholarships were provided to students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. He also extended his humanitarian gesture to a university in the United States of America.
Donation of $900,000 to Lyn University, USA
Recognition and Awards
For his achievements and philanthropic efforts, Indimi was awarded the honorary title Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2012.
Honorary doctorates from Lynn University, Florida, the University of Uyo, Nigeria, and the Nigeria Defense Academy have also been awarded to him throughout the years.
In 2017, he was named the Vanguard Businessman of the Year for his humanitarian efforts in Borno State.
Indimi’s Children
The founder of Oriental Energy is blessed with 20 children, they are:
- Jibrila,
- Yakolo,
- Ibrahim,
- Ahmed,
- Ameena,
- Mustapha,
- Rukaiya,
- Hauwa,
- Amina,
- Zara,
- Mairama,
- Amouna,
- Meram,
- Habibi,
- Tijjani,
- Aya,
- Abdulrahman,
- Abdullah,
- Fatima
- Adama
Controversy:
The chairman of Oriental Energy Resources was not known for controversy, but he was in the news in 2016 when the Borno-born billionaire donated a massive building to Lynn University in the United States.
The donation was rumoured to be worth US$14 million by the Nigerian media organisations, but the spokesman of his oil and gas company denied the report, stating that the donation was $900,000.
While Muhammadu Indimi swiftly corrected the figure in the public domain, he was criticised for donating such a humongous amount to an American-based university when his donations were more needed in his home state and across Nigeria.
Specifically, THISDAY Newspaper in an editorial entitled “The Prodigal Billionaire”, criticised the billionaire in its May 25, 2016 publication.
Some of his daughters attended Lynn University, which may have inspired Indimi to make a contribution.
His Net worth
Online publications claim that the Borno-state billionaire was valued at $500 million in 2015, but it’s a known fact that Muhammadu Indimi remains one of the billionaires in Nigeria.
Not only is he close to the corridor of power in the Northern parts of Nigeria, but he is also an in-law to President Muhammadu Buhari, in Nigeria’s political system, this means a lot.
Featured Image:
- By lindaIkeji