Wale Tinubu Spreads Oando’s Wings Beyond Africa

A journey of a thousand miles, in the words of Chinese philosopher Laozi, famously romanticised as Lao Tzu, begins with a single step.

Laozi, also an author, had penned those words to encourage people to start and take action towards their goals in life.

Several decades after Laozi literally gifted the world with this inspiring quote; evidence abounds that a Nigerian businessman, Jubril Adewale Tinubu, CON, has been most inspired by it.

It all began when he took a leap of faith to dump Law, a profession he had practised with an impressive record, while he worked in a family law firm, K.O. Tinubu and Co., from 1990 to 1994.

Tinubu, a law graduate from the University of Liverpool, and a Master of Law at the London School of Economics, wasn’t under any illusion about his next move. His vision: to rule the world of oil and gas business, was as clear as daylight.

It was a steely resolve, one that he was convinced would fetch him global recognition in the end.

From the outset, he was not driven by any inordinate ambition; rather, what was uppermost in his mind was to first register a presence in the nation’s thriving oil and gas sector.

Before the eyes of the morbid critics, Ocean and Oil Services Limited successfully acquired six ships within its six years of operations.

Interestingly, in 2003, almost a decade after it surfaced in the nation’s oil and gas sector, the newly acquired companies were merged, resulting in the historic birth of Oando Limited.

In its first 30 years of operations, Oando Plc now prides itself on several subsidiaries with staggering value-added services. A careful study of its rising profile points to the fact that Oando has steadily been eyeing the global stage. And Tinubu is not making any pretence about it.

Tinubu-led Oando has, nevertheless, been hit by the vagaries of business. This flip side to its otherwise enviable feats in the sector was inputted in the annals of the company about 20 years after its quiet but impactful entry into the sector.

Obviously, the Oando trajectory is a story waiting to be told. This became more tellingly interesting on February 27, 2025, when news of its selection as the preferred bidder for the Guaracara refinery, Trinidad and Tobago broke.

The awards, no doubt, underscore Oando’s track record of reliability, innovation, and infrastructure development, which aligns with its corporate strategic vision of expanding across the Caribbean region.

This development, which has been described as a compelling chapter in the history of Oando, is a testament to its resolve to steady its feet in the international market.