I run 16 companies, with over 21,000 staff - Jimoh Ibrahim

How can one man run 16 companies? Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim answered that question in a recent interview: All we do in my group is acquire and get professionals to run it. What is wrong in that? We are running 16 companies.

We are in Insurance, Hotels, Media, Banking, Property, Furniture, Oil and Gas, Aviation. Jimoh at the age of 46 accounts for about 21,000 people working for my group in more than 13 countries. I have British, Americans, Indians, Bulgarians as staff working in my group. My private jet is run by Americans.

I have 8 hotels which makes me the highest hotelier in Nigeria. I run over 2,000 rooms. No be joke! If they don't know how Jimoh Ibrahim is doing all these things, they must come and stay with me for one week. They wonder how I run these companies? Let them go and read books on how to run a corporation.

Let me give you my time table for tomorrow. Lagos to Abuja to attend a board meeting. Leave there to Ghana to attend a meeting with bank of Ghana. I will pass the night in Ghana, from there I fly to Dubai to firm up our new projects there and from there go to London to go meet my family and then come back to Lagos. That's my itinerary for the next three days. So how do you think I run these companies? I don't know why people are crucifying me over Air Nigeria.

Abiola tried Concord Airlines, it didn't work. Igbinedion tried Okada Air, it didn't work for long. Richard Branson who ran this airline dumped it on us and ran away. He left over $300 million debt and ran away. Jimoh Ibrahim picks it up from there and he's making it work and they are shouting my name!