More than 400 donated cows. $100,000 diamond pendant. 24-karat gold sunglasses by the House of Lunettes. Close to 70 private jets. Hundreds of the most expensive luxury cars. Wines costing N3.5 million served. A burial so affluent that the host quipped: the burial “would make people crave death with relish”. Obi Cubana’s mother’s burial has dominated the social-sphere of Nigeria.
He turned his village into an arena of the socialites, eclipsing another burial where a former bank CEO brought former presidents, bank executives, past and present central bank governors, etc for his mother’s burial. But those could not compete with a carnival which attracted Davido, D’banj, Kcee, and E-Money.
Why did Obi Cubana do this? Simply, that is what entertainers do. And they are not stupid. It is a business that wins on visibility and popularity. As the man who runs one of the largest nightclub chains in Nigeria, he understands that he could recruit more thousands if Cubana brand is more urbanized in the hearts of young people. And to do that, he called up his messengers, being the High Priest, and they responded.
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The subjects are young people who are hypnotized by wealth. I promise you one thing: the market cap of Cubana would double in the next few months, mainly from more traffic into his clubs.
For this fanfare and carnival, it goes back to one thing: delivering alpha. I had been in a meeting where an entertainer was asking what he could do – no matter how crazy – to be in the news for 24 hours. It was in Tuskegee Alabama and I was trying to earn small money (as a student) to help a local entertainer on strategy. The wife there suggested that the man should slap her and she would call the police, and that would get all the local newspapers to cover it. But at the end, it would be captured as a mistaken incident (the wife would claim she was confused) and the next week, he would open a concert! I excused myself and left: many things are rigged in this world!
Obi needed to arrive in Nigeria – and he has done what most do to arrive in Nigeria: go through the minds of people, showcasing wealth, and become relevant at scale. Expect him endorsing politicians now! He is rumored to be worth at least $500 million with his Cubana empire estimated at excess of $2 billion, globally. In other words, he runs a business which could be valued more than most banks in Nigeria. His magic is simple: uncommon class of splendid quality in exotic clubs and hotels.
Anambra state passed an anti-money spraying in events. We will be watching if they will enforce the law because what happened in the burial was clear: there were many men whose problems are how fast they can spread money. Yes, someone in Nnewi makes a tool which helps you load cash and push a button so that spraying money will not be too much of a burden.
Same Nigeria and 99% of them live in that Nigeria: unbounded wealth. Sometimes, despite the obvious insanity of this carnival, it is good to remind people that Nigeria has acres of diamonds. Do not be tripped – all of them have built ROIs on, and the destination is fatter bank accounts as free press has brought more brand recognition.
Obi and his group are in the same Nigeria. Yes, despite the obvious insanity of this carnival, it is good to remind people that Nigeria has acres of diamonds. As I watched them, I saw an opportunity: build a money-sprayer as I saw men in pain trying to spray money fast enough, but their hands were failing. Imagine if we have supersonic money-sprayer which allows only $100 papers!
But note this: Obi has elevated Cubana, and when he returns to business, he will check how the foot traffic has improved in his clubs and hotels! Like in Michael Jackson’s wake keep where the girl said it would be nice to do this type of show regularly, Cubana 2.0 has started. And before I go, I send my condolences. He truly wanted to celebrate his mother – and he has all the rights.
The Umunneoma Economics and Igbo Apprenticeship System
Legends have it that most of the wealth displayed during the burial came through donations from men who Obi Cabana supported in their entrepreneurial journey. As I have written in Harvard Business Review, the Igbo Apprenticeship System remains a vehicle to accelerate wealth creation and insure a future. Obi Cubana is another case study.
The Igbo Apprenticeship System is a business philosophy of shared prosperity where participants co-opetitively participate to attain organic economic equilibrium where accumulated market leverageable factors are constantly weighted and calibrated out, via dilution and surrendering of market share, enabling social resilience and formation of livable clusters, engineered by major participants funding their competitors, with success measured on quantifiable support to stakeholders, and not by absolute market dominance.
For the Igbo Apprenticeship System, the main focus is to prevent poverty by mass-scaling opportunities for everyone, and not for building conglomerates! It makes no sense in Adam Smith Economics that a man will build a business, accumulate a market share, and one day decides to relinquish some – and even go further by funding his competitors. But he is accomplished by doing so: those competitors are his brethren (umunneoma) and they will RISE with him. In a world of inequality, despite the obvious inefficiency in this system – lack of scale reduces the capacity to solve big problems – it is all about ubuntu.
Comments on LinkedIn Feeds
Comment: There is no value in this kind of stuffs. It would not bring any development to his village. So what it is far?
Response: What is development? If a man spends $2 million and adds $50 million in his company valuation, is that not a good playbook? This guy is a UNN graduate, he built a massive empire from scratch; I will never think he is not going for alpha. It is part of building wealth: for every $1 billion Amazon puts in India, Wall Street rewards it with $20 billion for having exposure in India even though it may not make money in India for 10 years. But if it does not “waste” that money, Wall Street will punish it because it is not represented in frontier emerging market.
The total media attention he has received including from BBC, VOA, etch which are covering it as a special discovery carnival is already more than he spent. Cubana is a brand now and Cubana 2.0 has started. He is laughing at us because it is all a playbook!
I used to have a contract with Ifeanyi Ubah and I learnt how these guys shape brands even when you think they are clueless. Mr Ubah is now a Senator. He is the only senator not from APC or PDP because Ubah is a brand – he defeated APC and PDP. He wasted money – but he captured value.
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This piece is brilliance at it peak.
Show biz done well
I have been reflecting on one key component of the whole burial carnival, and it’s a curious one: security!
With all the open show of riches and raw cash, we never heard about anyone getting kidnapped, robbed or even harassed, while the show lasted. And it’s not like they relocated both army and police barracks to Oba.
What I can conclude here is that when you are ‘man of the people’, even kidnappers and robbers will behave themselves, something for our social scientists to undertake more nuanced studies on.
Nigeria currently needs a ‘man of the people’ as president, the one that when he/she speaks, everyone will be ready to sweat and die for Nigeria. A president who wouldn’t need truckloads of soldiers to protect him on a visit within Nigeria, rather guys will rally round him and ensure that nobody misbehaves. Not sure the Obi needed escorts to feel secure at Oba, his men were more than capable of guaranteeing that nothing happens to him or his entourage.
Another lesson? Those who know Obi made millions who never heard of him sort of know and admire him. When you are the ‘man of the people’ type of leader, your allies and acolytes will convert believers in their millions, because the enthusiasm will be ultra infectious…
well said…?
Meaning Nigeria needs a man of the people, like Obi?
I find this to be well written.
For one who truly understands how the market place is, Obi Cubana was not just burying his mother, he was, through what many deemed an extravagant show of affluence, building generational wealth for his children.
So while I wish him condolences, I equally applaud his IQ.
Equally, I applaud Ndubisi’s foresight for seeing beyond what was apparent.
Succinctly put.
Wow!
This is a masterpiece and a delightful read for the inquisitive mind. Prof has once again distilled raw wisdom which can be applied or replicated by the wise.
Masterpiece analysis, Prof, as always. Thank you for teaching constantly.
Thanks Prof, you have made us to see beyond the fence, a lot of people were looking at the extravagances but the in-depth ideology is for the wise to decode.
I get value from every of your article. So rich and educative. And the idea of “supersonic money-sprayer” caught my attention. This is a problem that can turn one into a millionaire. Thanks Prof.
Very insightful piece
Sincerely, I have never seen this kind of man who gives out his wealth without his wife discouraging him or having physical quarrel with him. It also show that this my brother Obi Cubana, has a well trained and generous wife. Continue doing great works, you’re doing what the Scripture tells us to do, ” Love your neighbour as you love yourself ”. God bless you and your (wife) family.
I also learnt more lessons from your good gesture. Real Man of God you are!
I would love a situation where the state governor can work with obi cubana and other billionaires in the state and invest in 1000 individuals, and help them with contacts. These 1000 people will be monitored by the commissioner for Business in the state .(if there is one)
This is a wonderful write up from you Prof. It is true that Oba Cubanna is using this opportunity to make his business well known to the general public. Today his name and his business has make more name then the Boko Haram bandit in Nigeria.
Congratulation Tekedia.