Imasuen’s ‘The Challengers’ launched as blueprint for entrepreneurship, institution-building

By Godwin Okondo

BUSINESS leaders, entrepreneurs, publishers and literary enthusiasts gathered on 13 July 2026 at Radison Blu, Vicoria Island, Lagos for the public presentation of The Challengers: The Disruptive Nigerian Entrepreneurs Creating Billion-Naira Companies, a new book by author and publisher, Dr. Eghosa Imasuen. Dignitaries described the work as an important contribution to Nigeria’s corporate history and an inspiring account of how young entrepreneurs can build enduring institutions despite daunting economic challenges.

The event featured reviews and addresses by the publisher and Managing Director of Narrative Landscape Press, Anwuli Ojogwu, chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Justrite Superstores, Dr. Ayodele Aderinwale, and reviewer Kunle Kasumu, with all praising the book for documenting the remarkable journey of the founders of VFD Group and preserving a story they believe deserves a permanent place in Nigeria’s business history.

There was an interactive session between the author Eghosa and media entreprenuer and podcast host of #Chude, Mr. Chude Jideonwo, where the author explained his motivation for writing documenting the business hisory of these young but pioneering men, who nurtured an idea from inception to billion dollar height. Imasuen, author of two fiction works, To Saint Patrick, and now into creative non-fiction with The Challengers, said the story of his subjects runs parrallel with Nigeria’s business story and how the two are intertwined.

He pointed at the uniqueness of the ‘gather-do’ (Warri quaint pidgin lingo) spirit of the founders of VFD Group and how it defied Nigeria’s uncertain and sometimes unfriendly business climate to succeed.

Also present were some of the founders of VFD Group, including Nonso Okpala, Adeniyi Adenubi, Mobolaji Adewumi, Gbenga Omolokun, Azubike Emodi, who engaged in a lively conversation with Jideonwo on their motivations for sticing together rather than go it alone, as it often happens in this part of the world when individuals succumed to ego.

Their business story follows the 2008 global economic meltdown and how they bunched together and began to curate businesses that are towering success today. They all agreed that they had to let go of their ego and build on the uncommon trust they found among themselves, noting their meeting sessions were wars they fought so they could all win as one.

Kasumu described The Challengers as a compelling piece of creative non-fiction that reads like a thriller while remaining rooted in factual storytelling, noting, “From a purely technical perspective, there is little to fault in this book titled The Challengers. The errors you may discover as you read are the types that are often fixable in second editions,” he said, commending Narrative Landscape Press for maintaining high publishing standards.”

According to him, although the book contains engaging plots and business narratives, its greatest strength lies in its characters, whom he described as ‘Nigerian superheroes.’

“These dreamers, thinkers, adventurers and risk takers are the protagonists of Eghosa’s book,” Kasumu said. “Through The Challengers, we meet these founders of the VFD Group, perhaps the most remarkable industry-agnostic investment firm in Nigeria that uses its own proprietary funds to invest in and build businesses.”

He noted that the book offers readers rare insight into the minds of entrepreneurs who evolved into successful investors, negotiators, corporate managers and institution builders while exploring themes such as corporate governance, partnerships, talent management, fundraising, conflict resolution, failure and resilience.

Quoting former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ‘foreword’ to the book, Kasumu highlighted the broader significance of the story, noting that “The story that Eghosa Imasuen tells in The Challengers is, therefore, not just the story of a company. It is the story of a generation. These young men and women represent the best of what Nigeria can become: a country where talent and hard work are rewarded, where people from different parts of the country can come together to build something greater than themselves.”

Kasumu said the work reads like “taking a business course,” particularly for aspiring entrepreneurs, while praising its detailed account of the growth of VFD Group from a single idea into a diversified business enterprise spanning sectors including banking, investment, technology, real estate and financial services.

Reflecting on the author’s literary evolution, he added: “With The Challengers, Eghosa’s incredible journey from medicine to fiction writing to publishing has now taken him to creative non-fiction writing. He should hang around this stop a bit longer because he’s really good at it.”

Earlier, Ojogwu described publishing as “an act of preservation,” saying the release of The Challengers ensures that the story of VFD Group’s founders becomes part of Nigeria’s collective historical record.

“At the heart of our work, publishing is an act of preservation,” she said. “We take experiences that might otherwise remain in private memory, institutional archives or conversations among a small circle of people, and give them a permanent place in our collective history.”

She explained that the book chronicles the journey of young Nigerian entrepreneurs who established a business that eventually grew into a multibillion-naira enterprise, documenting not only corporate achievements but also the human experiences behind them.

Ojogwu identified three reasons why the publication is significant, saying, “The first is that it tells the truth,” noting that creative non-fiction demands factual accuracy while employing the narrative depth and emotional richness of literature.

She added that by allowing the founders’ strengths, weaknesses and difficult moments to be examined honestly, VFD Group had demonstrated that Nigerian companies could truthfully document their own institutional histories.

The publisher also described the book as an inspirational guide for young Nigerians, as “It tells them that the founders of VFD did not emerge fully formed. They began with ideas, doubts, limited resources and difficult circumstances. The book shows that difficulty is not always evidence that an idea will fail.”

Ojogwu further argued that the book highlights the role of public policy and economic reforms in enabling entrepreneurship, pointing to Obasanjo’s observation that reforms introduced in the early years of Nigeria’s democracy created opportunities for young innovators to thrive.

Concluding her remarks, she praised Imasuen for producing what she described as an honest and compelling narrative.

“I am beginning to suspect that we may have lost a fiction writer and gained one of Nigeria’s leading voices in creative non-fiction,” she said.

Chude Jidenowo (left) and Dr. Eghosa Imasuen in conversation

Chairman of the occasion, Aderinwale, situated the book within what he described as Africa’s “third liberation,” arguing that the continent’s next phase of transformation would be driven not by politicians or soldiers but by entrepreneurs, who create wealth and opportunities.

“The third liberation is underway,” he said. “This one will not be won with placards or slogans, and it certainly will not be led by soldiers. It will be led by entrepreneurs, men and women whose primary weapon is wealth-creation. That is why this book matters.”

Aderinwale observed that while Nigerian entrepreneurs continue to struggle with limited access to capital, policy uncertainty and inadequate infrastructure, what had been missing was honest documentation of both their successes and failures.

“What is rare is not the struggle—struggle is the default,” he said. “What is rare is someone documenting it: the failures alongside the wins, the sacrifices behind the headlines. This book does that.”

He highlighted two major lessons from the publication: emotional intelligence and partnership. While referring to the story of a former rogue employee Michael Idumu, Aderinwale said the founders’ willingness to combine accountability with compassion after a breach of trust demonstrated mature leadership.

According to him, “Leadership is not just about financial performance and strategic brilliance. It is empathy. It is institutional honesty. Organizations endure when they hold accountability and humanity in the same hand.”

He also praised the enduring partnership between VFD co-founders Nonso Okpala and Azubike Emodi, noting that the relationship evolved from rivalry in student politics into one of the foundations upon which the company was built.

“The lesson is simple and applies as much in the boardroom as anywhere else: durable partnerships are not built on convenience. They are forged in disagreement,” he said.

Encouraging young Nigerians to pursue ambitious ideas despite prevailing challenges, Aderinwale said Nigeria’s greatest asset remains the resilience and ingenuity of its people.

“The next great Nigerian company may be nothing more than an idea in someone’s head seated in this hall,” he said. “The next African unicorn may be someone with nothing to their name but a dream and the will to chase it.”

The speakers expressed hope that The Challengers would serve not only as the story of VFD Group’s rise but also as a source of inspiration for future generations of entrepreneurs seeking to build lasting institutions in Nigeria and across Africa.