‘I created Banana Island,’ Terry Waya claims

‘I’m not a millionaire, I’m a billionaire. I became a billionaire 20 years ago.”

Nigerian businessman and socialite Terry Waya has renewed his claim that he created Banana Island, Lagos’s exclusive residential enclave.

Published accounts trace its original concept to the late civil engineer Adebayo Adeleke, who envisioned a larger development called Lagoon City, while the later banana-shaped estate was developed by the Chagoury Group in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

Mr Waya’s latest statement is not the first time he has claimed a role in the estate’s creation.

In a 2020 interview with BBC Pidgin, he said he learnt about the proposed project during a visit to the office of the then Minister of Works, the late General Abdulkarim Adisa.

He claimed the government was seeking a development partner and that he subsequently brought in the Chagoury Group to execute the project.

Speaking during a recent appearance on School of Hard Knocks on Wednesday, Mr Waya again linked the development to himself.

“I was the one that created Banana Island using my military contacts. Today, the richest people in Nigeria live there,” he said.

He also described himself as a billionaire of 20 years, one of Nigeria’s biggest farmers and a businessman whose greatest asset is his network.

In the interview posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Mr Waya, father of former BBNaija contestant Kiddwaya, corrected the interviewer when asked how he became a millionaire, making it clear that the description understated his wealth.

Mr Waya, whose business interests cut across agriculture and investments, rejected the idea that he was merely a millionaire, saying, “I’m not a millionaire, I’m a billionaire. I became a billionaire 20 years ago.

“I’m one of the biggest farmers in Nigeria. Very, very serious farmer.”

The flamboyant Benue-born billionaire boasted that he could rebuild his fortune from scratch if he lost everything, claiming he knew the secret to making money.

“My secret is investment in people. So tomorrow, if I get up and I happen to need anything, just a phone call away, I have enough contacts. Yes, I’ve got a lot of network.”

Furthermore, Mr Waya said many Nigerians attained billionaire status because they could observe, learn, and replicate successful business ideas.

He added that their intelligence enabled them to identify opportunities in other people’s ventures and take decisive steps to build their own fortunes.

“Nigerians like to copy, and any copy is always better than the original. Because you go to a board meeting with a Nigerian, he’s intelligent enough to watch you take the first move. No, he will destroy you from your first move.

“From your first move, he knows where you are going. When you are going to a negotiation, a desperate man will always make mistakes. I hate desperation. I’m calm. Go in as if you’re not interested, and then you have the leverage.”

Mr Waya also advised billionaires and wealthy individuals to remember the paths that led them to success, regardless of how far they had risen.

He warned that they might one day need those same paths to return to where they started.

“If you lose your family trying to be rich, when you get rich, you may not have them back. They are gone. Just pray that you don’t lose too much in trying to be successful.”

When asked the most amount of money he made in a single year, he said, “Around 200 million.”