Remi Makanjuola: Back to the Drawing Board Success can go quiet when numbers begin to speak

Caverton Offshore Support Group, founded by Aderemi Makanjuola, spent most of 2024 repairing the damage from a 36 million dollar loss. By now, the company is seeing some success from when it began a groupwide overhaul to cut costs, sharpen strategy, and reassure wary investors.

The eldest son, CEO Olabode Makanjuola, said recovery was already visible. Nine-month results showed a net loss of just over three million dollars, a steep climb from the 28 million recorded the year before. Marine projects kept moving. Passenger boats were delivered to Lagos State. A 30-seater electric ferry reached completion.

Remi, as he is widely known, has spent decades investing in infrastructure that rarely trends online. Caverton Helicopters began in 2002 and grew into a group that built hangars, simulator centres, and maintenance hubs. Nigeria’s airspace gained hardware while headlines looked elsewhere.

His style has been consistent. Philanthropy went into lecture theatres and diagnostic laboratories. The Lagos State Security Trust Fund received its oversight for eight years. Edo University chose him as chancellor. The national honour of OON arrived in 2022. A public life carried out mostly offstage.

The latest restructuring shows why character sometimes beats charisma. High debt and currency swings created pressure, yet Caverton kept building. By 2025, it reported a return to profit in the first half of the year. Government officials praised its role in aviation development. No speech followed from the chairman.

Partnerships also widened the company’s reach. Caverton Marine entered a joint venture with NNPC Shipping and Stena of Sweden, due to start operations in the third quarter of 2025. Innovation remained part of the rhythm: that electric ferry marked a national first.

There were a few interviews. No victory lap. Yet inside the recovery effort sits a lesson. In tough markets, silence can function like a strategy.