Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has recalled how he fell from being the darling of banks to becoming a subject of menacing threat.
He notes that banks used to lure him with pretty babes during the first era of his riches but set menacingly hefty guys after him after he lost over $480m and became flatly broke.
The Geregu Chairman’s story is a unique one: rising from grass to grace, then from the grace to grass, only to bounce back to an enduring impactful moneybags he is today.
Otedola reflects on his life in his forthcoming memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,’ published by FO Books and scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In excerpts from the book seen by TheCable, and as reported by ‘The Punch’, the oil magnate detailed how a series of financial crises including the global crash in crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira left his businesses deeply indebted and under immense pressure.
“All told, I lost more than US$480 million to the plunge in oil prices, US$258 million through the devaluation of the naira, US$320 million because of accruing interest, and another US$160 million when the stocks crashed.
“It was devastating, like a terrible nightmare, but a nightmare would have been better: day would break, and I would wake up. There was no waking up from this,” Otedola wrote.
He recounted how drastically his fortunes changed, saying, “One moment, I was the darling of the banks, who did everything in the world to court me, do business with me, give me loans, take deposits from me.
“They would send bewitching ladies to make their offers more convincing, and now I was waking up to the sight of hefty, barrel-chested men standing menacingly in front of my gate, waiting for the moment I’d step out of my compound.”
Otedola broke into the Nigerian mega business scene with Zenon Petroleum which grew from selling diesel in drums to owning the largest share of the local market.
He also acquired African Petroleum in the downstream market and rebranded it to Forte Oil Plc, at a time one of the highest performing in the stock market.
However, a diesel shipment he ordered in 2008 when crude oil was $147/barrel did not arrive until the price had crashed to $40, plunging him into massive debt.
As a result of falling forex inflow, the naira was also devalued from N120/dollar to N167 in 2009 presenting Otedola with a double problem which include low diesel price and high dollar liability.
