Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has revealed that banks once deployed “bewitching ladies” to secure his deposits and loans during the peak of his business empire.
Otedola made this shocking revelation in his forthcoming memoir titled ‘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, the oil mogul gave a candid account of his financial rise and fall, including the dramatic tactics banks once used to win his favor.
“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 wrote.
The billionaire businessman recounted how his fortunes were overturned by a combination of global economic forces. Among the setbacks he listed were:
- A loss of over $480 million due to the plunge in global oil prices,
- $258 million lost to the devaluation of the naira,
- $320 million from accruing interest, and
- $160 million due to a crash in stock values.
“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,” he lamented.
Otedola rose to prominence through Zenon Petroleum, which started by selling diesel in drums and quickly grew to dominate Nigeria’s diesel market. He later acquired African Petroleum and rebranded it to Forte Oil Plc, which at one point became one of the top-performing stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
However, a massive diesel shipment ordered in 2008 when crude oil peaked at $147 per barrel arrived only after the price had crashed to $40. The fallout from this deal plunged his businesses into crippling debt.
The situation worsened in 2009 when the naira was devalued from N120 to N167 per dollar, leaving Otedola grappling with low diesel prices and high-dollar liabilities — a “double problem” that nearly collapsed his empire.
The forthcoming memoir is expected to give an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the highs and lows of one of Nigeria’s most iconic businessmen..
