KEY POINTS
- Otedola says banks courted him with charm.
- The oil crash and naira slump caused massive losses.
- Lenders turned aggressive as debts piled up.
One of Nigeria’s most prominent business magnates, Femi Otedola, is revealing his darkest days in business, recalling how banks that once courted him with charm turned to intimidation when fortunes reversed.
The billionaire details the stunning reversal in his upcoming book, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, set for release on August 18, 2025.
Otedola says banks courted him with charm
Otedola, who rose to prominence with Zenon Petroleum—transforming it from a diesel distributor into a dominant player—said lenders once went to enormous lengths to secure his deposits and loans.
“They would send bewitching ladies to make their offers more convincing,” he wrote.
At the peak of his success, Otedola acquired African Petroleum, rebranded it as Forte Oil Plc, and watched it soar on the stock exchange.
Oil crash leaves empire buried in debt
Then came the 2008 oil price collapse. A shipment ordered when crude was $147 a barrel arrived after prices sank to $40. The naira also tumbled from ₦120 to ₦167 per dollar, compounding his woes.
“All told, I lost more than $480 million to the plunge in oil prices, $258 million through devaluation, $320 million in interest, and another $160 million when stocks crashed,” he revealed.
Banks turned hostile after fortunes changed
He claimed that the banks, which had previously been supportive, had now become enforcers.
“One moment, I was the darling of the banks… Now I was waking up to the sight of hefty, barrel-chested men standing menacingly in front of my gate,” he wrote.
The memoir, already endorsed by figures like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Akinwumi Adesina, and Aliko Dangote, promises a raw account of wealth, risk, and survival.
