During the height of his economic success, Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola revealed how banks used “bewitching ladies” to acquire his deposits and loan transactions.
According to reports, Otedola disclosed this in his upcoming biography, “Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,” which has not yet been made public.
Otedola described how several financial disasters, such as the global collapse of crude oil prices, the devaluation of the naira, and the stock market meltdown, destroyed a large amount of his wealth and left his companies heavily indebted in passages from his memoir that TheCable was able to view.
In total, I lost around US$480 million due to the drop in oil prices, US$258 million as a result of the naira’s devaluation, US$320 million as a result of interest accruing, and an additional US$160 million as a result of the stock market meltdown.
It was devastating, like a horrible nightmare, yet at least a nightmare would have happened and I would have woken up as the day broke. Otedola remarked, “There was no waking up from this.”
Otedola described how his fortunes drastically changed and how banks once made a special effort to do business with him.
Read Also: Tinubu Has Been Fair to South East in Road and Bridge Projects
At one point, he claimed, “I was the banks’ darling, and they did everything in their power to court me, do business with me, give me loans, and take deposits from me.”
“They would send dashing women to make their offers seem more plausible, and now I was waking up to see big, barrel-chested men waiting for me to leave my compound, standing menacingly in front of my gate.”
From Mega Business Empire to Diesel Drums
According to reports, Otedola skyrocketed to fame with Zenon Petroleum, which expanded from selling fuel in barrels to holding the most market share in the area.
Later on, he grew by purchasing African Petroleum and rebranding it as Forte Oil Plc, which at its height was among the top-performing equities on the Nigerian Exchange.
When Otedola purchased a large shipment of diesel in 2008, when crude oil prices were at $147 per barrel, trouble started since the shipment didn’t arrive until after prices had plummeted to $40 per barrel.
In addition to declining foreign exchange inflows and the devaluation of the naira from ₦120/$ to ₦167/$ in 2009, his enterprises experienced low diesel prices and huge dollar obligations, which caused him to incur enormous debt.
