Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola has opened up about the dramatic rise and fall of his business empire, revealing how banks that once courted him turned aggressive when his financial troubles began in 2009.
In his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, set for release in August,as seen by TheCable, Otedola recounts his journey from dominating Nigeria’s oil and gas sector to facing cr¥shing debt and relentless pressure from creditors.
Otedola rose to prominence through Zenon Petroleum, which started out selling diesel in drums and eventually captured the largest share of the local diesel market. He later acquired African Petroleum and transformed it into Forte Oil Plc, once one of the top-performing stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
But in 2008, a major diesel shipment he ordered when crude oil was trading at $147 per barrel didn’t arrive until prices had plummeted to $40. This, coupled with a sharp devaluation of the naira from ₦120 to ₦167 per dollar, dealt a dev@stating blow to his businesses, leaving him with mounting dollar-denominated debts.
“In total, I lost over $480 million due to the crash in oil prices, $258 million from the naira devaluation, $320 million in interest on debts, and another $160 million from a stock market slump,” Otedola wrote.
He described the experience as more than just a nightmare—one from which he couldn’t wake up.
“At one point, I was the banks’ golden boy. They were eager to do business with me, offering loans and collecting deposits. To make their proposals more appealing, they even sent attractive women to persuade me,” he said.
“But when my fortunes changed, so did their attitude. I began waking up to intimidating, barrel-chested men standing at my gate, waiting for me to step outside.”