Nigerian billionaire businessman and Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, Femi Otedola, has revealed eyebrow-raising details about the extreme measures banks once took to win his favour when his business empire was at its peak — including deploying attractive women to charm him.
The oil mogul made the revelations in excerpts from his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, slated for release on August 18, 2025, under FO Books. TheCable obtained early excerpts, which detail the dizzying highs and painful lows of Otedola’s storied business journey.
According to the Zenon Petroleum founder, there was a time when banks treated him like royalty, eager to secure his deposits and shower him with tempting offers.
“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,” Otedola wrote.
However, things took a sharp turn when global crude oil prices crashed and the Nigerian naira sharply devalued. Otedola recounted losing over $1 billion due to a combination of falling oil prices, forex volatility, mounting loan interest, and a crumbling stock market.
“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,” he wrote.
“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 also narrated how the same banks that once pursued him became cold and predatory. “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.”
In one of the most financially crushing moments of his career, Otedola recalled a diesel shipment purchased in 2008 at the oil market’s peak — $147 per barrel — arriving just after prices had plunged to $40 per barrel, leading to enormous losses.
That, combined with the naira’s slide from ₦120/$ to ₦167/$ in 2009, left Otedola’s businesses drowning in debt, as foreign liabilities ballooned and revenue dipped. The memoir is expected to shed further light on the lessons he learned through the storm and how he eventually rebuilt his fortune.
‘Making It Big’ is already generating major buzz ahead of its release and is poised to offer rare insight into one of Africa’s most influential business figures.
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