Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has recounted how Nigerian banks once sent “bewitching ladies” to entice him into depositing funds and taking loans during the peak of his business success.
The revelation is contained in his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, published by FO Books and set for release on August 18, 2025. In excerpts seen by TheCable, Otedola described how a succession of financial blows — including the global crash in crude oil prices, the naira’s devaluation, and mounting interest payments — left his businesses crippled by debt.
According to him, the downturn wiped out more than US$480 million from oil price drops, US$258 million from the naira’s devaluation, US$320 million in interest charges, and US$160 million from a stock market slump. “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 wrote.
Recalling his reversal of fortune, he said: “One moment, I was the darling of the banks… 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.”
Otedola rose to prominence with Zenon Petroleum, which evolved from selling diesel in drums to dominating the local market. He later acquired African Petroleum, rebranded it to Forte Oil Plc, and steered it into one of the stock market’s top performers.
However, a shipment of diesel he ordered in 2008 at $147 per barrel arrived after the price had plunged to $40, triggering massive debt. The crisis worsened when, in 2009, the naira was devalued from ₦120/$ to ₦167/$, compounding the challenges of low diesel prices and heavy dollar liabilities.
