Otedola: Banks sent pretty ladies to woo me for business

Nigerian billionaire and oil magnate, Femi Otedola, has disclosed how banks once deployed attractive women to win his favour when his business empire was thriving.

The revelation is contained in Otedola’s soon-to-be-released memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business’.

The memoir published by FO Books is scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.

In excerpts from the book, obtained by TheCable, Otedola recounted how banks eagerly courted him at the height of his success, only for the relationship to sour when his fortunes declined.

Otedola also disclosed the financial crisis that brought his empire to its knees, saying the crash in global crude oil prices, the devaluation of the naira, mounting interest obligations, and a stock market collapse collectively cost him over $1 billion.

Otedola stated: “I lost more than $480 million to the plunge in oil prices, $258 million through the devaluation of the naira, $320 million because of accruing interest, and another $160 million when the stocks crashed.

Otedola launches new book ‘Making It Big’ August 18

“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.”

On how banks attempted to woo him, the billionaire businessman said: “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, 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 of my compound.”

Otedola made his mark in Nigeria’s business landscape through Zenon Petroleum, which started by selling diesel in drums and grew to dominate the local market.

He later acquired African Petroleum, which he rebranded as Forte Oil Plc, one of the most valuable stocks on the Nigerian Exchange at the time.

However, his empire took a major hit in 2008 when he ordered a diesel shipment at $147 per barrel, only for prices to crash to $40 by the time the cargo arrived.

This was further worsened by the naira’s devaluation – from N120/$ to N167/$ in 2009 – leaving him exposed to massive dollar liabilities at a time when diesel prices had dropped sharply.

The Star