Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola has opened up about how banks that once sought his favour became aggressively hostile following his financial downturn in 2009.
In excerpts from his forthcoming memoir titled Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, due for release on August 18, 2025, Otedola shares candid details about the sharp reversal in his business fortunes and the treatment he received from financial institutions in its aftermath.
Otedola, who rose to prominence with Zenon Petroleum and later acquired and rebranded African Petroleum as Forte Oil Plc, said the crisis began after he made a massive diesel purchase in 2008 when crude oil was priced at $147 per barrel. By the time the shipment arrived, the global oil market had crashed to $40 per barrel.
The financial blow was worsened by the naira’s devaluation from N120 to N167 per dollar in 2009, compounding the losses.
“All told, 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 wrote.
He recalled how banks that had once courted him with open arms, lucrative offers, and attractive female marketers became unforgiving debt collectors almost overnight.
“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 described the period as more terrifying than a nightmare, saying the financial stress was relentless and inescapable.
His memoir promises to explore the highs and lows of a career marked by dramatic swings in fortune, shedding light on the often harsh realities of the business world.
