Banks Used Pretty Ladies To Woo Me For Deposits, But Sent Thugs When Things Fell Apart – Otedola

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola has opened up about one of the darkest periods of his career.

Otedola revealed how banks that once chased him with offers quickly turned hostile when his financial empire crumbled in 2009.

This was contained in his upcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, set to be released on August 18, 2025,

He shared how he went from being one of Nigeria’s most celebrated businessmen to drowning in debt almost overnight.

Femi Otedola first made his mark with Zenon Petroleum, which started by selling diesel in small quantities and eventually dominated the market.

He later took over African Petroleum, rebranded it to Forte Oil, and saw it become one of the top-performing companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

But things took a turn in 2008 after he placed a large diesel order when crude oil was selling for $147 per barrel, and by the time the shipment arrived, the price had dropped to $40.

To make matters worse, the naira was sharply devalued, moving from ₦120 to ₦167 per dollar in 2009. That left him with massive debts and rising foreign exchange costs.

In his book, Otedola revealed how devastating the losses were and how quickly banks changed their tone once he hit rock bottom.

“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 in the book excerpts.

“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.

“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.”

The book, which is Femi Otedola’s first, has already attracted praise from some of Africa’s most influential figures, including WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, business mogul Aliko Dangote, industrialist Samuel Adedoyin, and former World Bank VP Arunma Oteh.

KanyiDaily recalls that a group of shareholders at First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc recently called for the removal of Femi Otedola, citing concerns over his leadership and alleged fraud.