• Narrates how he lost N900 trillion to oil price plunge
By Abiola Olawale
Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Femi Otedola has dropped a bombshell, revealing that some banks in Nigeria employ attractive ladies to persuade him to make substantial deposits in their financial institutions.
Otedola, a prominent businessman in Nigeria’s business landscape and chairman of Geregu Power Plc, narrated his experiences with certain financial institutions.
Otedola made this disclosure in his forthcoming memoir, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,’ published by FO Books and scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In an excerpt from the book, Otedola recounted how a series of financial crises, including the global crash in crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira, left his businesses deeply indebted and under immense pressure.
He said in the book: “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.
“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.”
While Otedola did not name specific banks, his comments have reignited discussions about corporate practices in Nigeria’s banking industry.
