Otedola Reveals Father’s Powerful Message After Meeting MKO Abiola: ‘This Is What He Told Me About Money And Power

Otedola recalled that the meeting took place shortly after his father was elected as governor of Lagos State during Nigeria’s short-lived Third Republic. Michael Otedola served as Lagos governor from January 1992 to November 1993.

In excerpts published by Premium Times, Otedola shared how the experience with Abiola deeply influenced his understanding of the dynamics between political power and financial influence among elites.

He recalled visiting his father at the Lagos State guest house in Ikeja, where he had gone to recuperate from the rigours of the election campaign on the advice of outgoing military governor Raji Rasaki. During the visit, he was surprised to find Abiola and his wife already waiting in the living room.

“‘Great man. Where is your daddy?’ Abiola asked me,” Otedola wrote. “Once again, this remarkable man referred to me as a ‘great man.’ It left quite an impression.”

What puzzled him most was why his father received guests despite being advised to avoid visitors.

“After they left, I asked my father why he entertained Chief Abiola and his wife when no one was supposed to see him,” Otedola recounted. “He looked at me and said, ‘Femi, there is a difference between power and money. Money will always bow before power.