Drama Unleashed: Otedola Reveals How Banks Used ‘Bewitching Ladies’ To Lure Him

Nigerian billionaire and renowned businessman, Femi Otedola, has revealed how banks once went to extreme lengths—including deploying “bewitching ladies”—to secure his deposits and offer him loan deals during the peak of his business empire.

This revelation is contained in his upcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, which is yet to be officially released.

According to excerpts obtained by TheCable, Otedola recalled how a series of financial crises—including a global crash in oil prices, naira devaluation, and a stock market collapse—drastically impacted his fortune and left his businesses heavily in debt.

“In total, I lost over $480 million due to the plunge in oil prices, $258 million from naira devaluation, $320 million in accumulating interest, and another $160 million when stocks crashed,” he wrote.

Describing the experience as worse than a nightmare, he added, “At least in a nightmare, you wake up when morning comes. But there was no waking up from this.”

Otedola recounted how drastically things changed. “There was a time I was the banks’ favorite. They pulled out all the stops to work with me—offering loans, collecting deposits, and even sending charming women to make their proposals more appealing,” he revealed.

“But soon enough, I went from being courted by banks to seeing burly men at my gate, ready to demand repayments.”

From Diesel Drums to Oil Giant

Otedola’s rise to fame began with Zenon Petroleum, a company that grew from selling diesel in drums to dominating Nigeria’s diesel market. His business empire expanded further when he acquired African Petroleum, rebranding it as Forte Oil Plc—a top performer on the Nigerian Exchange at its peak.

His financial troubles began in 2008 after he placed a massive diesel order while crude oil traded at $147 per barrel. Unfortunately, by the time the shipment arrived, prices had plummeted to $40 per barrel.

Combined with dwindling foreign exchange inflows and a steep naira devaluation—from ₦120/$ to ₦167/$ by 2009—Otedola’s companies were left burdened with low product margins and rising dollar-denominated debt.