Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has revealed that banks once deployed “bewitching ladies” to woo him for deposits and loans when his business empire was thriving.
Otedola made the revelation in his forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, published by FO Books and set for release on August 18, 2025.
According to excerpts from the book seen by TheCable, the oil mogul recounted the turbulent years during which his companies were hit by a combination of global and domestic financial shocks.
“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.
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“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,” Otedola wrote.
He described how quickly the tides turned, from being courted by banks to facing pressure from creditors.
“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.”
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