Femi Otedola: Midas with a Heart of Gold

The Chinese tell long stories about people who are dragons among men and women. They seem to fit within the natural human spectrum, but also appear to have shadows that stretch far into the future, into the hearts of other people, into legend. For Femi Otedola, even this description is a bit narrow considering the effort he spends on helping others. To his peers and the few in Nigeria who he might consider his superiors, Otedola is a brilliant man of business. To those tiers upon tiers inferior to him on the economic ladder, Otedola is a dragon among men.

First, Otedola the man of business. Among the hundreds of real billionaires of Nigerian descent, Otedola is a member of the topmost tier in terms of talents and accomplishments. Included in his profile of business innovations and acquisitions are Forte Oil PLC, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, Geregu Power PLC, and several others. Each of these is worth more than the ordinary mind can bear. But that is not all.

Otedola’s business ventures have no particular scope. The man has as many fingers in oil and power as he does in shipping, real estate, and finance. But the main bite of all the accolades due to Otedola come from his generosity.

You might debate whether Otedola is the wealthiest or the smartest business person and investor in Nigeria. However, nobody stands on the stage with him when the debate is about philanthropy. Otedola has given enough to claim a country of people who regard him as their benefactor. This is not limited to notable people like Christian Chukwu the Super Eagles footballer or Majek Fashek the Reggae man. Understandably, there are thousands of ‘unknowns’ who are not likely to ever forget the generous man that is Otedola.

Really, Otedola is the King Midas of the present age, except that both his finger and heart are already cast in gold.