HIGHLIFE
There’s a new trend among the wealthiest people in the world: joining social media, especially Instagram. Upon his launch in 2010, Instagram became that buzzing social media hub for millennials to post selfies and view photos of their friends and family. Not too long after, celebrities and socialites jumped on the train.
And lately, the wealthiest of the wealthy are starting to pop up on the platform, which was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012. Bill Gates joined Instagram few weeks after billionaire owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. Richard Branson, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, to mention a few, have embraced this new trend. Aside the global rave reviews generated, their joining conferred a new status on the application, which number of likes per day stands at 4.2 billion.
Here in Nigeria, owner and Chairman of Forte Group, Femi Otedola, has caught the bug and is leading the pack. His reason for joining Instagram was to ward off fake accounts opened in his name, the down-to-heart billionaire has gone ahead to make the platform his oyster; and from all indications, the business mogul does not appear he would be piping down anytime soon. His activities on Instagram have portrayed a man at peace with himself, who is ready to shatter the myth of seclusion normally associated with men of wealthy means like him. He seems to have burst the bubble of limiting engagement that ordinarily confines many billionaires of his ilk to their heavily walled fortresses and inner shells.
In one post, Otedola could show a fun loving dancer showing his superiority to a Nigerian pop-star, Lil Kesh, in a ‘Shaku-Shaku’ dance competition at the wedding party of Aliko Dangote’s daughter; in another, he is pushing the cultural frontiers by prostrating in obeisance to Oba of Lagos, His Highness, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, while he is also show-casing his Indian experience with his friend, Aliko Dangote.
A picture depicting his adoration for and strong connection to his mother has once gone viral while others showing the dotting father he has been to his daughters have also emerged. There is one post which shows how he consummated his foray into philanthropy and charity when he assumed control of his late dad, Sir Michael Otedola Scholarship Scheme, with the then governor of Lagos, Senator Bola Tinubu, as chairman of the occasion. What about the post reminiscent of those days as a toddler when he had his “first automobile.â€
For Otedola, it has been fun galore, and he is catching it in measured cadence. In less than a quarter of his presence on Instagram, he has garnered over 208,000 followers and still counting. On Wednesday, he shared a video of himself on a ‘Molue’ bus. The billionaire oil magnate says he boarded the commercial bus from Sango Ota to Agege in Lagos.
“Recently took a ride on the Molue from Sango to Agege,†he wrote on his Instagram page where he shared the video, which has no audio.
In the video, Otedola can be seen sitting comfortably while a passenger/trader is seen selling á»pá eyin, a traditional medication which aids strong erection and combats watery sperm.
Just last month, Otedola also shared on Instagram a video where he boarded a bus in London. He just joined Twitter and in less than 24 hours, he already has over 13,000 followers. Now that he has extended his social media presence to Twitter, it certainly is not going to be about fun only. It is hoped that Otedola, known for his equanimity, would be able to bring their belligerence under control. So far, Femi Otedola’s foray into social media has shown he is grounded and in touch with today’s realities.
