Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has revealed how the 2008 global financial meltdown wiped out nearly N220 billion of his fortune, in an account detailed in his newly released memoir, Making It Big: Lessons From a Life in Business.

According to Otedola, the financial collapse began when crude oil prices, which had reached $147 per barrel, fell sharply to $34 per barrel within months. Confident in continued growth, he had placed a $500 million diesel order for import into Nigeria.

“The diesel I’d ordered when the price was astronomically higher was already on the high seas. Now, it was worth a fraction of my purchase price. I said to myself, I’m finished,” he recounted.

The Impact of the oil price collapse was compounded by a devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Loans that had been secured at N117 per US dollar suddenly had to be repaid at N165 per US dollar, inflating his debt burden.

“I watched N60 billion evaporate before my eyes, alongside N40 billion in interest payments,” he said.

Otedola was also a major shareholder in Nigeria’s banking sector, holding 2.3 billion shares in Zenith Bank, which accounted for approximately 8 per cent of the bank’s ownership, and another 6 per cent in UBA. He admitted missing an opportunity to sell Zenith shares when they rose from N12 to N60, a move that could have generated a return of N191 billion.

“It remains one of my biggest regrets. If only I had followed my instincts,” he said.

The debt eventually totalled N220 billion, spread across eight major banks, including Zenith Bank, Access Bank, GTBank, and UBA. Otedola struck a deal with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), surrendering multiple assets, including estates in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, truck parks, filling stations, storage tank farms, major stock holdings, and a private Bombardier jet.

“It was a lifeboat in the storm. I had to concede that if you sink, you sink, and if you grab a preserver, you’ll stay afloat. I gave it all up to start anew,” he wrote.

By 2012, Otedola had cleared his debts and restarted his business ventures, retaining 21 per cent equity in AP and three properties in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, and Abuja. Reflecting on the experience, he said, “I paid dearly for ignoring the fundamentals that strengthen enterprises and render them more professional… I weighed all the issues that led to the collapse of Zenon and addressed them methodically and tactfully, without sentiment.”

Otedola’s memoir, released on August 18, 2025, is now available for purchase and offers a detailed account of the challenges and strategies that shaped his return to business prominence. (The Guardian, excluding headline)

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