August 19, 2025
By Peter Omopo
Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has revealed that his path to building a multi-billion-dollar empire began without a university degree or even a completed secondary school education.
In his newly released memoir, Making It Big, the 62-year-old chairman of FirstHoldco Plc chronicles his academic struggles, early foray into business, and eventual rise to global prominence.
Otedola recounted that he began schooling at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968, where he shared classes with notable figures like Kola Abiola, son of late business magnate Moshood Abiola. Despite the prestigious environment, he consistently performed poorly, often ranking at the bottom of his class.
“Academia and I were not compatible,” he admitted in the 286-page book, adding that he repeated a class in primary school and continued to struggle through Methodist Boys’ High School, Lagos, before being transferred to Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo.
It was during this period that his father established Impact Press, a printing company in Surulere, Lagos. Otedola said he was captivated by the machines and decided to abandon formal education altogether, despite his mother’s protests, to join his father’s business.
By age 25, he had become managing director of Impact Press. Seeking independence, he later took on a sales consultant role, earning commissions while bringing in jobs from major companies and advertising agencies. “That was a significant break for me,” he wrote.
In 1994, he launched his own company, Centre Force Ltd., with ₦10 million in start-up capital. From those beginnings, Otedola expanded into oil and gas, shipping, real estate, and finance. He went on to chair Forte Oil, invested in power through Geregu Power Plc, and now serves as chairman of FirstHoldco Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions.
The memoir also dispels long-held assumptions about his education. At various times, his Wikipedia page suggested he studied at the University of Lagos, a claim he firmly debunks.
“My true classroom was not a lecture hall but the business floor,” he wrote, crediting his success to lessons learned from his father, instinct, discipline, and persistence.
What once caused his mother’s tears, Otedola reflected, became the foundation for a career that has made him one of Africa’s most influential business leaders.
