I do not have university degree, woeful performance in secondary school drove me into business, says Femi Otedola

A Nigerian multi-billionaire who chairs one of Nigeria’s largest financial groups, Femi Otedola has disclosed that drooped out of high school and he never attended university as well, explaining that his struggle with academics pushed him out of the classroom and into the world of business.

Penpushing reports that Otedola dropped the shocking revelation in his newly released 286-page memoir,’ Making It Big’, emphasizing that his rise was achieved without a university degree or even a complete high school education.

The 62-year-old son of former Lagos State Governor Michael Otedola in the book explained that he was a poor student who always repeated a class, adding that even when he was allowed to pass, he consistently anchored the bottom rungs of end-of-term examination results.

Penpushing further reports that he stated that there was something about academia and him; disclosing that they were not compatible, and therefore, ventured into the world of business, where he would later make his fortune.

The billionaire in the memoir added that he began his education at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968 at the age of six but consistently performed poorly, recalling that he was sitting beside Kola Abiola — the first son of Chief Moshood Abiola in classroom.

“My parents enrolled me at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968, at the age of six. But there was something about academia and me; we were not compatible. I finished primary school in 1974 because I repeated a class. Even when I was allowed to pass, I consistently anchored the bottom rungs of our end-of-term examination results. My interests were definitely not in academia’, he wrote

Penpushing also reports that Otedola in the book disclosed that after finishing primary school, he proceeded to Methodist Boys’ High School, Lagos, where he said his academic struggles continued.

‘The school had been founded almost a hundred years earlier, in 1878. Alumni include grand names in Nigerian history: Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mobolaji Johnson, Ola Rotimi, Fola Adeola, Olusegun Osoba and Hezekiah Oladipo Davies’, he said.

‘When I joined the student body in 1974 the principal was D. A. Famoroti, who’d taken up the post in 1963 and would leave in 1980. I started Form 1 at age 12 and was there for three years’, the book added

Penpushing reports that the memoir stated that by 1977, after it became clear that his performance was not improving, his parents transferred him to Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, a boarding school founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in 1945.

“My parents’ thinking was that all my siblings were boarders, and they seemed to be doing well. They thought this change would help turn around my attitude towards academia, but nothing changed’, he writes

“I started in Form 3 at Olivet, and as I rounded off the first year of my A Levels, my father was establishing his printing company, Impact Press, in Surulere, a residential and commercial district in Lagos State’.

‘I grew fascinated with the machines and told myself that my future would be inextricably tied to them. I managed to remain in school until the Lower Sixth examination was over. And then, I was finished; I never returned for my Upper Sixth’, he disclosed.

“All I wanted to do was get involved in business. My father kept watch over me and drew me close. My sister taught me shorthand. I knew how to type and began typing letters for my dad. I prepared all his business correspondence’.

‘I was fascinated by the way printing machines treat paper. The white paper is placed on one end, the ink and plates are fixed, and the printed material comes out of the other end. It was captivating.”

Penpushing further reports that Otedola recalled that despite his mother’s protests and tears, he abandoned school to work full-time in his father’s printing business, and rose quickly, becoming Managing Director of Impact Press in 1987 at the age of 25.

“However, I soon became restless. I had immersed myself in all aspects of the business and learned the ropes at my dad’s right hand. I certainly enjoyed the job more than grappling with the Pythagoras theorem and struggling through homework at Olivet. As time went by, though, I also thought it was time for a measure of independence from my dad’.

“I still wanted to work for him — I really enjoyed hearing the rumbling of machines and savouring the smell of freshly printed material — but I also wanted to do things differently’, he added.

‘I told him I wanted to become a sales consultant for the press, and he agreed. He said he would pay me a commission of 10–15% on any work I brought in. That was a significant break for me. I invested my money in buying cars for sales and marketing outreach and moved on to the next phase in my nascent professional life.”

Penpushing also reports that Otedola with his new role started bringing in jobs from major companies and advertising agencies, particularly in calendars and diaries.

“We could hardly keep up with the demand. Our unique selling point was quality; thanks to the state-of-the-art machines we owned. We were also always on time with job delivery. We were engaged in healthy competition with Academy Press; a company located in the Ilupeju area of Lagos.

“I served as my dad’s sales exec up until 1991, when he started his Lagos State gubernatorial campaign. It was a run for office — ultimately successful — that I had initiated’, Otedola added

Penpushing reports that his break in the family business gave him the confidence and foundation to strike out on his own, and in 1994, he founded Centre Force Limited. with ₦10 million in starting capital.

The focused Otedola from those beginnings, he built a vast business empire in oil and gas, shipping, real estate, finance and philanthropy, and went on to chair Forte Oil, invested in power through Geregu Power Plc, and today chairs the board of FirstHoldco Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest financial groups.

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