News

Otedola Shares Journey From School Dropout To Business Mogul

Published

3 weeks ago

August 19, 2025

Billionaire Femi Otedola has revealed his journey to building a multi-billion-dollar empire began without a university degree or even a completed high school education.

In his newly released memoir titled ‘Making It Big’, cited by The PUNCH on Tuesday, the 62-year-old energy mogul shares how his academic struggles led him to abandon formal education and dive into the world of business, where he ultimately found his calling.

In the 286-page book, Otedola recounts his early years at the University of Lagos Staff School, starting at the age of six in 1968, and notes that despite being classmates with notable figures like Kola Abiola, son of the late business magnate Moshood Abiola, he struggled academically.

“Academia and I were not compatible,” he writes, noting that he repeated a class and consistently ranked at the bottom of his class, sparking his pivot toward a different path.

“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 added.

He noted that after finishing primary school, he proceeded to Methodist Boys’ High School, Lagos, even as 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. 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,” he recalls. “I started Form 1 at age 12 and was there for three years,” he said.

He pointed out that in 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,” Mr Otedola writes. “They thought this change would help turn around my attitude towards academia, but nothing changed.

“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.

“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,” he stressed.

Despite his mother’s protests and tears, Otedola abandoned school to work full-time in his father’s printing business. He 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. 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.”

With his new role, he began 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.”

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

“From those beginnings, he built a vast business empire in oil and gas, shipping, real estate, finance, and philanthropy. He 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.

The businessman’s disclosure of his educational history may come as a surprise to many who long believed he was a university graduate. At one point, his Wikipedia page even suggested he studied at the University of Lagos.

But in “Making It Big”, Mr Otedola insists his true classroom was not a lecture hall but the business floor. His lessons, he says, came from watching his father, trusting his instincts, and learning from both failures and triumphs.

“I never returned for my Upper Sixth. All I wanted was to get involved in business,” he writes. That decision, once a source of his mother’s tears, would lay the foundation for a career that has made him one of Africa’s most influential businesspersons.

In the end, Mr Otedola’s memoir delivers a striking message: formal education may have eluded him, but discipline, persistence, and the hunger to build made him — in his own words — “make it big.”

News

Edo Deputy Gov Orders Restoration Of Water Supply To Health Facility

Published

51 minutes ago

September 9, 2025

Editor

Edo State deputy governor, Hon. Dennis Idahosa has ordered the immediate restoration of regular water supply to General Hospital, Iguobazuwa, Ovia South West local Government Area of the state.

The deputy governor’s order followed complaints of inadequate water supply to the health facility by patients and staff of the hospital during an on the spot assessment of the hospital by the Idahosa on Tuesday.

In a statement made available to newsmen by his Chief Press Secretary, Friday Aghedo, the deputy governor was said to have assured the people of the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led administration’ collaboration with critical stakeholders to boost health care in the state.

Idahosa, who noted that the revitalisation of the state’s health care sector was part of the SHINE agenda of the governor, expressed satisfaction with the level of work at the hospital.

The deputy governor, while reiterating the commitment of Okpebholo-led government to improving the livelihoods of the people, disclosed, “We came today on oversight, to see the current situation of the hospital, and, it is clear the hospital needs some transformation.

“This is the major hospital that services the entire region. The traffic is quite high. So, we were asked to come here today to inspect the hospital today by His Excellency, the Executive Governor.

“It is his mandate and in line with his campaign promises to ensure that all the thirty four hospitals across Edo State meet the highest standard.

“Based on that, we are here, and the assessment is good, and, we will do the needful to ensure that what is needed is put in place.”

Earlier at a stopover at the resident of the Odionwere of Iguobazuwa, Pa Edward Igbinovia, the deputy governor, has assured of the government readiness to transform the general hospital.

According to him, the hospital will be provided with a perimeter fence, renovation of the doctors quarters and provision of solar powered lighting to boost efficiency.

The Ag. Medical Director, Dr. Daniel Moses commended the government on the promises to transform the hospital

News

UNIBEN Releases Screening Results, Begins Admission Process

Published

1 hour ago

September 9, 2025

Editor

The University of Benin has released the results of its just-concluded Post-UTME and Direct Entry screening test, with scores now accessible on candidates’ UNIBEN portal pages.

The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Benedicta Ehanire, announced this on Tuesday via a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Benin.

Ehanire, however, urged candidates to disregard the “NOT ADMITTED” status currently appearing on their slips.

She clarified that the admission process had officially commenced and would run until Oct. 31, in line with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board schedule.

According to her, all candidates who scored 50 per cent and above in the screening are eligible for consideration, subject to the recommended admission guidelines.

“Further details on the admission process will be released in due course,” she said.

News

FULL LIST: FG Releases Approved Subjects For Basic, Senior Secondary Education

Published

2 hours ago

September 9, 2025

Editor

The Federal Government has released the authentic and approved subject offerings for Nigeria’s newly revised Basic and Senior Secondary Education Curriculum, warning stakeholders against fake versions in circulation.

In a press release on Monday, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council said: “We fervently call on all critical stakeholders to disregard any other fake and unauthentic list that is at variance with the authentic and approved list provided above.”

The reforms, undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) under its National Education Sector Reform Initiatives (NESRI), are designed to reduce overload and ensure “positive learning outcomes” for pupils across the country.

The Executive Secretary of NERDC, Professor Salisu Shehu, signed the notice on 8th September 2025, confirming that implementation will begin at the start of each 3-year education circle (Primary 1, Primary 4, JSS1, and SS1).

The NERDC cautioned against misinformation, declaring: “nationwide sensitization and teacher capacity building have been slated to commence immediately for effective implementation.”

The Council assured that the reforms mark a new phase in Nigeria’s education sector, ensuring relevance, flexibility, and skill acquisition from the earliest stages of learning.

PRIMARY SCHOOL SUBJECTS
Primary 1–3

Minimum: 9 subjects | Maximum: 10 subjects

English Studies

Mathematics

Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

Basic Science

Physical & Health Education

Christian Religious Studies (CRS) for Christian pupils / Islamic Studies (IS) for Muslim pupils

Nigerian History

Social and Citizenship Studies

Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

Arabic Language (Optional)

Primary 4–6

Minimum: 11 subjects | Maximum: 12 or 13 subjects

English Studies

Mathematics

Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

Basic Science and Technology

Physical & Health Education

Basic Digital Literacy

CRS (For Christian Pupils Only) / IS (For Muslim Pupils Only)

Nigerian History

Social and Citizenship Studies

Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

Pre-vocational Studies

French (Optional)

Arabic Language (Optional)

JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (JSS 1–3)

Minimum: 12 subjects | Maximum: 13 or 14 subjects

English Studies

Mathematics

Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

Intermediate Science

Physical & Health Education

Digital Technologies

CRS (For Christian Pupils Only) / IS (For Muslim Pupils Only)

Nigerian History

Social and Citizenship Studies

Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

Trade Subjects (Choose one):

Solar Photovoltaic Installation & Maintenance

Fashion Design & Garment Making

Livestock Farming

Beauty & Cosmetology

Computer Hardware & GSM Repairs

Horticulture & Crop Production

Business Studies

French (Optional)

Arabic Language (Optional)

SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
5 Core and Compulsory Subjects

English Language

General Mathematics

One Trade Subject

Citizenship and Heritage Studies

Digital Technologies

Science

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Agriculture

Further Mathematics

Physical Education

Health Education

Foods & Nutrition

Geography

Technical Drawing

Humanities

Nigerian History

Government

Christian Religious Studies

Islamic Studies

One Nigerian Language

French

Arabic

Visual Arts

Music

Literature in English

Home Management

Catering Craft

Business

Accounting

Commerce

Marketing

Economics

Trade Subjects (Choose one)

Solar Photovoltaic Installation & Maintenance

Fashion Design & Garment Making

Livestock Farming

Beauty & Cosmetology

Computer Hardware & GSM Repairs

Horticulture & Crop Production

FG, stakeholders bicker

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on September 1, said it had completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed to make Nigerian learners “future-ready.”

Some teachers and parents have shown their criticism of the FG over the sudden introduction of the new national curriculum, saying they were not consulted in the process and warning that schools are ill-prepared for immediate implementation.

However, the FG insisted that the implementation of the new curriculum for basic, secondary, and technical education will begin with the 2025/2026 academic session.