Daily Independent (Lagos)
Emma Maduabuchi
1 December 2008
Lagos — Business icon, Femi Otedola, has over time, shown himself to be a very generous man whose heart is continuously flowing with abundant milk of human kindness. He showed this trait recently to demonstrate that his heart was not always saturated with oil and gas business alone, but also with the plight of the less privileged.
Last week, his heart glowed as he doled out money for the schooling of indigent students from the Epe area of Lagos State, to enable the beneficiaries seek opportunities for tertiary education.
The young Otedola, who is the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, a foremost player in the oil and gas sector, gave out a staggering sum of N200 million to assist such students in realising their educational dreams and pursuits.
The gesture, it appears, was a tonic to the already revived and running Sir Michael Otedola Scholarship Awards Foundation (MOSAF), which had been running for years, and which many individuals have benefited from. "A lot of them (the recipients) have gone on to become lawyers, doctors and engineers," he enthused.
Otedola with his Zenon has long become a dominant force in diesel business among oil marketing concerns. He supplies fuel to power most major manufacturing firms in the country. He also owns one of the largest oil storage facilities in the country, which he purchased for N2.8 billion. His close associates also claim that Otedola spends well over N1. 3 billion trucks to strengthen the distributive arm of his business and acquired a massive flat bottom bunker vessel with a storage capacity of 16, 000 metric tonnes of diesel for 6.8 million dollars.
His Zenon owns four cargo ships.+ One of them is just one of four in the world and the first of its kind in Africa.+The business mogul is believed to be the owner of Atlas Shipping Agency, Swift Insurance, FO Properties Limited, and FO Transport.
Femi is the son of Michael Otedola, former Governor of Lagos State. He hails from Epe, and is considered by many as sharp and adaptive. Notwithstanding these good attributes he is seen as one who saw deep opportunities, and was sharp enough to plunge into them without hesitation. He is therefore seen to have well exploited his father's cultivated contacts.
In spite of all these, Otedola sees the secret of his success in hard work and staying focused on what he wants and going all out to them. Though acknowledged as a kind-hearted philanthropist, many have occasionally been confused on the morality of his spending. For instance, some have wondered why he contributed well over N100 million to former president Olusegun Obasanjo's re-election expenses. Many could not also understand why he had to donate the whopping some of N200 million to the Obasanjo Library. Critical observers in fact describe the N200 MOSAF donation as mere pittance compared to a whopping One Billion Naira he threw in to the controversial PDP fund raising initiative.
Notwithstanding, the National President of Association for Formidable Education Development (AFED), Joseph Ejenavi sees the Epe largesse as a gesture that should be commended and emulated by all. "In a place like Nigeria where most people are legalistic and egoistic, such things don't happen. But a man who plans education for other families should be commended.
We feel a great sense of pride and fulfillment in this because it means that our desire to contribute to the development of education in Nigeria is yielding positive fruits," Ejenavi remarked.
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Good day sir, My name is Olalekan with phone number 07026409866.
Have been trying to get in contact to Mr. Femi Otedola whom i spoke with some days back but lost contact with him. Please, kindly help me to forward my contact to him in order to fastrack further communication with him.
I will be glad if my request is considered.
thanks for your concern
My best regards:Olalekan