The Amazon from Ikorodu @ 70

Festus Akanbi writes on the milestones of Nigeria’s billionaire industrialist and former world’s richest black woman, Chief (Mrs) Folorunsho Alakija, who clocked 70 years last Thursday

In a society accustomed to male dominance of power and political leadership, it has been argued that the prevailing system in the country appeared to be wired to whittle down the chance of Nigerian women to easily clinch top political positions and corporate leadership.

For instance, while there is no clear-cut rule that forbids women from aspiring into any position in Nigeria, there seems to be a conspiracy to confine female politicians to certain electoral offices.

However, what looks like a jinx in the political arena has on many occasions been broken in the corporate world, where some women rose from dints of hard work to reach the commanding heights of their careers. Some of them did not miss the opportunity presented to them by government policies to launch themselves into global acclaim.

It is in this category that the 70- year-old Vice Chairperson of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, Chief Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija belongs.

Famously remembered as the richest black woman, according to the ranking by Forbes in 2020, Mrs. Alakija has continued to shine brilliantly in the male-dominated oil industry.

This businesswoman and philanthropist is involved in the fashion, oil, real estate, and printing industries. She is the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group, which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited.

However, just like a popular Yoruba proverb, “Owo Eko ni won nwo, won o wo iya Eko” (people are easily attracted by the affluence of Lagosians without taking note of sufferings in Lagos), Alakija born to the family of Chief L. A. Ogbara of Ikorodu, Lagos State indeed made serious sacrifices to earn the enviable position she currently occupies.

Childhood

As the eighth child of her father and her mother’s second child, Folorunsho was raised in a Muslim polygamous home and she was surrounded by 52 siblings and seven stepmothers.

Back in the days, late Chief Ogbara and his wives were involved in the textile industry. Folorunsho was said to have cut her teeth as a fashion promoter, working in her mother’s fashion shop. This was where and when her love for fashion took off. At a young age, she could combine colours excellently and creatively design fabrics of any type.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial home informed Folorunsho Alakija’s character. Learning from her parents, she grew up to manage a business and make it successful through great work ethics. Folorunsho and her siblings were taught to open up the shops early, handle customers properly, and also manage the business’ finances.

One interesting piece of information about Folorunsho Alakija’s march to the billionaire club was her dream of becoming a lawyer, which was truncated by her father’s reluctance to fund such an academic programme because it was not the trend to commit resources to female’s university education at that time.

Born on July 15, 1951, she attended her nursery education at Our Ladies of Apostles, Lagos from 1955 to 1958. At the age of seven, Folorunsho Alakija travelled to the United Kingdom to continue her primary education at Dinorben School for Girls in Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw, Wales between 1959 and 1963.

On the completion of her primary education, Folorunsho attended “Muslim High School” in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. She then returned to England for her secretarial studies at Pitman’s Central College, London.

From Banking to Fashion

Her career started in 1974, when she worked as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises, Lagos, Nigeria shortly after completing a Secretarial Course at Pitman’s Central College London. She moved to the former First National Bank of Chicago, which later became FinBank now acquired by FCMB (First City Monument Bank) as the Executive Secretary to the Managing Director.

She became the new Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria (formerly First National Bank of Chicago) and later on became the Office Assistant to the Treasury Department.

Shortly after her career in the banking world, which lasted for 12 years, Folorunsho Alakija took up a new challenge to study fashion design at The American College in London and the Central School of Fashion.

After her return to Nigeria, she started her first fashion label known as Supreme Stitches, which was later renamed The Rose of Sharon House of Fashion in 1996.

That enterprise was unlike any other tailoring business. It was the start of a mega fashion brand that ladies in Nigeria and across Africa would strive to wear. She recognised the need for a fashionable, yet, wholly Nigerian/African look and took full advantage of the opportunity.

Just as the business started, Folorunsho Alakija joined a fashion design competition. Her designs were so unique and creative that she won the contest and instantly became a sensation. Folorunsho Alakija built a fortune from designing and making high-end clothes for wealthy and successful women in society. One of her clients was the former first lady, Maryam Babangida.

She later became the national president and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN).

Making Gold out of Oil Block

It could be said that her breakthrough, however, came in May 1993, when she applied for an oil prospecting license (OPL). Eventually a license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block—now referred to as OPL 216—was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited. The block is approximately 350 kilometres (220 miles) southeast of Lagos and 110 kilometres (70 miles) offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta.

In September 1996, Folorunsho Alakija entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the licence, transferring 40 per cent of her 100 percent stake to Star Deep.

In the ensuing struggle for the control of the oil block, the Nigerian government snatched a 40% stake, which was later increased to 50 percent, thus setting the stage for an epic legal battle that spanned 12 years.

She kept fighting till she won. In her word, “We felt like it was unfair. We had taken the sole risk and invested everything we had in the business. It had become a family business. We spent six years as a family to ensure this worked out and now that it was bearing fruit.

They just stepped in and took away everything we had struggled and worked extremely hard for. I said to myself, ‘Folorunsho Alakija does not give up, my husband does not give up and my children do not give up.” At the end of the day, the Alakijas prevailed.

Folorunsho Alakija, who became the Chancellor of Osun State University on March 9, 2016, is a devout Christian with an evangelical calling. Since giving her life to Christ in 1991, she preaches the gospel ceaselessly to anyone that cares to listen even in the marketplace. Also, she and her husband started a house fellowship which is now a ministry; Rose of Sharon Glorious Ministry International.

She also has a majority stake in DaySpring Property Development Company.

Giving Back to Society

Folorunsho Alakija gives back to society through her foundation, the Rose of Sharon Foundation. The foundation empowers widows and orphans through scholarships and business grants. She is the primary sponsor of the Agbami Medical and Engineering Scholarship Scheme which records over 1000 beneficiaries annually.

In 2014, she donated a huge amount of money towards the completion of a 350-seat lecture theatre building in Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State. And, the building was named after her in appreciation of her philanthropic gesture. She also donated a skills acquisition center to Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), a higher educational institution located in Lagos.

Honours

Folorunsho Alakija holds six honorary degrees and a fellowship at Yaba College of Technology. She became the first female Chancellor at Osun State University and Nigeria’s first female chancellor on March 9, 2016. She is one of the Lagos Business School alumni and a member of the Commonwealth and Investment Council Advisory Board. She is on the Advisory board of the Center for African Studies, Harvard.

In 2014 and 2015, she was on Forbes’ list of Most Powerful Women in the World. In the July 2013 inauguration of the National Heritage Council and Endowment for the Arts, Folorunsho Alakija was appointed vice-chairman of the committee.

She was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of Heritage Council and Endowment for the Arts inaugurated on July 1, 2013. Also, she serves as matron to Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs.

Recognised as one of the champions of African Entrepreneurship, she was named Chief Matron of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (AYE) NGO. She is an acclaimed public speaker, a writer, and has also authored several inspirational books.

Some of the books she authored include, “Alone with God” -a free daily devotional guide published annually to help the spiritual growth of believers daily; “University of Marriage” – Your Textbook for a successful Marriage, written to help married couples bring back spark to their marriages and “Growing with the Hand that Gives the Rose”, the autobiography of Folorunsho Alakija. The book captured how she was able to succeed notwithstanding her large family background, among others.

Folorunsho married Modupe Alakija, a lawyer in November 1976 and they are blessed with four sons and grandchildren.