•Femi Otedola
Business magnate and Chairman of First Bank Holding, Femi Otedola, has disclosed that his lack of academic interest was the reason he never pursued a university education.
Otedola made the revelation in his newly released memoir, a 286-page book launched yesterday, where he reflected on his early years in school and his eventual shift toward business, reports The Guardian.
According to him, his parents enrolled him at the University of Lagos Staff School in 1968, but he struggled with academics from the outset.
“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,” Otedola wrote.
He narrated that by the time his father was establishing Impact Press, a printing company in Surulere, Lagos, he became fascinated with the machines and developed a passion for business.
“As I rounded off the first year of my A Levels, my father was establishing his printing company. I grew fascinated with the machines and told myself that my future would be inextricably tied to them,” he said.
Otedola explained that he managed to remain in school until completing the Lower Sixth examination but chose not to return for Upper Sixth.
“All I wanted to do was get involved in business. My father kept watch over me and drew me close,” he added.
The memoir offers new insights into the formative years of one of Nigeria’s most prominent entrepreneurs, tracing how early exposure to family business shaped his career path.
