Ten Things About Sir Michael Otedola You May Never Have Heard

After a ripe age of 87, Sir Michael Otedola, former Governor of Lagos and father of Femi Otedola, passed away in the early hours of Monday.

Sir Otedola had not been seen in public for years due to his ill-heath associated with geriatric frailties; as such he has not been in the public glare for some time. TLT went down the memory lane, dug up some facts and therefore, has come up with TEN THINGS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT SIR MICHAEL OTEDOLA.

1. Sir Michael Otedola threatened to disown his billionaire son, Femi, on 2 occasions. “Femi I will disown you as a son because you brought me into this politics and made me waste my money.” He said so when his governorship ambition appeared bleak.
2. He chose to join the National Republican Convention (NRC) because of the colour of the party’s flag (white). He took this decision because Femi advised him so. He eventually won the election in 1991 and was sworn in January 1992.
3. According to Femi Otedola in an interview he granted to Thisday, Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Late Wahab Folawiyo, Jimmy Lawal, all donated “a lot of money” to the campaign of his father’s governorship ambition.
4. His administration was preceded by Brigadier-General Raji Rasaki and succeeded by Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola when the Third Republic was aborted by General Sani Abacha in November 1993.
5. Sir Michael Otedola began his career as a teacher.
6. He won a scholarship to study Journalism at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London where he graduated in 1958.
7. He became a journalist reporting for St. Pancras Chronicle. He moved to The Guardian and The Times in England where he rose to become a sub-editor.
8. Upon his return to the country in 1959, he became an Information Officer in the Western Government from where he was appointed the Editor of the Western Nigeria Illustrated.
9. He was a Public Relation Officer working for Western Nigeria Television/Western Broadcasting Service from 1961-1964.
10. He moved to the petroleum sector in 1964 when he took up a job at Mobil Oil Group of Companies. He continued as a consultant to Mobil when he left in 1977.