Folorunso Alakija (born 15 July 1951) to the family
of Chief L. A. Ogbara in Ikorodu, Lagos State. At age seven, she travelled to the United Kingdom to
begin a four-year primary education at Dinorben School for Girls in Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw, Wales. After returning to
Nigeria, she attended Muslim High School Sagamu Ogun State, Nigeria.
Afterwards, she returned abroad for her secretarial studies at Pitman's Central
College, London. She also studied fashion design at the American College,
London and the Central School of Fashion. She is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, one of the richest African women,
and one of the richest black women in the world. In 2014, she temporarily
unseated Oprah Winfrey as the richest woman
of African descent in the world. She is involved in the fashion, oil exploration,
printing industries and real estate. 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 and the executive
vice-chairman of Famfa Oil Limited. Alakija is ranked by Forbes as the richest woman in Nigeria with an
estimated net worth of $2.1
billion. As of 2015, she is listed as the second most powerful woman in
Africa after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the 87th most
powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
Folorunsho started her career in 1974 as an
executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises, Lagos, Nigeria. She moved on to the
former First National Bank of Chicago, now FinBanknow acquired by FCMB (First City
Monument Bank) where she worked for some years ( a fine career path she pursued
till she became the director of Corporate affairs with Nigeria International
Merchant bank) before establishing a
tailoring company called Supreme Stitches. It rose to prominence and fame
within a few years, and as Rose of Sharon House of Fashion became a household
name.
In May 1993, Folorunsho applied for the
allocation of an oil prospecting license (OPL). The 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 located approximately 220 miles south east
of Lagos and 70 miles offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta. In September 1996, she 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 license, transferring
40 percent of her 100 percent stake to Star Deep.
Once word got out they struck oil the
unthinkable happened: the Nigerian government snatched a 40% stake! Later,
they took an additional 10%. According to her. She took them to court, for 12
years she fought the government in court, the stakes were high, and the
government argued if Alakija and family were allowed to keep their bloc they
stood to make $10 million a day! Still she persisted and in
the end she won, Subsequently Star Deep sold off 8 percent of its stake in OPL
216 to Petrobras, a Brazilian
company.
Folorunsho has a foundation called the Rose
of Sharon Foundation that helps widows and orphans by empowering them through
scholarships and business grants. Her company is also a major sponsor of
the Agbami medical and engineering scholarship scheme, one of the most reliable
scholarship scheme in Nigeria with over a thousand people yearly as
beneficiaries. Mrs Alakija is a fervent supporter of education in Nigeria; for
example in 2014 she donated a substantial amount of money to Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida University Lapai, the Niger State University. The money was used to
complete the construction of a 350 Seat Lecture Theater, which was named after
her.
On 1 July 2013, the federal government of
Nigeria inaugurated the National Heritage Council and Endowment for the
Arts and appointed Alakija as vice-chairman of the body. She is an
acclaimed public speaker and the first female to be appointed as Chancellor of
a public university in Africa. She is a Fellow of Yaba College of Technology
and holds six Honorary Doctorate Degrees. She is a prolific writer and has
authored several inspirational books, including her autobiography.
She has served the nation as a member in four different committees and as the Vice Chairman of the National Heritage Council and Endowments for Arts. She also serves as the Chief Executive Matron of the African Young Entrepreneurs, an Ambassador of the Junior Chambers International and matron of several other organizations.
She is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, a Member, Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council Advisory Board and Member, Advisory Board, Harvard University Center for African Studies.
She is a recipient of many awards in various capacities locally and internationally. She is happily married to Modupe Alakija for well over four decades and is blessed with 4 sons and grandchildren.
She has served the nation as a member in four different committees and as the Vice Chairman of the National Heritage Council and Endowments for Arts. She also serves as the Chief Executive Matron of the African Young Entrepreneurs, an Ambassador of the Junior Chambers International and matron of several other organizations.
She is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, a Member, Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council Advisory Board and Member, Advisory Board, Harvard University Center for African Studies.
She is a recipient of many awards in various capacities locally and internationally. She is happily married to Modupe Alakija for well over four decades and is blessed with 4 sons and grandchildren.
LESSONS FROM THE SUCCESS
STORY OF FOLORUNSO ALAKIJA
Follow your dreams: This is an issue that has
taken center stage for a while now due to hardship of the developing and
underdeveloped economies there seems to be times when one finds self trying to
survive on courses or charts (making ends meet) that are not in line with one’s
dream or natural configuration but that shouldn’t make anyone lose sight of such
dream as one’s fulfillment is embedded in such, it should rather be a launching
pad for serious and consistent effort in that direction as displayed by our
case study. It is often said that your real provision, popularity and fulfillment
lies in your purpose.
Cultivate a drive for
excellence: Excellence
is a language that attracts well to do people and resources, it’s only a matter
of time, excellence is always rewarded. Her drive and insistence on excellence
is what made Supreme stitches and Sharon stone house of fashion a house hold
name within a limited time frame.
Have more a than a stream
of income: except
for intervention that are beyond physical which is beyond the scope of this
blog, there is a limit to what a single stream of income can get to.it is also
paramount that we do note that this does not mean lack of attention or depth on
any of the various stream so this must be done with the context of the capacity
of the individual and group.
Do not give up: In this part of the world individuals
hardly wins a case against the government, hence some people don’t even dare to
try, she is not only brave but doesn’t give up, she instituted a case against
the government and stayed on it for twelve good years, she did win, please
don’t give up on that issue your winning will emerge sooner than you had
thought.
Be kind hearted: When you are graced or do have a privilege
and even with what you have now what impact have you had on humanity? To have
empowered well over three thousand widows, their children, granting countless
scholarships and business grants (at least a thousand per year) amongst others
on record asides those without record and not being a politician is a major
milestone. Financing a lot of educational establishments are but to mention a
few, she deserves some accolades and being studied as a mentor.
What a worthy example we all have in Folorunso
Alakija.
If this write up has inspired or done anything
worthwhile kindly share.
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