Why I Did Not Attend University - Billionaire Business Tycoon, Folorunsho Alakija Opens Up

One of Africa's richest women, Folorunsho Alakija, has spoken out why she never made it into the four walls of a university.

Folorunsho Alakija

 

Folorunsho Alakija, is regarded as one of the richest women in Africa and one of the richest black women in the world.

 

The billionaire business tycoon, has now revealed why she did not go to university.

 

According to her, it was not her destiny as she was able to achieve her dreams without a degree.

 

DailyPost reports that Alakija said this on Thursday at the Excellence in Leadership program, an annual event organised by Daystar Christian Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

 

The founder of Rose of Sharon motivated the audience by saying that she never allowed a lack of university education to suppress her dreams and ambition.

 

“If I had the opportunity of going to the university, maybe I would have come out with a second class upper or lower but that didn’t happen; that wasn’t to be my destiny,” she said.

 

“I would have loved to go to the university as we all know that university education is good but some of us who have not gone, it is not the end of the world”, she added.

 

Alakija said she was able to attain her present position because she was determined and ready to pay the price that came with all the challenges she’s had to surmount.

 

“Having put my foot in the door, I decided I was not going to turn back”, she noted, revealing that when she had to file a lawsuit against the federal government for taking 50 out of her 60 percent equity, she remained determined.

 

The case which took 12 years to reach a conclusion was a matter of determination, she said.

 

The oil magnate noted that she is a product of hard work, sweat, tears, and tenacity, stressing that she’s not an overnight success.

 

“A lot of things have been said about me, some say I sold my way to the top; I remember that the headline of one of the national dailies in the country once said ‘Hairdresser given an oil block’. So I even became a hairdresser, one of the many names I was given”, she said.

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I Made You A Billionaire, Obasanjo Replies Folorunsho Alakija

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Saturday in Lagos that Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, Africa’s richest woman by Forbes reckoning, was among the 25 billionaires he made during his tenure as President.

Obasanjo stated this at the 2016 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum.

The former president was reacting to an allegation by Alakija at the event, that the Obasanjo administration frustrated her effort when she ventured into oil business.

Alakija, who spoke before Obasanjo, alleged that his administration illegally took an oil block allocated to her company after her family had invested all its savings to strike oil in commercial quantity.

“This oil block is in 5000 feet depth of water and was extremely difficult to explore.

“It took 15 years from the time that we were awarded the licence in 1993 till 2008 when we struck the first oil

“When this event happened, 60 per cent out of our 60 per cent equity in the business, was forcefully taken from us by the government of the day without due process.

“We had to fight back by going to court to seek redress and it took another 12 years for justice to be served in our favour.

“In all those years it was my trust in God, my perseverance and the support of my family that got me going,” she said.
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She used her experiences to charge the 2000 budding entrepreneurs at the event to be dogged, determined and not to give up in the face of challenges.

When Obasanjo spoke, the former president seized the opportunity to reply to the allegation by Alakija.

“There is a saying in my part of the world that when a proverb touches you and you failed to reply, then you are a coward,” he said.

Obasanjo explained that the action of the government then was in line with the Mining Act, which regulates oil prospection and exploration.

“For you to come here and say that, for no cause whatsoever, you were denied what was rightfully yours, is not fair.

“I do not know you from Adam and there is no reason I would have denied you what rightfully belonged to you.

“So, you have struggled, and you have struck oil. God bless your heart.

“My delight is to be able to create Nigerian billionaire and I always say it that my aim, when I was in government was to create 50 Nigerian billionaires.

“Unfortunately I failed. I created only 25 and Madam, you are one of them,” he said.

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Son Of Nigerian Richest Woman in Africa, Folorunsho Alakija, Set To Wed An Iranian Beauty (Photos)

Son of the richest woman in Africa, Folarin Alakija is set to marry his Iranian beauty in an elaborate wedding soon.

The Iranian beauty with Alakiji's son during an event

 

Folarin Alakija, son of African billionaire, Folorunsho Alakija, is set to give marriage another shot, a few years after the death of his first wife, Chena, who died of cancer as he gets set to marry his Iranian beauty, This Day reports.

 

The report further revealed that Folarin will be getting married to an Iranian beauty by name, Naganin, daughter of Tehran, an Iran-based businessman, Khosro, on November 19, at Grand Ballroom of Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

 

 

Preparations for the wedding is gathering momentum as invitation for who-is-who in the world has already been sent. It is expected that the wedding will be a most colourful one considering the woman's status in the society. 

 

Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman who is the richest African woman and also the richest black woman in the world. In 2014 she just unseated Oprah Winfrey as the richest woman of African descent in the world.

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