What Exactly Is Femi Otedola’s Crime?

MaTaZ ArIsInG
Dallas, Texas

It was impossible not to see the backlash from some Nigerians to Mr Femi Otedola’s short holiday video, which trended on social media today. One would have thought that Mr Otedola was spending public money on his vacation.

But no! The man is spending very private funds.

Femi Otedola is not the reason Nigeria has challenges, and it is an intellectually lazy thought process to attack him for enjoying a leisurely bike ride in Singapore. People like Mr Otedola are the solution to our challenges, not the cause of any alleged system failures in Nigeria.

To the best of my knowledge, he played little or no role in the last election. And even if he did, what is wrong with that? But he didn’t!

Otedola starts companies with capital largely sourced from outside Nigeria, grows those firms, employs tens of thousands of Nigerian citizens, and provides economic relief to millions by supplying goods and services that would have otherwise been imported. That is now a bad thing?

Do you know how difficult it is to invest in the Nigerian power sector? He did it.

I really don’t get the angst directed at him!

He is not corrupt. He has exposed public corruption in the past (Farouk and his dollars). Neither is he a politician nor a government official. He is a private citizen who has committed more than $50 million of his own funds to corporate social responsibility and charitable activities outside his geopolitical zone, especially in the Northeast.

He has built university hostels, hospitals, and shelters for IDPs. Someone like him should be receiving the highest national honours, rather than being subjected to irrational horror!

What exactly is his crime?

Too many Nigerians are angry and do not know where to direct their anger.

As bad as some of us think our government is, governance is not the cause of our major problems.

I will give an example. Last year, our economy grew by 3.9%, which is good. It was one of the fastest economic growth rates on the planet, and the World Bank projects a 4.4% GDP growth for Nigeria in 2026, while the IMF listed Nigeria as the sixth-largest contributor to global GDP growth in 2025, a fact celebrated by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

But the issue here is that our population growth, especially in one or two regions, is almost 4%.

Even if you have the best and least corrupt government on Earth, as long as the population growth of parts of Nigeria continues to outpace GDP growth, there will be social and economic pressure in those regions.

This is an economic fact!

Our country needs benevolent industrialists like Femi Otedola and Aliko Dangote. Attacking and demoralising them the way we have today helps nobody.

If you are unemployed or underemployed and cannot feed your six children, Femi Otedola probably is not the reason for your suffering. Neither is the Federal Government.

You might want to take some personal responsibility for putting the cart before the horse and building your family before you have a steady, reliable salary or source of income.

In the last two years, our GDP has expanded by $67 billion, rising from ₦269.29 trillion on May 29, 2023, when Asiwaju became President, to ₦372.8 trillion today. Nigeria has had an unprecedented twelve cycles of GDP growth and trade surpluses. It has never happened before.

We have moved from being the largest importer of fuel in Africa to the number one exporter in West Africa. But this growth will only benefit you if you have a productive mindset. But if you want to sit down and expect President Tinubu to build your toilet for you and flush it when you finish your business, you will continue to suffer while the larger economy grows.

China and India did not experience the boom they are having until they brought their population under control.

Fifty years ago, China was in precisely the same situation as some parts of Nigeria today: high insecurity, terrorism, and poverty, caused by overpopulation.

Additionally, they suffered the Great Famine, which was again caused by overpopulation. Their population growth rate was a problem, forcing them to introduce the One-Child Policy on Thursday, September 18, 1980. Until they introduced that policy, their economy was “in shambles,” to borrow from Davido.

China’s one-child policy was so successful at stemming China’s population growth and spurring economic growth. It also boosted productivity by increasing the working-age population relative to children.

Today, China’s economy is growing twenty times faster than its population. In 2024, they had a negative population growth rate of -0.1%, while their GDP grew by 5%.

China is not alone. India has put in place aggressive population control measures to the extent that you are paid not to have more children.

Those are the issues we need to address, rather than pouring misdirected anger on an innocent individual.

Reno Omokri

Ambassador Designate to Mexico. Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year, 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.

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