OTEDOLA is a combination of three (3) words OTE-(D)-OLA

OTEDOLA is a combination of three (3) words OTE-(D)-OLA.

Literal interpretation can use the analogy of “A (becomes) B” or “A (boomerangs) into B”

The last word “OLA” is quite easy to interpret, it means wealth, fortune, riches, prosperous, opulent, well off, cash-rich, well-to-do, abundance, affluence, prosperity, success e.t.c.

So, what actually turned into wealth and fortune? And what does “OTE” mean?

According to (Forbes) in 2016, Femi Otedola was worth $1.8B, positioning him as Number #1011 richest in the world. Using CBN’s Foreign Exchange (FX) rate of N410 per USD ($)

https://www.cbn.gov.ng/rates/exchratebycurrency.asp 

This should be about 738 billion Nigerian Naira (NGN).

A few days/hours ago, he invested about 4% of the fortune to acquire a 10% stake in First Bank of Nigeria with N30 billion worth of shares, making him the bank’s single largest shareholder following the crisis that rocked the Board of Directors recently (Vanguard).

Well, he demands love and affection from the people and the community, and he obviously gets it at every request, more like ‘a love and affection tyrant’ - this is synonymous with his first name “Femi” meaning “Love Me”. 

Nigerians were obviously grateful and appreciative of his kindness and generosity, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as he contributed to the dramatic palliative through the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), a private-sector task force in partnership with the Federal Government, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) aimed to combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria. The task force was tasked with pulling resources across industries to provide technical and operational support while providing funding and building advocacy through aggressive awareness drives (Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID)).

Responsible for funding and raising funds for the efforts:

Godwin Emefiele, Aliko Dangote, Herbert Wigwe, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, Folorunso Alakija, Jim Ovia, John Coumantaros, Raj Gupta, Segun Agbaje, Tony Elumelu, Modupe Alakija & Folorunso Alakija.

(Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID))

Yes, the “palliatives” saga in Nigeria was historic - just visit Google Trends via this URL and see for yourself https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=palliatives 

Also, similar pointers towards his daughters - “Papa took us shopping and bought one of each!”, as said by “The Pink Penthouse Lady”, popular Disc Jockey (DJ), Florence Otedola, also known as DJ Cuppy who recently matriculated in the prestigious University of Oxford, England on her journey to earning a Master’s Degree in African Studies.

Ferrari Portofino cost $218,750 and (N84,323,750.00 Nigerian Naira), the citation is important I believe. So this shouldn’t be mistaken for Kunle Afolayan’s movie ‘Citation’ which featured Temi Otedola in her Nollywood debut (Premium Times).

The plot obviously started before the 16th July 1926, for clarification, not the ‘Citation’ movie plot. The movie ‘Citation’ was very successful, reference - as on 14th November 2020 ‘Citation’ was the number six (No. 6) movie in the world on NETFLIX (Premium Times).

Reflecting once again on the combination of three (3) words OTE-D-OLA.

“OTE” could mean plot, conspiracy, collusion, complicity, conniving, contrivance, stratagem, booby trap e.t.c.

Sir Michael Otedola (16 July 1926 – 5 May 2014) was a Nigerian politician and the former Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. I believe the plot must have predated his birth in 1926. The story about the unsuccessful plot, that later boomeranged into abundance and fortune will be quite captivating.

OTE-D-OLA could literarily mean, the plot that boomerangs into wealth and fortune.

Well, the latest 10% stake and investment in First Bank of Nigeria with N30 billion worth of shares, might have inspired this write-up, but not sufficient enough to unravel the real story behind the name and its meaning, or perhaps alternatively when “the pink lady” writes and publishes on the subject matter, now that she’s in the right position to make the story and its historical relevance memorable via the academia - my question for her is this, what African Study or Story will be more important to you in your Masters Thesis than the one surrounding how OTE became OLA? food for thoughts.

But why should people plot on others in the first place?

People plot for so many reasons, for example, resentment strong bitterness, ill-will, umbrage, spite, hatefulness, malevolence, meanness, nastiness, spite, spleen, venom, viciousness, animosity, hostility, rancor e.t.c.

In the Yoruba language, it means kikorò, aibanujẹ, ifẹkufẹ, ibẹru, ikorira, iwa aibanujẹ, oninurere, ẹgbin, aibikita, ọlọ, majele, iwa buburu, ibinu e.t.c.

According to Jessica Wei -

“Pity the poor soul who once tried to soil ole’ Blue Eyes’ gleaming leather shoes back in the day, for they have surely felt the burn of an unstoppable opponent.

However, for the rest of us who can’t be king of the hill, top of the heap, A number one, we can still take a lesson from Sinatra and dominate in our own court simply by being the best at what we do.

There will always be haters, and this was certainly true back in Sinatra’s day, but the best way to shut out the negativity is to soar so far above them that they can’t even touch you.”

Source URL - https://due.com/blog/the-best-revenge-is-massive-success-frank-sinatra 

Reflecting on the Otedola’s and matching with Frank Sinatra’s wit “The best revenge is massive success”, for me personally this was entertaining and exciting for family - 

Otedola dances to GELATO in a plane 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u6IbVK_kRg 

And this was captivating and emotional from mother & daughter

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVAvpRbrhLe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

But to INSPIRE you the reader, personally, this was it for me

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5pCYZJg1B 

The fearless jumping or diving as the case may be, the actual distance of the yacht from the Burj Al Arab (seen at the end of the video) phenomenal.

Don't tell me the sky's the limit, there are footprints on the moon 

- Song lyrics "There's A World Out There" by Paul Brandt.

I hope this was informative.

Thank you.

Aderogba Otunla.

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID). “Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).” Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), 2020, https://www.cacovid.org/. Accessed 01 April 2020.

E-News Nigeria. “Unveiling billionaire Femi Otedola’s 3 brothers.” Unveiling billionaire Femi Otedola’s 3 brothers, 21 February 2019, https://enewsnigeria.com/unveiling-billionaire-femi-otedolas-3-brothers/. Accessed 23 October 2021.

Forbes. “2016 BILLIONAIRES NET WORTH.” 2016 BILLIONAIRES NET WORTH, Forbes, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/profile/femi-otedola/?sh=8841095553a5. Accessed 03 01 2021.

Premium Times. “Movie Review: ‘Citation’ ticks the right boxes, Temi Otedola is Nollywood’s newest star.” Movie Review: ‘Citation’ ticks the right boxes, Temi Otedola is Nollywood’s newest star, 14 November 2020, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/nollywood/426080-movie-review-citation-ticks-the-right-boxes-temi-otedola-is-nollywoods-newest-star.html. Accessed 23 October 2021.

Premium Times. “Otedola buys Ferrari for daughters DJ Cuppy, Temi, Tolani.” Otedola buys Ferrari for daughters DJ Cuppy, Temi, Tolani, 16 September 2020, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/naija-fashion/415070-otedola-buys-ferrari-for-daughters-dj-cuppy-temi-tolani.html.

Vanguard. “How Otedola may have acquired 10% stake in FBNH.” How Otedola may have acquired a 10% stake in FBNH, 23 October 2021, https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/10/how-otedola-may-have-acquired-10-stake-in-fbnh/.