Femi Otedola– Philanthropist & businessman
On November 4, 1962, Femi Otedola was born in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in southwest Nigeria, into the family of the late Sir Michael Otedola, who served as governor of Lagos State from 1992 to 1993.
He is a philanthropist, businessman, and former chairman of Forte Oil PLC, an importer of fuel products.
Otedola founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd. and also owns a variety of other companies in the shipping, real estate, and banking industries.
As part of Nigeria’s recent industry liberalization, he made an investment in power generation.
Tolani Otedola, the first child of Femi Otedola, is a singer. She was a child of Otedola and Olayinka Odukoya, an ex-girlfriend.
Following her marriage to Nana Otedola, Femi gave birth to two additional daughters, Florence Ifeoluwa and Elizabeth Temi, as well as a son named Fewa. Florence Otedola, as DJ Cuppy, is a Nigerian tourist ambassador in addition to being a DJ and music producer. Temi, her younger sister, is an actress, fashion blogger, and aspiring fashion designer. Otedola owns residences in New York City, Dubai, London, Lagos, Abuja, and Abuja.
Otedola founded CentreForce Ltd. in 1994 with a focus on trading, investments, and finance. Notably, Swift Insurance is also run by him.
Otedola is the chief executive and president of SeaForce Shipping Company Ltd. After gaining control over the distribution of diesel goods, he once held the title of Nigeria’s largest ship owner. One of his ships, a flat-bottomed bunker vessel with a 16,000 metric ton storage capacity, was the first of its sort in Africa.
After spotting a need in the retail fuel industry, Otedola obtained the funding necessary to launch Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., a firm that markets and distributes petroleum products, in 2003.
In 2004, he invested N15 billion as the owner and chairman of Zenon in the construction of downstream infrastructure and bought storage facilities in Ibafon and Apapa as well as four cargo ships, giving them a combined total storage capacity of 147,000 metric tonnes. He paid N1.4 billion for a fleet of 100 DAF fuel-tanker trucks that same year.
By 2005, Zenon had a sizable market position in Nigerian diesel and was the primary supplier of fuel to the majority of the big producers there, including the Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle, and Guinness.
The largest premium motor spirit storage facility in Africa was to be built by Zenon, and it was revealed in March 2007 that ten banks had authorized a syndicated loan of US$1.5 billion (N193.5 billion) to Zenon as working capital.
Later on in the year, Zenon bought a 28.7% share in African Petroleum, one of the biggest petroleum marketers in Nigeria. Zenon made more financial sector investments and rose to the position of largest shareholder in several Nigerian institutions, including Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA). In addition to diesel, Zenon also climbed to prominence in the kerosene industry.
Zenon was one of several businesses mentioned in a 2012 study into a purported fuel subsidy scheme. The audit stated that Zenon owed the government $1.4 million.
Otedola was made a non-executive director of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc in January 2006. The multi-sector conglomerate was founded in 2004 by the then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to take advantage of market opportunities that required significant capital investment in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African nations. This position he held till February 2011.
Otedola has made several real estate transactions, including the Federal Government’s N2.3 billion purchase of Stallion House in Lagos’ Victoria Island by Zenon in February 2007. He was given the responsibility of leading the expansion and upgrade of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja to a seven star facility when he was appointed chairman the following month. He is FO Properties Ltd.’s owner.
According to reports, Otedola finances the People’s Democratic Party and gave N100 million to President Obasanjo’s reelection campaign in 2003. He was a close friend and ally of Goodluck Jonathan. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), and in the same year, he was named to a committee charged with fostering business ties with South Africa. Femi Otedola was added to Nigeria’s National Economic Management Team in 2011 by President Goodluck Jonathan.
2020 saw Forte Oil change its name to Adrova PLC.
Otedola has contributed to the Michael Otedola University Scholarship Scheme on numerous occasions. This program was started in 1985 to provide underprivileged students in Lagos State with access to higher education.
Zenon gave the scheme’s fund N200 million in 2005. Over a thousand kids have benefited from the program since it began.
Otedola personally donated N300 million in 2005 to finish the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, which is Nigeria’s main center of Christian prayer.
He contributed N200 million to the State Security Trust Fund in 2007 as part of a group of philanthropists who wanted to lower crime in Lagos State. Later that year, he gave N100 million to the Noforija, Epe-based Otedola College of Primary Education.
He gave N80 million in 2008 to the University of Port Harcourt’s Faculty of Agriculture.
At the 2019 AFCON match against Algeria, Femi Otedola gave the Super Eagles his promised donation of $25,000 in full.
Boderick Stephen Harvey– Television Presenter
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. was born in Welch, West Virginia, on January 17, 1957. He is the son of coal miner Jesse Harvey and Eloise Vera. Harvey struggled with severe stuttering as a child, but he overcame it. Living on East 112th Street, which was renamed Steve Harvey Way in 2015, Harvey’s family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1974, he earned his high school diploma from Glenville.
He attended West Virginia University and Kent State University shortly after high school and is a member of the fraternity Omega Psi Phi, but he never received a degree. Harvey has spoken about overcoming challenges in his early years and in his studies, but he later admitted, “It really threw my life into a downhill spiral, and I regret not having that degree.”
The presenter, producer, actor, and comedian Harvey is from the United States. He presents several shows, including The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud, Miss Universe, Family Feud Africa, and the Judge Steve Harvey court comedy, which is based on arbitration.
Harvey has worked as a mail carrier, an insurance salesman, a carpet cleaner, an auto worker, and a boxer.
On October 8, 1985, at Cleveland, Ohio’s Hilarities Comedy Club, he debuted as a stand-up comedian. Harvey experienced homelessness for three years in the late 1980s. When he wasn’t performing concerts that provided a hotel, he slept in his 1976 Ford and took showers at gas stations or public pools. During this time, Rich and Becky Liss assisted Harvey with a carpet cleaning contract and travel agency credit.
Harvey has seven kids from three different marriages (four biological children and three stepchildren).
His Literary works
•2009, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man
•2010, Straight Talk, No Chaser
•2014, Act Like a Success
•2016, Jump, Take the Leap of Faith to Achieve Your Life of Abundance
Awards won by Harvey
Emmy Awards
2014: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host – Family Feud
2014: Daytime Emmy Award for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative (as host/executive producer of Steve Harvey)
2015: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative (as host/executive producer of Steve Harvey)
2017: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host – Steve Harvey
2017: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host – Family Feud
2018: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host – Steve
2022: Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host – Family Feud
NAACP Image Awards
Four-time winner: Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
Three-time winner: Outstanding Comedy Series (as executive producer/star of The Steve Harvey Show – 2000, 2001, 2002)
2001: Entertainer of the Year
Three-time winner: Outstanding News/Talk/Info Series (as executive producer/host of Steve Harvey – 2014, 2015, 2017)
2015: Outstanding Host – Talk/Reality/Variety/News/Information
2016: Outstanding Host – Talk/Reality/Variety/News/Information
2016: Outstanding Variety Series/Special (as host of Family Feud)
Radio
2007: Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year – Radio & Records magazine
2013: Marconi Award winner – Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year
2015: Marconi Award winner – Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year
Television
2013: Favorite New Talk Show Host – 39th People’s Choice Awards
Organizational
2011: BET Humanitarian Award – 2011 BET Awards
Halls of Fame
2013: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
2014: NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee (Radio)
State/local
2015: East 112th Street in Cleveland renamed Steve Harvey Way
Honorary degrees
2016: Honorary Doctorate Degree Received at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama
As a practicing Christian, Harvey has credited his devotion to God for his success.
