Posted by fabulousCity | Celebrity
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Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija is a wife, mother, philanthropist and business mogul. She has been named as one of Forbe Africa’s 40 Richest alongside 11 other Nigerian billionaires such as Aliko Dangote and Glo boss, Mike Adenuga.
According to reports, she is worth a whopping $600 Million, securing her a place on the 24th position on the list. Her foray into the oil business, which saw her becoming the Executive Vice-Chairman of Famfa Oil & Gas Limited, has placed her in a position of power. This 61-year-old former President of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria – FADAN – is also a philanthropist of note.
We bring to you one of Africa’s finest: Madam Folorunsho Alakija.
HER STORY
Her mother used to be a fabric merchant. It was with her she got her firsthand knowledge of the fashion industry. She left the corporate world in the early 80's (1984) to the UK to study fashion designing and returned in 1985, a year after her training, to start her fashion house - Supreme Stitches which she started at a 3-Bedroom apartment in Surulere, Lagos. A year after establishing the company, she emerged as the best Designer in the country in 1986.
Mrs. Alakija was born in 1951 into a large family - her dad had 8 wives and 52 children in his lifetime and she was the second surviving child as her mom was the first wife. Quoting her, I had a very happy childhood and enjoyed my upbringing, was taught etiquette and how to sit at the table. She and her younger sister were sent to school abroad when she was 7 years old. They went to a school in Wales, a private school for girls in Northern Wales, and they were the only coloured (black) girls in the school. And because their fellow mates couldn't pronounce their names, they coined them names -Flo for Folorunsho and Doyle for Doyin. They were in the school for 4 years, and at age 11 she and Doyle moved back to Nigeria at the request of their parents who didn't want them to lose their African values, culture and tradition.
She got married in 1976 to her loving husband and between them they have 4 kids, all boys who all schooled abroad and are all engaged one way or the other in the family business.
On her involvement in the oil and gas industry, she explained that through a friend she met while was still actively involved in the world of fashion [Maryam Babangida], they got involved in the business of oil. There was an oil bloc no one wanted at that time for several reasons, it was this same oil bloc they got allocated to. They were approached in late 1996 by the then oil giant Texaco who were sure the bloc had potentials as they had done their homework well, and after negotiations that spanned 3 months we all agreed on terms and the rest like they say is history. Later Texaco became Chevron and struck oil in commercial quantity and they were told the oil had been collecting in that field for 17 million years.
According to her, “We consider ourselves lucky that we were allocated that particular oil field. That's the early history of FAMFA OIL.”
Her oil block pulls in an estimated $1M (N157,000,000) a day.
HOW SHE HAS COPED WITH MARRIAGE AND AFFLUENCE
Mrs. Alakija stated that she and her husband have learned to share responsibilities throughout their marriage.
“Money has nothing to do with love. Love comes from within. Money is something you acquire along the line. Only love keeps people together. From the time that we started courting, it has been like that, and we thank God that to His glory, we’ve known one another for 40 years. I pray also that God continues to unite us. I believe that if love is the foundation of a union, God will prove Himself faithful.
Every married person has a duty to ensure that they make their marriage work because nobody dragged them into it. Even looking after the children in that marriage calls for both parents to impact into them the skills, love, knowledge and talent required to enable them live fulfilled lives. When we shirk our responsibilities, we’re being careless.”
Additional Information Provided from: KilonSparkles.
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