October 29, (THEWILL) – FAMFA Oil’s Centre Point Building Project, owned by Nigeria’s richest woman, Folorunsho Alakija, has been finally commissioned. It was commissioned by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu, after five years of building it.
The project, which cost $165 million about N165 billion to build, is an elegant project and architectural masterpiece. Aptly named Central Point Tower, the curvaceous 107m high skyscraper located in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, sits on a 5.695m² area of land and has a gross floor area of approximately 55,000m². It contains commercial spaces, owner-occupied office spaces, and a multipurpose hall, each with a dedicated well-appointed entrance on the ground floor. The building has a total of 20 floors plus basement with split-level carparks. Built by Julius Berger, the construction of the building was executed based on European standards.
With business interests spanning many sectors including oil and gas, transportation and more, the story of Alakija who made it all the way to the top without a university education, is one of determination, resilience and commitment. Her fortune in the oil business started with much difficulties and challenges. It began when a friend of hers who she met on a plane asked if her partners could be of help to lift crude oil from Nigeria.
Alakija set up a meeting with the then petroleum minister but was met with a reply that was discouraging when the minister told her that the government was only interested in being partners with those who were interested in investing in the country. She gave her friend the feedback and without an intention to invest in Nigeria, that window of opportunity was lost. However, mere mention of it to one of her clients, late First lady, Maryam Babangida, in no time changed her fortunes.
At first, all seemed to be going according to plan until it was discovered that the oil block given her was the farthest and was situated very far offshore in a place where other oil top shots refused to explore because there was barely enough technology to explore such depth at that time. The initial partners she had secured all left her thinking the oil block was of little or no value, but she was patient and calm in her resolve and it eventually paid off. Initially, the agreement was that she would hold 60 per cent of Famfa Oil’s worth, while the Federal Government held on to the remaining 40 per cent.
However, the Federal Government claimed that holding such a stake would make her and her family earn about $10 million on a daily basis, the government thus reduced her stake to a paltry 10 per cent and she immediately sued the government. The ensuing legal battle lasted for a little over 12 years and the whole world believed it was sheer stupidity to sue the government and win, but Folorunsho Alakija and her husband weren’t deterred and this paid off when the court mandated that the government returned their stake to the initial 60 per cent. This is how she was able to reclaim what was rightfully hers and grow into the richest woman in Nigeria today. As at 2019, she was worth a staggering $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. Making her the fourth richest person in Nigeria and among the list of the wealthiest African women.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
