After almost four decades of silence, Nigerian-born globe’s richest black woman, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, has revealed the many pains, rejections and frustrations she had to bear with equanimity in the hands of her mother in-law, prior and after their marriage.
The stylish oil baron and fashion connoisseur, unknown to many, fought and won several battles while trying to settle down with her darling husband, Modupe, especially in the early stages of their affair.
She met a very stiff opposition in her now late mother in-law, who blatantly kicked against her walking down the aisle with her son.
Surprisingly, unperturbed and determined Alakija, who was and is still madly in love with her man, the founder of Famfa Oil, stuck to her gun and refused to let go that which meant so much to her.
Alakija, the boss of Rose of Sharon Foundation and Famfa Oil, made this chilling confession, while delivering a lecture on marriage, as the guest speaker at the 21st wedding anniversary of Bishop Isaac Idahosa, the general overseer of God’s First Ministries (Illumination Assembly). The event held on Sunday, at the Lekki Light Centre of the church along Ajah/Badore road.
Speaking to a jam-packed church, she said her mother in-law never wanted a Yoruba woman and Muslim as a daughter in-law.
“My husband’s mother was Igbo, while her dad was from South West here. And because of this, my mother in-law never wanted a Yoruba woman to marry her son. She was not comfortable also with my Muslim background then. She wanted an Igbo daughter in-law, but my husband said it’s me or nothing. It was a tough battle until God finally prevailed... Whenever she wanted something from my husband and was not getting it immediately, she would start attacking me and saying I’m the one stopping her son from doing her biddings. It was also an issue when she asked for a baby girl from me and I could not give her. I have four boys in my marriage... At some point, I was encouraged to fight back by my husband, but I refused and kept praying to God to change her. Despite my mother in-laws opposition towards me, I made sure we took her to US and UK on holidays with us severally and kept showering her with unconditional love. My joy is that we settled before she passed on,” she recounts in a voice filled with emotions.
Alakija, who quoted copiously from her book, University of Marriage, while delivering her lecture, which lasted for over one hour on the pulpit, also disclosed some of the secrets that has kept her marriage going in the last 37 years, despite challenges and oppositions, mostly from within.
She maintains that these “special secrets” were the ingredient that keeps endearing her darling husband to her, thus helping to renew and strengthen their undying love for each other on a daily basis.
“My husband is my best friend, biggest adviser and supporter. We’ve known each other for 40 years and have been married for 37 years now with four boys. Even though we work in the same office, I always ensure that we kiss twice in a day, morning and night. I still wash his undies until six years ago that he insisted I should stop. I also prepare his special vegetable dish, does his manicure and pedicure regularly. I also go to the airport to pick him whenever he is returning from foreign trips. It gives me joy whenever his friends praise my vegetable dish based on what my husband tells them during discussions...” she further discloses with a gentle smile on her famous face.
While rounding off her well applauded lecture, which equally got her a standing ovation from the entire congregation, the amiable woman of means, whose foundation is very passionate about widows and orphans, urged women to be loving and submissive to their husbands.
Alakija, who was visibly emotional and was moved to tears, while her intimidating resume was being read, also challenged husbands, to continually support, provide and pamper their wives with unconditional love and affection.
“No marriage survives without love, respect and support from the couple,” she insists.
Profile of ‘world’s richest black woman’
By JAMES EMMANUEL
Folorunsho Alakija, who Forbes rated ‘world richest black woman’ last year, is believed to worth a combined $3.3 billion, according to Ventures Africa, a business magazine. A self-made billionaire and business tycoon, Alakija’s business interest covers oil, printing and fashion.
She sits atop The Rose of Sharon group which comprises The Rose of Sharon Prints and Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited; she is also the Executive Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited, which is into oil exploration.
The Nigerian billionaire was born in 1951 to the family of Chief L. A. Ogbara in Ikorodu, Lagos State. She started her career in 1974 as an Executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Nigeria. She left this enterprise and founded a tailoring company called Supreme Stitches. Through dint of hard work, she rose to prominence and fame within a few years, and as the boss of Rose of Sharon House of Fashion, she eventually became a household name. As National President and lifelong Trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), she left an indelible mark, promoting Nigerian culture through fashion and style.
In May 1993, Alakija applied for an allocation of an Oil Prospecting License (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block – (now referred to as OPL 216) was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited. The block is located approximately 220 miles South East of Lagos and 70 miles offshore Nigeria in the central Niger Delta.
In September 1996, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40 percent of her 100 percent stake to Star Deep. Subsequently, Star Deep sold off eight percent of its stake in OPL 216 to Petrobras, a Brazilian company.
Alakija has a foundation called the Rose of Sharon foundation which helps widows and orphans by empowering them through scholarships and business grants. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria with Modupe Alakija, her husband of 37 years and their four sons.
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