Folorunso Alakija

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Lore & Background

Folorunso Alakija was born into a middle-class family in Nigeria on 15 July 1951. Her father, Chief L.A. Ogbara, had 8 wives and 52 children, and Folorunso's mother was his first. She is from the Yoruba ethnicity of south-western Nigeria. At a young age, she travelled to the United Kingdom, where she began her primary education at Dinorben School for Girls in Wales before later returning to Nigeria for her secondary schooling at Muslim High School, Sagamu. She later returned to the UK for further studies in secretarial administration at Pitman Central College, London, and subsequently pursued training in fashion design at institutions in London. In 1974, Alakija began working as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Lagos. She later held positions at the First National Bank of Chicago and the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria. She then studied fashion design at the American College in London and the Central School of Fashion. She started a fashion label called Supreme Stitches, renamed in 1996 as the Rose of Sharon House of Fashion. She served as the president of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) and remains a trustee of the organization. In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil prospecting license (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000-acre block, about 100 km offshore of Nigeria, in the Agbami Field, was granted to her company, Famfa Limited. In September 1996, Alakija entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, transferring a 40 percent stake to Star Deep. After they struck oil, the Nigerian government claimed a 40% stake, followed by an additional 10%. The Nigerian government subsequently sought to acquire a 50% interest in the block; Alakija contested this acquisition in court and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor in 2012. Alakija served as Chancellor of Osun State University from 2016 to 2026. She was reappointed in 2021 for a second five-year term after completing her initial tenure. Her tenure ended on 18 March 2026 after completing two terms in office. She was succeeded as Chancellor by entrepreneur Victoria Adunola Samson in May 2026.

Reader's Guide

Folorunso Alakija's significance lies in her rise from a secretarial career to becoming the wealthiest woman in Africa as of 2021, primarily through her stake in Famfa Oil and the Agbami oil field. Her legal victory against the Nigerian government's attempt to acquire a 50% interest in her oil block, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012, marked a landmark case in Nigerian business law. Beyond oil, she built a diversified business empire including fashion, printing, and real estate through the Rose of Sharon Group. Her philanthropic legacy is substantial: the Rose of Sharon Foundation, established in 2008, provides scholarships, business grants, and support for widows and orphans across Nigeria. In 2025, she funded and donated the Modupe and Folorunso Alakija Medical Research and Training Hospital to Osun State University, a 250-bed teaching hospital reportedly valued at ₦34 billion, featuring 20 clinical departments, four operating theatres, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, radiotherapy suites, 16 intensive care units, and an ophthalmology unit. She also donated a skills acquisition centre to Yaba College of Technology in Lagos. Her tenure as Chancellor of Osun State University from 2016 to 2026 further cemented her role in education. Forbes ranked her the 96th most powerful woman in the world in 2014. Her story illustrates the intersection of Nigerian entrepreneurship, legal tenacity, and large-scale philanthropy.

Did You Know?

• Alakija's father, Chief L.A. Ogbara, had 8 wives and 52 children, and her mother was his first wife.
• She began her primary education at Dinorben School for Girls in Wales.
• In 1993, she applied for an oil prospecting license for a 617,000-acre block about 100 km offshore Nigeria in the Agbami Field.
• The Supreme Court ruled in her favor in 2012 after the Nigerian government sought to acquire a 50% interest in her oil block.
• In 2025, she donated a 250-bed teaching hospital valued at ₦34 billion to Osun State University.