Newsunplug had earlier reported on Fatai Okoya’s emotional open letter to billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya, in which he apologised to his father and asked for a chance to rebuild their relationship after decades apart.
At the time, he did not explain how their relationship had broken down.
Now, Fatai, who identifies himself as the Eleganza Group founder’s first child, is telling his side of the story.
In a live interview with Yeye Kudi Court Room, he revealed why he fell out with his father and how his father’s second wife, Shade Okoya, blocked what could have been their reunion at his 86th birthday party.
He recalled that they were once close and described himself as his father’s favourite son. He said he would wear his father’s clothes, a memory he shared to illustrate how affectionate their relationship had been before the disagreement.
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Fatai said his marriage choice was one of the issues that angered his father. He explained that he was young and in love when he decided to marry someone his father did not approve of, ending what he described as a close father-son relationship.
He also discussed a disagreement over money he took from his father’s company. Fatai acknowledged taking some money for himself when he was younger and reckless but maintained that it was not a large sum that can’t even buy a car.
He highlighted his grandmother’s intervention and how there was little she could do to avoid offending the billionaire industrialist. He did not disclose the amount or give further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
His account offers a possible explanation for the estrangement, which he did not explain in the open letter that first drew public attention to his appeal for reconciliation.
In that letter, Fatai apologised to his father and asked for an opportunity to rebuild their relationship. He said the years apart had weighed on him and that he wanted to make peace while they still had time.