Fatai Okoya, who identifies himself as the first child of Nigerian billionaire businessman Razaq Okoya, has appealed to his father for forgiveness after about 40 years of estrangement, blaming their strained relationship on a money dispute and his marriage to a woman his father reportedly disapproved of.
Fatai made the appeal during a TikTok Live session with blogger Yeye Kudi Court Room on Monday, recounting his attempts to reconcile with the founder of Eleganza Group and an alleged encounter at the businessman’s 86th birthday celebration.
According to a report by PUNCH, Fatai said the disagreement began when he was younger after he took some money from his father’s company. He questioned why the incident had resulted in decades of separation.
“I did not embezzle much money, if it was much, I would have built house and bought planes and cars,” he said in Yoruba.
He also attributed the breakdown of their relationship to his decision to marry a woman his father reportedly did not approve of, explaining that he was young and in love at the time.
Fatai said he had made several attempts to resolve the dispute and wanted an opportunity to reunite with his father.
“I have tried to make peace for 40 years,” he said.
Recounts Experience at Father’s Birthday
Recounting his experience at Razaq Okoya’s 86th birthday celebration, Fatai alleged that he was initially welcomed but was later prevented from approaching his father.
He said he was informed that his father had to be consulted before he could meet him.
“But my father did not have anything to say. So I had to turn back and go and sit down in my chair,” he said.
Fatai maintained that his appeal was not motivated by financial considerations but by his desire to restore their father-son relationship.
He further alleged that he had attempted to reach the businessman through friends and intermediaries but had been unable to secure a reunion.
Daughter Joins Appeal for Reconciliation
Fatai’s daughter, identified as Zee during the TikTok Live session, also appealed for reconciliation, saying she had no relationship with her grandfather and wanted to help her father reconnect with him.
She said she knew her father missed his father after their prolonged separation.
The programme’s host also appealed to people close to Razaq Okoya to intervene, specifically mentioning billionaire businessman Chief Kesington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, who is a friend of Okoya.
Renewing his appeal, Fatai asked his father to forgive his past mistakes and give their relationship another chance.
“I’m begging my father. To err is human, to forgive is divine. He should please overlook all my behaviour then as a child. He should please see that I, too, am a grown man. He should use his elderly wisdom to embrace us and bring us back to the family so that the issue can be settled once and for all,” he said.
Fatai added that he and his father had shared a close relationship while he was growing up. He also said he was the only child his mother had with the businessman.
The appeal comes amid Fatai’s renewed efforts to end the decades-long estrangement and rebuild his relationship with his father.
