After 40 Years Apart, Fatai Okoya Makes Emotional Plea to Reunite With Billionaire Father

Fatai Okoya, a man who identifies himself as the first son of billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya, has made a public appeal for forgiveness, expressing hope that he can rebuild his relationship with his father after more than four decades of estrangement.

Fatai made the appeal during a TikTok Live session with blogger Yeye Kudi Court Room, where he spoke about the family disagreement he believes led to their prolonged separation and his repeated efforts to reconcile with the founder of Eleganza Group.

He attributed the rift partly to a dispute over money taken while he was younger and to his decision to marry a woman his father reportedly disapproved of. Fatai maintained that the mistakes he made in his youth should not have resulted in a separation lasting so many years.

Reflecting on the alleged money dispute, he argued that the amount involved was not substantial enough to justify the breakdown of their relationship. He also said he did not believe he had committed any wrongdoing serious enough to warrant being shut out of his father’s life for decades.

Fatai recalled that he and his father had once been close, describing their earlier relationship as one in which they shared a strong bond. He said the prolonged estrangement had caused him pain and that, as he grew older, his desire to restore the relationship had become more important to him.

“I have tried to make peace for 40 years,” he said, renewing his appeal for his father to forgive him and allow them to settle their differences.

He also recounted an alleged incident at Razaq Okoya’s 86th birthday celebration, claiming that he was initially welcomed but was later prevented from approaching his father. According to Fatai, he was told that permission had to be obtained before he could meet the businessman, and he eventually returned to his seat without speaking to him.

Fatai said he had made several attempts to reach his father through friends and intermediaries but had not succeeded in securing a reunion. He maintained that his appeal was not motivated by a desire for financial assistance, but by the wish to restore a relationship he said he had lost for much of his adult life.

His daughter, identified as Zee during the live session, also appealed for reconciliation, saying she had no relationship with her grandfather and wanted to help her father reconnect with him. She expressed concern about the years the family had spent apart and the emotional weight of the separation.

Fatai urged his father to look beyond the mistakes of his younger years and consider giving their relationship another chance. He appealed to him to use his experience and wisdom to resolve the disagreement and allow the family to move forward.

The live session’s host also called on people close to Razaq Okoya to intervene. In particular, the host appealed to Chief Kesington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, a friend of the industrialist, to help facilitate a meeting between father and son.

Razaq Okoya, founder of Eleganza Group, is one of Nigeria’s prominent industrialists, known for building a manufacturing business with a presence in the country’s consumer goods market. His family life has occasionally attracted public attention, but Fatai’s account of their estrangement remains his own version of events.

As of the time of reporting, there had been no public response from Razaq Okoya to the latest appeal. The circumstances surrounding the estrangement have not been independently established, and Fatai’s account has not been publicly confirmed by his father.

For Fatai, however, the message was a direct appeal for reconciliation after decades apart. He expressed hope that forgiveness could open the door to a reunion and allow both sides to address the past and rebuild their relationship.

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