The family of billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya has come under scrutiny following its response to Fatai Okoya’s emotional appeal for reconciliation with his father after about 40 years of estrangement.
Rather than directly addressing the pain Fatai says he has endured over the decades, the family’s statement has shifted attention to his birth order, the four flats he allegedly received and payments reportedly made towards his medical bills.
In a statement signed by Nathaniel Omeninwan, Senior Public Relations Manager of Eleganza Industries Ltd, the family disputed Fatai’s claim that he is Okoya’s first child, insisting that he is the industrialist’s third child.
The family also accused him of bringing private family issues into the public domain to attract sympathy and discredit other members of the household.
“The Okoya family finds it regrettable that Fatai Okoya (who is in fact the third child of Aare Rasaq Okoya, CON) has dragged what are otherwise private family matters into the public domain to attract public sympathy, gain attention and unjustifiably discredit other family members,” the statement read.
But the central issue raised by Fatai is not simply whether he is his father’s first or third child. His public appeal centres on a relationship he says has been broken for about four decades and his desire to reconcile with his father.
The family, however, appears keen to counter his account with claims of financial assistance, including accommodation and medical support.
“Fatai Okoya has benefited immensely from his father and continues to benefit. He lives in, and has been given, four flats by his father in Ogunlana Surulere, and has at times been receiving payment for his medical bills,” the statement added.
While the family considers these provisions evidence of the industrialist’s support, financial assistance alone does not necessarily resolve the emotional questions surrounding a prolonged family estrangement.
The statement also sought to absolve Shade Okoya, the billionaire’s wife, of Fatai’s allegation that she prevented him from seeing his father during a birthday medical outreach.
According to the family, the allegation was unfounded because Fatai and his father encountered each other at the event, where several guests allegedly witnessed their interaction.
It further maintained that the disagreement between Fatai and his father began before Okoya married Shade, challenging any attempt to link the decades-long rift to her presence in the family.
However, the family’s response has left the public dispute focused on competing accounts of financial provision and family relations, rather than offering a clear explanation of why father and son have reportedly remained estranged for so long.
For a family dispute that has now entered the public domain, the bigger question remains whether the financial support highlighted by the Okoya family can address the personal grievances that Fatai says have kept him apart from his father for about 40 years.
The family has rejected his account of events, but its statement has not resolved the underlying question of whether genuine reconciliation between father and son is possible.
