He alleges his father's wife stopped him from reaching the stage at the billionaire's 86th birthday. The father has not responded.
Fatai Okoya, who says he is the first child of Nigerian billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya, has publicly asked his father to forgive him after decades apart. He made the appeal in an open letter signed "Your First Child, Fatai Okoya", then spoke on TikTok Live with YeyeKudi Courtroom on Sunday.
In the letter, he wrote: "Dad, I am truly sorry. Please, find it in your heart to forgive me." He said he had made several earlier attempts to reach out, and none had worked.
On the live session, he said his father had opposed his first marriage: "My daddy held on to one thing: he did not want me to marry the first woman I married, but I did not listen to him." He admitted to minor missteps while running his father's industries, but insisted: "I did not embezzle much money."
Fatai said he last saw his father at the billionaire's 86th birthday party, held at Oluwanishola. "The last time I saw my father was on 12 January 2026." He said he went as an invited guest and was given a VIP welcome. When he tried to reach the stage, he alleges, "his wife, Sade Okoya, stopped me, saying I couldn't see my father like that." He said his father "saw me and recognised me", but stayed silent.
On the estrangement itself, Fatai told YeyeKudi Courtroom where he stands:
"I love my father, and I have nothing against him."
Several claims remain unconfirmed. Premium Times could not independently confirm that Fatai is the first child, and found no reliable public information identifying his mother, whom he has not named. Legit.ng also said the information available does not establish the first-child claim.
Fatai said he had relied on two of his father's associates, Chief I. S. Adewale and Chief Mogaji Okoya Thomas, to help settle the dispute. "But everything, only for some while, everything just went haywire," he said. A brother of the billionaire, present during the live session, said the wife should not have stopped Fatai from seeing his father.
As of the reports, the father, Razaq Okoya, had not publicly responded to the letter or the live session.
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