Olufemi Adegoke Osibona, otherwise called Femi Fourscore, is a native of Ikenne in Ogun State, who was born in 1966.
He had his primary school education in Lagos before moving to Mayflower School in Ikenne. From Mayflower, he proceeded to Croydon University in the United Kingdom (UK), where he studied Business and Finance.
His shoes and suits business in 1991
Osibona started the shoes and suits business in 1991 before venturing into real estate development in 1997.
In 1998, he stopped the clothing and shoe business after nurturing a property he purchased in the UK in 1997 into a profitable venture.
How he started building construction
The Ogun State-born businessman was quoted to have said: “I noticed that many Nigerians at that time were reluctant to go into construction, but I believed anything was possible with God.”
Osibona’s real estate development firm Fourscore Homes is a member of the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) in South Africa and Zurich Building Guarantee in Europe.
The company exhibited its expertise in property development in the UK, South Africa, the United States (U.S.), and Nigeria.
Osibona is said to be the first African developer to construct a seven-story building at the highbrow Albion Drive, London Fields in East London. After that, he moved to South Africa in 2009, where he built six luxury units of houses called Fourscore Mansions in Waterkloof, Pretoria.
In an interview, Osibona said: “I was one of the people whose real estate developments led to the growth of East London. I bought a house on New Cross Road and renovated it. I also bought a piece of land behind it and built two flats there, and that is what I will call my first real estate project. That was how I started building houses for sale.”
He had before last Monday explained that the ill-fated building, known as 360 Degrees Towers, was designed to be the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Osibona, a member of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), also told a television station that in all Fourscore projects abroad, they bought “land and developed.”
He had said: “I am the builder, I don’t engage any builder. I was in Atlanta for only four months before I decided to buy land. It is the same procedure in housing development and if you have done it in one country, then you can do it in another because it is the same principle.”
How four of his 24 flats collapsed in Atlanta
The collapse of the Ikoyi building was not the first time his structures will suffer damage.
In a chat with CelestialOvation Talk Show, Osibona narrated how four of his 24 flats in Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S. were razed.
He revealed that the U.S. inferno turned out to be a blessing for him because the money paid him by an insurance firm was more than what he expended on the purchase of the entire flats.
Ashimolowo’s encounter with Osibona
In a viral video recorded on July 4, 2021, Matthew Ashimolowo of the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), narrated his encounter with Osibona.
Ashimolowo said: “After listening to my tapes, he built 12 apartments in London, sold eight, kept four. Then he came to me again and said, ‘pastor Matthew, lay hands on me; where should I go again?’
“After I had laid hands on him the first time, he said, ‘where should I go again? I want to go to South Africa; please pray for me.’ I prayed for him.
“He went to South Africa and built 125 houses in the highbrow area of Centurion, next door to Johannesburg. He broke through exponentially.”
The cleric added that when he was ministering in Ghana, Osibona flew in to meet him again for guidance.
Ashimolowo said: “He (Osibona) comes and says ‘where should I go again?’ I said, ‘look, I’m not your financial adviser. Go and meet your financial adviser. He said ‘you’re doing better than them.’ So, I laid hands on him, prayed for him and I said ‘go to Nigeria, your country’.
“They call him Femi Fourscore. Femi comes to Lagos, boom, he buys land in Ikoyi and builds 40 apartments and sold each one for like a million dollars.
“As I am talking to you right now, in fact, this morning, Femi sent me a video. He’s building I think three towers together. We know Ikoyi. One is 14 floors, one is 16 floors, and one is 21 floors.
“This guy used to sell shirts and ties in Abuja. He didn’t even have the shirt and tie I wanted from him so he went to others to get them for me during that crisis journey. Now, he has three towers.”
Cr