Fatai Okoya, who says he is the first son of billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya, has publicly appealed to his father for forgiveness after a rift that he says has lasted for decades, accusing his father’s wife, Shade Okoya, of blocking an attempt to reunite with him at the businessman’s 86th birthday celebration.

The 66-year-old spoke during a live interview on the Yeye Kudi Court Room page, following an open letter in which he asked his father to find it in his heart to forgive him. In the letter, he wrote that no matter what has happened, the elder Okoya remains his father and he will forever be his first child.

Fatai said the estrangement began with his decision to marry a woman his father disapproved of, and that the situation was made worse by a money dispute. He admitted taking some money from his father’s company when he was younger and less responsible, but insisted the amount was not substantial.

He recalled that he was once his father’s favourite son, even wearing the older man’s clothes as a boy, before the relationship broke down. Accounts of how long the rift has lasted vary between 30 and more than 40 years.

The most striking claim concerns Razaq Okoya’s 86th birthday celebration on January 12, 2026, at his Lekki estate. Fatai said he went as an invited guest, hoping the occasion would give him a chance to reconnect, and had asked an aunt to let his father know he had come in peace. According to him, when he tried to approach the stage after his father arrived, Shade Okoya stopped him and said he could not see her husband like that. Fatai alleged that his father saw him but said nothing, and that he left without speaking to him.

He said he has tried repeatedly to reach his father, sometimes through the businessman’s friends, who he claims sincerely tried to broker peace. He also expressed sadness that his children have never met their grandfather. During the session, a man identified as Razaq Okoya’s brother reportedly said Shade should not have stopped Fatai from seeing his father and that the situation could have been handled differently. The show’s host appealed to Baba Ijebu, a friend of the billionaire, to help facilitate a reunion.

Neither Razaq Okoya, the founder of the Eleganza Group, nor Shade Okoya had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.