In an economy where inflation can erase wealth overnight and business models are tested to the breaking point, Wale Ayilara, CEO of Oxygen Holdings an equity investment platform spanning real estate, technology innovation, healthcare and agriculture, speaks with rare candor about the trials of building an investment empire. It is a story of ambition colliding with economic reality of projects suspended, margins obliterated and decisions that demanded both financial discipline and moral resolve.
In 2019, cement sold for ₦2,300. By 2022, real estate inflation had surged to approximately 348 percent, rendering sales unsustainable and forcing operations to a halt. The numbers tell only part of the story. Behind them lies the human and strategic weight of entrepreneurship in a market where external forces can undo years of effort. Large scale projects, Ayilara explains, stretch leaders mentally, operationally and emotionally but they also forge resilience.
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Nigeria’s economic landscape is unforgiving. Inflation, currency volatility and structural constraints challenge even the most carefully designed business strategies. As head of Oxygen Holdings, Ayilara recalls moments of doubt, times when he questioned whether to remain in real estate or pursue an entirely different path. Yet the experience reinforced a central truth. Meaningful enterprise is built on persistence and adaptation. Success is not the absence of difficulty but the capacity to navigate it.
His flagship initiative to construct 4,000 homes embodied that vision. The project sought to deliver functional housing designed for practical living, properties that considered the realities of Nigerian households rather than architectural aesthetics alone. Land acquisition and marketing proceeded with optimism and initial results were promising. However, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 disrupted global markets and local operations alike. Uncertainty loomed but the team continued to pay workers and maintain site activity, preserving readiness for recovery.
When conditions stabilized, strategy shifted toward positioning the company as a leader in Lagos’s evolving real estate market. Homes were staged with professional attention to detail, transforming properties into experiential spaces rather than mere structures. Buyers responded and thousands of units were sold within two years. Yet success proved fragile. By September 2022, material costs had escalated so dramatically that operational viability disappeared. Cement prices rose from ₦2,300 to over ₦10,000 per bag. Iron rods and other inputs followed similar trajectories. Revenue could no longer cover expenses and margins vanished.
Faced with unsustainable economics, Ayilara made a difficult but principled decision. The residential portfolio would be closed. More than ₦14 billion was refunded to clients and processing continues because buyers were not responsible for the market forces that undermined delivery. If a home initially priced at ₦65 million now required ₦125 million to complete, transferring the burden to customers would have violated the trust at the heart of development.
Real estate, he notes, is uniquely complex. It depends on networks of contractors, builders, electricians, tilers and specialists whose performance and pricing directly influence outcomes. Inflation forced contract variations and in some cases partners demanded higher payments mid project. Material shortages and cost fluctuations transformed planning assumptions. Development is not merely about construction. It is about risk management, legal compliance and ethical stewardship.
The experience revealed the industry’s vulnerability. Contractors may disappear with advances, leaving unfinished work. Legal remedies exist but rarely restore full value. Reputation, however, endures. Developers must balance ambition with accountability, recognizing that communities and clients entrust them with life changing investments.
This realization prompted strategic reinvention within Oxygen Holdings. The business was restructured and priorities expanded beyond real estate into broader investment domains, technology solutions, healthcare initiatives and agricultural opportunities, sectors capable of driving sustainable impact and economic diversification. Stability, Ayilara argues, requires evolution. Every enterprise moves through stages, startup, growth, scale and stability, each presenting distinct challenges. The stability phase often proves most demanding because external shocks test organizational foundations.
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Transparency became a guiding principle. Clients received regular updates and options, including refunds or asset conversions where feasible. Communication through relationship managers ensured clarity and maintained trust. In volatile environments, openness is not merely ethical, it is strategic.
Business, he reflects, is about adaptation. One does not adjust to surrender but to survive and scale. Challenges test determination, yet resilience defines legacy. The lessons of inflation, project setbacks and financial recovery are not chapters of failure but foundations of growth.
In an era where success is often portrayed as linear and effortless, Ayilara’s story offers a different perspective, one grounded in realism and resolve. Empire building is not only about opportunity, it is about discipline, risk management and the willingness to confront adversity. The side of success rarely discussed is the side that shapes character and strategic wisdom.
Through it all, the commitment remains. To build enterprises that create value, support communities and endure. That is the essence of sustainable leadership in a world of constant change.
The material presented in this publication is credited entirely to Afropolitan Podcast and is derived from its original insights, commentary, and editorial contributions. It does not originate from, nor should it be interpreted as reflecting, content associated with EnterpriseCEO or any of its publications. All ideas, narratives, and perspectives herein are attributed to Afropolitan as the source of the material.
